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Dearest Familia,

It was an amazing week. We had the baptism of Maryorie (That's Marjury in English) and a great on at that. Her entire family is inactive but her mother and grandmother and uncle came to the baptism service, and then came to church yesterday. Maryrie's great! A little girl 8 years old…. But she always comes to church and is an example to her family.

You Wont Believe It! Guess where I'm going again? For the third time?! PUEEENNNNTE PIEDDDRAAAA!!!! Que loco. I'm actually really excited. It's a great area, and I'll have a good companion, Elder Moreira (shown at left). He was in one of my anterior (previous) zones before so I know him a little. It`ll be my best change I can already feel it.

This week was a tough one actually in terms of finding new people to teach, or that want to progress. Apart from the investigators we are teaching there aren't tons of people in our minds because we had to leave several that really just weren`t putting in their parts. Alberto is still preparing for his baptism and everything. We`re also teaching his son. Although he didn't come to church I know he'll make it to the waters of baptism soon enough. He's really suffering with his amputated big toe…. It's getting better kind of. Give him another week and he'll be up and walking around.

I'd like to share with you something that the Lord has spoken in this dispensation for all of us through the prophet Joseph Smith:

For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.

But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and recievth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned. (D&C 58:26-29)

The word damned is like a dam on a river. These people can't progress or have something slowing them down.

Obedience isn’t just to complete with the minimum and the written rules. God wants us to follow His example and learn to create, work, experience life, love, do things without be told, avoiding laziness.

Bueno, realmente estoy muy agradecido por todos las cartas. (Well, I really am very grateful for all of the letters.) I even got on from Uncle Danny! That was cool. Also I'd like to give a shout out to Kelsey Costello. You rock.

Please keep praying for the mission and the people here that are able to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm so thankful for every one of you. Thanks for everything. The mission is amazing.
　
Love,

Elder Layton

A Missionary's Family

One concern in creating this Blog was that we DO NOT want to create the impression that we somehow feel that our missionary is so unique and special that he needed to have this venue for his experiences to be published for the world to see. We think the world of our son, but realize that he's not any more important to us than another son or daughter is to his/her parents and family. Hopefully this Blog has served a better purpose and will continue to provide a setting where family and friends, who want to do so, can easily follow how things are going for Elder Layton.

That said, we admit...every time we get an email or a letter or pictures or just about anything, we feel just like a kid at Christmas. There is something uniquely peculiar about the way a missionary parent feels on mail day. You have to keep reminding yourself that this isn't the first time that people have sent their son or daughter on a mission. In fact, it's happened hundreds of thousands of times before and the truth is that your son or daughter is a spec in a huge army for the Lord...a spec, but one that is known by the Lord individually. And of course, one that is treasured by his or her family as well.

So when we received a small package with letters and pictures this weekend, it just completely filled us with joy. I'll post some excerpts below and I'll also be updating the pictures link with some of the photos we've received - that haven't been included yet. Much of the letters were personal and won't be posted.

(To Mom) How's it going? I miss you guys lots.I have all the emails I get from you every week. They're the greatest. It's something I look forward to every Monday. Bueno, I'm tired. We have long days and never enough time to sleep - but that's the life of a missionary. It's harder than I ever thought but also better than I thought. I've grown so much - it's more than I can give thanks to Heavenly Father for but I know that I still have mucho more to learn and more importantly people to teach and baptize.

Truthfully, I love the mission. I miss you but I think I'll stay here, perhaps even until the day I die - like Ammon. We'll see if I get permission.

(To Eric and Curtis) There's lots of stories about brothers in the scriptures extremely cool like Nefi and Lehi in the Book of Mormon, Peter and Andrew in the Bible and others, but I'd like to talk a little bit about two brothers that were really good brothers.

Joseph and Hyrum were some of the best brothers. Joseph Smith was called of God and prepared by God and Angels in all the things he needed to know about...the Gospel and the Church, but once the Church was restored, well, actually all his life he was faced with challenges, but especially after. When many people rejected Joseph and the Saints, his brother Hyrum was always right by his side.

Before the Church was organized Hyrum was actually far away but wanted to help out his brother because of the strong testimony he had of the truth of the restoration. Hyrum travelled all the way to Pennsylvania to find his brother and ask what he could do to help...Joseph and Hyrum were best friends. In fact, I don't think there was anyone in Joseph's life than Hyrum...

I'm loving Peru. It's absolutely GREAT out here. There's nothing better than the mission...This weekend we're baptizing 3 people. I'll let you know in my email if it all goes well.

(To Briana) You appear like a princess in your graduation pictures. You are beautiful and have changed a TON! I won't be showing them to any more missionaries. Elder **** from *** already saw them when I was opening your letter and he started drooling. That's not appropriate, is it?

Honestly, I can't believe you graduated. It's weird. Listen - I know you're going to BYU - I (by the way, the "I" stands for illiterate (Briana says it stands for intellectual) - no, I think it's a good school) BUT you are hereby restricted from having a boyfriend until I come home and until I release the suspension.

PSS - Kelsey Costello writes me a ton. We're BFFs for sure.

(To Dad) You know - sooner than you think, you'll be a grandpa. (Not if Briana believes him about the boyfriend restriction.) Weird. Sorry to make you feel older than you really are. So rumor has it that I'm leaving Independencia - but who knows, it's what the hermanas told my zone today. They were at the office and I think they saw the changes. Whatever, not important. I've really learned to follow the advice of President Uchtdorf to Lift Where You Stand. It doesn't matter the calling - the area - the situation - we lift where we are.

(The following was written in Spanish - and is the English translation)

I don't know why I'm writing in English. Dad, I'm working the best that I can. There's no way I can express my love and appreciation for the Lord and you and my President...

Well - you told me that I should find recipes of the food that I like...well - truthfully, after two years I don't really want to eat this food again, but I'll look. Tell mom that everything's good. I don't need anything. Only candy and toothpaste. I truly love you and miss you.

I Make Weak Things Become Strong Unto Them

(At left, Elder Layton's apartment in Independencia. Pretty nice, huh? On Mother's Day he had this to say about his apartment." Our apartment is great. There's only 2 things. We have a cement floor and there's no hot water. In the jungle that doesn't matter, but in Lima, it's cold in the mornings. There is no hot or cold water. There's only water. You have to buy it.")

Hola Papas!

(The picture below is another picture of his apartment.)

Como estan? Mama, you asked about my companion. Elder Soto's a funny guy. He's always happy and ready to work too...that's good. Only one Zone at a time goes to the temple.

I received the package. THANKS! I loved the chocolate even though it wasn't enough… we ate it all in a minute. My packages always come good. There's not really that much risk in sending things here.

Everything gets here without damage, etc. Thanks for all the letters and pictures. Briana, Eric, and Curty have all changed a bunch. Crazy! I especially loved the performance gel insoles. "Outrageous Comfort” I'm wearing them right now actually. Also, I sent you a package. It's a little unorganized. I had to take things out at the post office cause it was over weight, but I sent pictures and letters. I hope you like them. I sent copies for the C5. I was thinking maybe you could put a picture in the letters with some things from the blog in their letters.

The area is doing really well. Honestly it's a hard place to be a missionary compared to other places (in Peru), but where's there an easy place in this world? Only 4 of our muchos investigadores came to church yesterday (I'm sure you can understand my spanglish).

I'm really stressing out about finding more families before the change is over. It's really the goal I have to be helping complete families. We do have several individuals that are progressing. Alberto's in the hospital again for complications he had with his foot…. We have to wait for him to leave before we can start visiting him again.

It does feel a little discouraging when people aren't in the house for their appointments, which happens just about every day, but I feel so much hope when people are waiting for us to come to their house (which happens much less often) Most of the adults, including the members here have jobs that run their lives, so we usually find youth and older people in their houses during the day. You can probably imagine that the nights are always crazy cause that's when we can visit families.

A man named Marcos came to church for the second time yesterday, so we're helping him prepare for one of these next Saturdays to be baptized. He hasn't accepted a baptism date but continues progressing so we´ll keep on visiting!

Hmmm… we contacted 145 people this week. Of 145 maybe 15 were really interested. We'll be visiting them through the week and I'll let you know how it goes. I'm sure we'll have success with some of them. We haven't had baptisms for the last couple weeks...so of course I feel like I need to repent and do something better. The question is always where to start. I love the scripture (in Ether 12:27) that's always in my head "y se humillan ante mi, y tienen fe en mi, y hare que las cosas debiles sean fuertes para ellos." That's my job right now.

(Shown below - Elder Layton burns a shirt in recognition of having served for 12 months.)

Today we're going with the whole Zone to watch Ice Age 3 in the Church! Chevere. I haven't seen a movie for a while… and the Elders told me this one has dinosaurs! Peru Lima Norte I love you.

Estoy trabajando, gracias por entender si no les escribo. Despues. (I'm working, thanks for understanding if I don't write. Later.)

Mucho amor,

Elder Sean Ryan Layton

AYUKITANCA!!!

Ayukitanca!!!

That's "Hola" in Quechua (which is "Hello" in English), the Inca language. I bought a Book of Mormon in Quechua hoy dia so Ill be learning a bit of it now. It's a lot more difficult learning a language like this than Spanish, but there are people in my area that speak it, so I'll give it a good hard go.

I'm writing today Tuesday because we went to the Temple and today's our Pday for today. The temple was great. I love the temple. As far as I'm concerned the Dengue was a blessing that the Lord's given me in the mission, because now I can go all the time.

We've been working, working, working.... and one day we were walking down the street on the border of our area when someone ran by. His arm was all bloody. Somebody was throwing rocks at him and his friend from behind us so we were in the middle of the fight....but I pulled my companion into a side street really quick so we waited until everything settled down. The crazy thing is that the guy with the wounded arm came back looking for his attackers with a handmade gun on his motorcycle in the same minute. It was crazy but we ran to a safe place out of harms way.

We've started finding a bunch of good families to teach. Thomas the really old guy has been having problems understanding everything. They didn't come to church... even though they said they would. The good thing though is that a bunch of new people we've never met came, and so we'll be teaching them during the week.

I know the mission to me feels normal now, but maybe you'd like to know how it all is. I hate being in the street. That's how we find people sometimes but it's not effective nor the best way to spend our time. I like to have lessons every hour. If plan A fails, we have plan B. Every night I look up the directions (direcciones is really a "false friend" in English - it means "address" - he's just writing a bit of "Spaenglish") of investigators, future investigators, members, etc. to visit. It might seem a like a waste of time to some people, but I like to put plan C's too. That way we have a lesson every hour, in a perfect world, and we're in the houses more that the streets. Even the house of a member is better. We pump 'em up, be their friends, wash the dishes, and tell them that we're not going to stop washing until they give us a reference. I find it usually works cause they always hate when I wash the dishes. Every day at lunch we eat with the members of the Church. I'll tell them something like this: Hermano, do you like games? We're going to play a game. I'm going to write 5 names here in my agenda of people you know who aren't members. They hesitate, because usually they think I'm asking to visit 5 people. Then I explain, no it's part of the game. Then they give me five names. Then I say: Okay gracias hermano, now we're going to pray and we'd like you to pray for which one of these we can visit. It works every time.

I love the scriptures. My new favorite scripture is 3 Nephi 5:13. HE AQUI, SOY DISCIPULO DE JESUCRISTO, EL HIJO DE DIOS. HE SIDO LLAMADO POR EL PARA DECLARAR SU PALABRA ENTRE LOS DE SU PUBLO, A FIN DE QUE ALCANCEN LAVIDA ETERNA.

I can't even begin to describe how that one verse has impacted the misión that I'm serving in right now. It is who I have to be. I've been extremely blessed in ways I can't even describe. I honestly feel sorry for the people that reject what we have to say, but then again I have a lot of work to do, because either they rejected the message or we failed to do our part. One or the other.

I understand most everyone that reads the Blog are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints... but I also heard not everyone. For those who AREN'T members of the Church:

"God is our Heavenly Father. We are His children. He weeps with us when we suffer and rejoices when we do what is right. He wants to communicate with us, and we can communicate with Him through sincere prayer. He has given us this experience on the earth so we can learn and grow. We can show our love for Him through our choices and our obedience to His commandments." (Preach My Gospel, pp. 1)

Padres, gracias por sus emails. Creo que voy a recibir mi paquete esta semana. De verdad estoy muy feliz y les quiero bastante. Tambien voy a enviarles un paquete hoy dia con cartas y fotos!?

Elder Layton

My Legs and Arms Want to Fall Off Every Night

(Once again, thanks to Elder and Sister Rich for the picture to the left. You can click on it to enlarge. I think we get more of our photos from Sister Rich than we do from Sean!

I can't completely read what the sign says - something about trust...those that believe in...for them - , but from his earlier letter, we know that it is the Banner of Liberty - Peruvian style.

That first step is a real doozy!)


Dearest Family and Friends,

How are all of you doing? I'm having the greatest time! Well… it's a little different than what most people in this world would consider having a good time. I feel like my legs and arms want to fall off every night when we get back to the room but it's great.

Today we're going to a jail. I'll take pictures of it all for yas. I'm going to try and get pictures sent off today. And letters! I have a stack to send home.

My mind's pretty much blank this morning.

In Doctrine and Covenants it talks about taking the things of the Lord lightly. I don't have my scriptures right now to quote anything, but it's true. Especially in the mission many times missionaries, investigators, members, take things lightly. I think everyone has or does at times… but we shouldn't take the things of God lightly.

Our family came to church again! We challenged them to be baptized right there in church and they accepted. It was the second time they came so we're preparing them for this Saturday. It'll be a challenge to do it but I think they ready. Thomas is more or less on board but the rest of his family are all ready. I let you know what happens this Saturday. Also we've been visiting all the old investigators, menos (except the) actives, future investigators, etc… and we found an investigator that the missionaries left a while back because of a surgery. We visited him and he came to church and he wants to be baptized!

!!!!!!!!!! Bye…. I love you all

One Year Anniversary

Just a comment from dad...Elder Layton reached his one year mark in the mission last Thursday. I thought he might comment on it in his letter today, but didn't. Maybe he burned a tie or shirt or kept some other missionary tradition alive for his anniversary. I'll try to pry it out of him for next week's letter.

I Have Been Called of Him to Declare His Word

Buenos Dias,

How's everything going? Thank you mom for letting me know what's going on. Things have changed a lot by the sound of things. It's just weird that almost everybody's moving on to bigger and better things. Enjoy it now.

I'm doing great mom. Everything is going amazingly. If you want to know a little more about me, let me tell you. I've gained a lot of weight. I'm just about 200 pounds now but as skinny as ever. Hopefully I don't keep up the same rate our I'll come home fat.

What else… I'm learning to be more diligent every day. President gave me a good scripture to study in the interviews this week... 3 Nephi 5:13 . I looked up all the scriptures pertaining to "disciple" and "called" to understand the scripture better. I realized that a major problem in the mission is fear. Fear to give up our lives for the work of the Lord. Fear to follow the word that we've received. I've found that the only way to get rid of fear is to get rid of yourself…or lose yourself. Become a disciple of Christ, just like Jesus was a disciple of His Father.

I baptized Juan Carlos this weekend. He was seriously happy to be baptized, but he's even more excited to go on a mission. Juan Carlos' family is still progressing but have a couple challenges that we'll help them overcome to receive baptism. Baptisms are the greatest.

Also the mission asked us to find a new family this week. We found one! Tomas, Juana, Evelyn, and Kimberly. It's kind of an odd family. Thomas and his wife are well along in years. Thomas is 95. Their daughter Evelyn has a daughter named Kimberly. We invited them to church. They came! We visited them after church and they accepted to be baptized in July. Hopefully everything goes perfectly. We have to SHOUT THE LESSONS BECAUSE THOMAS CAN'T HEAR ALMOST ANYTHING. But it's cool.

Last week we made a title of liberty as a zone and the sisters in our zone took it home. Of course when it came back it was completely changed and pretty looking but that`s what you'd expect from sisters. Today for pday we're going to climb the highest mountain/hill nearby (which is really high) and take a picture with it. All the Zones are doing it for a surprise for President Perez.

Well, I'm still being happy. My friends send me candy. Like chocolate, and gummy worms, and the most creative things. I know I haven't been that good about sending things to you guys…but I'm busy. Just know I know who loves me…haha.

Gracias amigos, les amo,

Elder Layton

The Gospel Really Changes Lives

(This picture of Elder Soto was kindly sent to us by Sister Rich.)

Hola De Peru Lima Norte,

Another great week. Elder Soto's crazy, I'll just put it that way. Well, he's just a funny guy. I've learned fast to have a ton of patience with him. He has 16 months in the mission. We're doing just great.

On Saturday we had the baptism of Milagros and Alexandra. Everything went as planned, and it was a baptism service I'll never forget. Bishop Marcos Polo (I say Marcos, my companion says Polo) baptized Alexandra because she's his niece. Both of Alexandra's nonmember parents came to the baptism too! After that, I baptized Milagros. We had the welcomes and testimonies and then the closing hymn, but before we could say the closing hymn Alexandra's dad Sebastian, who isn't a member of the church, who's never been inside the church before, asked me if he could say a few words.

Just to back up a little bit. Sebastian was very Catholic. Part of the reason for splitting up with his wife was because his daughter Alexandra wanted to be baptized. Her mother said it was the decision of Alexandra, but Sebastian said she was to be Catholic just like her dad, her dad's dad, etc. This whole thing happened a long time ago, but we taught Sebastian lesson 1 and he opened up. The second time we visited him we asked him to sign the permission slip for Alexandra to be baptized. He signed it.

Now a month later, Sebastian was bearing his testimony at the end of our baptism service in front of the members, about how the gospel really changes lives and how he is grateful that his daughter made the decision to be baptized. He asked Alexandra more than one time if she really wanted to do it. Of course she made very clear her position to her father and now Alexandra is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. We're going to visit Sebastian this week.

Other than that Lima's the best! I'll be able to go to the temple all of my mission! I can't think of anything better than that. Voy a jugar futbol. (I'm going to play soccer.)

Chau,

Elder Layton

It Was Another Amazing Experience

Dear Familia,

Okay… I have to get into my English writing mode. Man, I'm so glad to hear Gabe's doing good. And… let's just say I'm grateful my apartment is on the 4th floor and is relatively safe from getting robbed. Nathan, if you find out who stole your stuff give them a punch in the face for me. Good luck with everything. (Elder Layton's friend, serving a mission in Argentina, was robbed twice recently.)

Honestly it's the weirdest thing for me that Lauren got married… I'm still a kid! My seminary class can't be getting married already… I'm not back yet to eat the food at the receptions!

There's really not much news this week. It was a little discouraging not finding many new people this week. I baptized Mabel on Saturday. It was a another amazing experience. She got up to give her testimony and started bawling. She has a firm testimony that the Gospel is true. Milagros didn't show up to her baptism… ikes!... but it was because her mom didn't want her going out at night. She came to Church yesterday and brought her Cousin Gino who also has a baptism date and was sorry for not being able to go to her baptism. She's preparing for this next Saturday, along with Alexandra and Juan Carlos.

Gainela's (the girl we baptized a week ago) parents are getting married this week on Saturday. They didn't come to Church but we're going to visit them to see how everything's going. Back to Juan Carlos…. He's a gold investigator. He always comes to church. The Jehovah Witnesses have been teaching him for a few months but we challenged him to baptism on our first visit and he accepted. He knows that it is true and is helping all his older brothers, sisters, and cousins come to Church. Cool.

Oh yeah, we found out our changes 20 minutes ago. I'm staying here, in good old Independencia! Elder Chan is going to my same area in Iquitos (9 de Octubre). My new companion´s named Elder Soto! He was in my same Zone in Pucallpa so I already know him good. He's a big round Costa Riccan haha!! (probably the Elder at the far left, and incorrectly labled as "Elder Soio") President Rau probably baptized his family ;), I'll ask him about it. He knows English and Portugese too, so I'll have him teach me a little Brazilero so I can talk with Bryan when he comes back.

Well, I'm making a plan already in my head how we can overcome the challenges of the area for this change. I plan on having big results going into my one year mark. It only makes me feel a little sad, a little old, and a little like I'm running out of time.

Nana, congrats on graduating. Hope it was fun with the girls at our house. I know you'll miss them.

Eric, have fun at EFY.

Curtis, be an Eagle Scout.

Sincerely - Your Missionary,

Elder Layton

The Wild Wild West (Gabe, that is)

Here's the latest on Gabe West's progress...

Gabe continues to progress nicely. Friday the feeding tube and abdominal drain were removed. He sat up in his wheelchair for over an hour and wheeled around the hallway. He was exhausted at the end of his little trip but he did it. Urinary things look good and the pneumonia is diminishing.

Thank you to those of you who have made visits. They seem to help his morale. Now if we can just get him to eat and drink more he will gain strength and beable to come home next week. He has grown quite a beard...I think he is trying to compete with Scott Lund. :)

When Gabe is stable enough, he needs to be seen by the urologist team at OHSU in Portland to make sure there has been no damage to the surgeries he had one year ago today.

Once again, THANK YOU for your constant support and love. Our blessings and love to each of you, JoEllyn

I'm Just Really Happy

HEYYY!!!Buenos Dias!!!

I'm happier than ever! We finally were able to help our investigators get into the church yesterday. 12 of them came. Most were youth but we also had a couple families.

Honestly I don't have that much to say this week other than I'm just really happy. We're having the baptism of Milagros (18 anos) and Mabel, who I mentioned last week - she is being baptized this Saturday. Hopefully everything goes well. We're encouraging Milagros the best we can because she just got baptized in another Church right before we found her. She feels like she can't take things like baptism lightly but knows what we've taught her is true so she has mixed feelings right now. She came to church again, and she's doing great.

We visited the Mitma Family and they're going through some crazy stuff. Hermano Mitma had a drinking problem and it was really affecting everything in his family. We taught him the Word of Wisdom and he stopped but then he started getting huge pains in his lower stomach that he's never experienced. He was on the ground for a day almost I guess and had to go to the hospital. With this and their daughter falling from a second story window they're suffering financially, and plus they're trying to get the papers all ready for the wedding. All they need is DNI, birth certificate, and 50 soles. It seems to them impossible but we've assured them it's not. Sister Carmen (the Wife of Brother Mitma) is working like crazy and the kids all help too. The wedding's on the 20th and we need everything in a week so I'm kind of getting nervous a little, especially with all the crazy stuff that's happened. I know it´s only a test for them. It's crazy how all of this happens right before they make a life decision to change. I know if they trust the Lord they can do it. Brother Mitma has to travel to another city to get his birth certificate. Please pray for them.

Umm… what else. Today we're playing soccer at the Church. Elder Chan's doing great as my companion. The more time I have in the mission, the easier it is to work alongside companions and work together. I've never had problem companions, but you know what I mean.

The majority of the missionaries out here all want to work hard. If you just keep helping each other its just a constant work…never stops, but it's the best.

I knew Gabe would pull through, he's the greatest. Keep it up Gabers.

NANA!!! You graduated?! Holy moly pacholy I remember when you were a baby and mom and dad bought me a (toy) truck. Congrats. You're amazing and keep up the good work. You can definitely give me the PSP (Briana won a PSP and some cash at her graduation party) for a present when I return, but only if you want to. I told Elder Hudson sitting next to me (he's from Utah) and he said he won a car for his grad party. That's a little better but good job.

There's nothing better than the mission. Always help others. It will make you happy.

Love,

Elder Layton

Another Gabe Update

Elder Layton's friend, Gabe, continues to make amazing progress. Please continue to keep him in your prayers.

Friday, June 5, 2009 12:04 PM, PDT

We met with the doctor this morning for an update on Gabe's condition, so here's what we have to tell you. Gabe's mental capacity is totally normal. (Major miracle!) His blood pressure is maintaining on its own and he's off a lot of medications. They've been able to remove most of the IV lines and make him a little more comfortable. However, there are still some serious medical problems that the doctors have been unable to identify the cause of and he's still in pain from the CPR and now he's unable to sleep. Your continued prayers on Gabe's behalf would be greatly appreciated as he continues to fight valiantly.

More Miracles

Here are the latest two updates on Gabe West from the website found at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/gabewest. Miracles continue to take place in a situation where the doctors gave little to no hope for any recovery. Even though he is not out of the woods yet, it is clear to his family and friends that this extended time has been a miracle of Biblical proportions. We are grateful beyond words and can't imagine what the family is feeling.

____________________________________________________________________

Wednesday, June 3, 2009 10:40 PM, PDT

Today was a GREAT day. We left Gabe this evening about 10 pm resting so peacefully. We are still in awe of the power of prayer, fasting, faith and love. Gabe is continuing to improve so quickly from such a horrible illness that he has the doctors baffled. They are so happy he is pulling through something they have not seen and had little hope that he would survive. I'm sure they can see the power of God in this as well as the rest of us. He has had EXCELLENT care at SCMC and the nurses are like an army of angels in the ICU. All of the doctors have been thorough, caring, and very compassionate. One doctor told us he cannot sleep when he has a patient in the ICU- especially when it is Gabe. We are hoping they will take out the breathing tube tomorrow or Friday- he went for 6 and a half hours today, breathing on his own - tube intact, but ventilator turned off. We only hope tomorrow will be a day as good as this one and that he will continue to thrive.Thank you once again for every prayer and thought for our family and especially for Gabe. We are strengthened by them.With grateful hearts,Rick, JoEllyn, Gabe and family
____________________________________________________________________

Thursday, June 4, 2009 12:25 PM, PDT

Another hurdle jumped. Breathing tube was taken out this morning and Gabe is resting peacefully. He has been very vocal and told us that he thought he was in a hospital in Portland. Then his very first concern was about his job. "I've missed two days of work!" The docs and nurses just laughed and told him he has all of his life to work!! They said only if everyone were that conscientious. I made sure he knew of his coworkers' concern and all of their emails to him. Dad and Scott Lund gave him another blessing at Gabe's request. He is having alot of chest pain due to the CPR. Doctors are concerned about elevated liver markers in his blood work so they are watching this closely. Other than that, we are pressing onward and upward.

Update on Gabe West

Gabe West, the young man mentioned in the last post, has made a turn for the better. Although definitely not out of the woods yet, the signs are becoming more encouraging. The family has a website found athttp://www.caringbridge.org/visit/gabewest where the latest updates are posted on a fairly regular basis. This is from the last post.

"Once again, Gabe has shown us how much he loves life by his will to fight to live. Tuesday evening he started trying to communicate with us and the staff. This morning there were signs of much improved awareness as he began mouthing words and wanted to have answers to questions like "What happened to me?, When can the tube be removed from my throat?, and When can I go home?" He is able to express his wishes through nods of the head and hand signals. He tells us when he wants to be turned, when he's uncomfortable or when he is tired.
His obvious improvement has eliminated the need for another EEG test. The neurologist is pleased with the progress he sees. His exact words were "I'm so happy I was wrong."

Gabe's personality is shining through with gusto. He is definitely still here. We have explained to him how many people have visited him and prayed, fasted, and expressed love to him and our family. We have no doubt that you all have been instrumental in this miracle that we are witnessing.

We have to be honest with you that Gabe is still a very sick young man, but we are enjoying this triumphant moment. At this point in the game, the doctors have told us that anything can happen, but we are so happy to have this time with him.

The ICU staff has advised us that because now his body is fighting this infection and trying to get well on its own, we have to limit his visits to family only because the most important thing for him at this time is rest, so he can heal. Now that his body is able to do some of the work of healing, he is less dependent on the machines. We know that being unable to visit now that he is responding is difficult for all of you who want to see him, but we hope you'll understand that this is only for his best interest.

There have been many acts of service and kindness that you have performed on our family's behalf. Many more of you have expressed a desire to do SOMETHING. The greatest "something" that you can do is to keep praying. We understand the feeling of helplessness at times like these when we want to do something, but don't know what to do. Tracey Bryan is coordinating efforts on our behalf. She can guide as to our needs. You can reach her at 633-7558.
There are not adequate words to express how much we appreciate all the many ways you have served and supported us through yet another difficult challenge in Gabriel's life. We love all of you and will try to keep you updated as often as we can on Gabe's condition. We have heard there are lots of rumors out there as everyone discusses their concerns for Gabe. Please share this web site with anyone who would like to keep abreast of Gabe's progress."

A Long Distance Prompting

(To preface this week's post, Elder Layton has a good friend in the hospital right now. Gabe West, shown at left a couple of years ago with Elder Layton's sister, Briana, has been confined to a wheelchair since birth. He was recently called to serve a mission in the Portland, Oregon temple along with his parents. Over the weekend he developed an infection. Things do not look promising. We informed Elder Layton by email last night, and he received it a short time ago.)

Hi Everyone,

Hi Mom and Dad... I'm really sad to hear about Gabe. I didn't email yesterday because today is our pday. When the missionaries go to the temple once a change in Lima the pday changes to the same day. So yes, I just got out of the temple.... and now I just read the email about Gabe.

Interesting enough about 30 minutes ago I felt prompted to put his name in the prayer list at the temple. I knew that he was doing his best on his mission. I wanted the Lord to help him out....but now I understand a little better. I have a letter to him too that I wrote a week ago and I'm waiting to send home with some others.

For anyone reading this and doesn't know Gabe West, let me give you a little background info. Gabe is one of the most loving sincere people I know and one of my best friends. He's been in a wheel chair his whole life and always has a good attitude about it. He's always doing great things. If I can just say one thing to Gabers, I'd like to tell him I love him and to keep serving God.

Well, yeah.... I'm happy Grandma Chiechi's doing better. I prayed hard for that one.

I can't really think of anything cool that happened this week... OTHER than the baptism! I got to baptize a girl named Gianela (I think I spelled Ganela last week). It was great. One of the best things that bappened was that her parents who aren´t members came. We have a cita with them. The mission's cool. We didn't have a great turnout in the Church again so I was sad all Sunday but hey, we commited several people to baptism yesterday.

One girl that's getting baptized is named Mabel. She's awesome. It's almost the same situaton of Gianela. Her parents aren't members but the difference is that they don't want anything to do with the Church. I was extremely impressed by her testimony though. Elder Chan, my Guatamalan companion asked her "what do you want most for you family?" She responded "All I want is that my family goes to Church and reads the scriptures." Haha. I love it. I felt extremely grateful to have a family that always went to Church, and helped me get out of bed on Sundays (thank you mom)... and very ungrateful that I had taken it for granted.

I think we might take a trip to McDonalds today. Maybe. American food how I love you! Rice is great, but not everyday. I'm used to it though, and thankful for all the food my mom ever made me. I would even eat your meatloaf everynight mom...even though I hate it. Gringos don't have the right to be picky!!!

Well....I'm sorry I have to leave early from writing.... my whole zone has officially determined McDonalds and got excited so we have to go....hahaha. Well I love you all. Keep working hard. I know the Church of Jesus Christ is the only true and living church on the earth led by the Lord and living profets.

Peace,

Elder Layton

Life Decisions

Hey Mom, Dad, Nana, Eric, and Curtis and anyone reading this...

This Week was fun! We worked hard. We've been having a hard time getting people to church. We literally have to drag them out of their houses…. But the investigators are doing well. We have a family that will get married on the 20th of June. A new family came to church yesterday Dante, Aide, and their daughter. The great thing is they're already married. They went to church one time before but their schedule is crazy and we got permission to teach them at 9 at night because it's the only time they have, so we'll see what happens!

Earlier this week we had interviews with President Perez. He's a great president. He always gives me scriptures to memorize or read. He gave me a scripture way different than normal this week. It's Doctrina y Convenios 128:15...I learned a lot.

So before I talk about the mission something kind of funny happened this week. I have a stalker. We were teaching a girl named Jenela a lesson three days ago and when we left, her dog Shadow followed us. We went to dinner 20 minutes away, and the dog was still with us. At our Pension's house there's a girl dog named Buddy and I jokingly told my companion that Shadow and Buddy could be novios. After dinner we walked to our room and Shadow followed. The next morning we were eating in our pension again and I looked out the door. You can probably guess…. He was outside, with his friend Buddy. Then this morning I went to our fourth story window and looked down…. Shadow was standing by the door. What's his problem! I never gave him any food or anything he just started stalking us. Weird.

I think I told you a little about this area… Ermitano is cold, like all of Lima. Not much sun, but a lot of sunburn. Our area is full of Labyrinth and is just like the stairs on Lord of the Rings! It's almost straight up in some parts and the houses are all put together so it feels exactly like a maze most of the time.

This week we've been teaching a girl named Alexandra. We have permission to teach from her mom but her dad is VERY Catholic and believes his daughter has to be Catholic too. He locked away her Book of Mormon, but luckily her Uncle that lives right above her is the Bishop. We left a Book of Mormon in the bishops house so she can read. She's really the best. Alexandra's only 12 but has one of the strongest testimonies I know. Her mom and dad split up because Alexandra wanted to be baptized and the mom was giving her permission. Her parents weren't married in the first place so it was a good thing as far as I'm concerned but what we really want to do is talk with the dad, something we've never done. I guess he leaves really early and gets back at around 11. If it weren't for Bishop, Alexandra and her little brothers would be alone all day! We've been talking to her mom and I have high hopes for her making some life decisions that will help her family. As for Alexandra, she says "The only thing I want right now is to be baptized in the true Church of Jesus Christ".

Well, Independencia has turned out to be a tough little area but we're holding out. I love being close to the offices. It only means I get my letters and little packages with candy every week! YES! And my Zone Leader Elder Barba sitting next to me right now just reminded me it's my 11 months! Kind of sad….. Missionaries run out of time so fast.

Grandma Chiechi!!!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH good luck with everything and I'll be praying for you and Grandpa. I know everything will be all right. I wish I could be there but just keep being strong.

LOVE!!!

Elder Layton

A Living Apostle Teaches How Happiness is Found

For reasons, some personal and others obvious, I love Elder Richard G. Scott. He is a living apostle of Jesus Christ and a very loving man. This short message is beautiful and has application for me, Elder Layton, his family and friends, those he is teaching, and every person reading this blog. Watch it with an open heart and see if you don't feel a certain confirmation inside you that tells you that he is speaking the truth. Before viewing, make sure you turn off the music on the sidebar.

I Do Miss You All But In a Good Way

Buenos Dias!

The investigators are doing great!!! We only had 4 people come to church….BUT, there is a possibility of baptizing up to 8 people on the 30th of May. Well see. We found several young men that flat out said they want to get baptized, but they didn't go to church, nor do they have past attendances so they’ll be for June. 505 for the mission in May though. We have to do it.

One of the youth we found is named Josmel. He was a reference, 18 years old, and has the craziest questions. He asked us what we thought about aliens and phantoms. He asked how Noah could fit all those animals on his boat. I told him the most important thing is to first ponder the questions of life. Why are we here? Why do we need to live the gospel? Questions like that. I showed him a few scriptures. After explaining all that, he asked, what do guys believe about cloning? Ugh... he's great though. He listens, reads, and is progressing.

So far we've kind of gotten to know the members. The thing is we haven't received much help. It's the most important thing for the members of the ward to work closely with the missionaries and vice versa. We're working on it. Before we came in there wasn't really any plan for the missionary work in the ward. I'd love to start our just getting references and having members accompany us. But of course the work goes on, no matter what. We have 5 baptism dates for the 30th. This week were already working for June!

Everyone, thanks for reading the blog if you do. Every Monday morning I feel overwhelmed with thanks just from what my parents tell me and how well everyone's doing. I do miss you all, but in a good way. It keeps me working hard.

Actually since I'm on that topic I'd just like to say something about hard work. Christ told us that we must take up our own cross. Elder Holland proclaimed that salvation is NOT a cheap experience. The Prophets and saints in every period of time have made huge sacrifices for the work of the Lord, and for battle of good verses evil. Elder Talmage wrote in Jesus the Christ that the Lord requires our ALL! Why do we even give thanks? Do we realize that God has given us everything? And that it is His whole work to give us more? Don’t waste time. Do all that you can.
I was thinking the other day about what a returned missionary once taught. The stake council asked him something like this: "What's the one thing missionaries in the field lack the most?" He told them it was a good work ethic. For the most part its true. There are some missionaries who have the desires and the testimony to preach the gospel, but aren't willing to give it everything. I've been through it. I wish I knew how to work hard before my mission, and didn't have to learn it ON the mission. (Mom and Dad think he's being just a bit too hard on himself.)

Well….that's about it I think. Nothing crazy happened. I'm happy. Keep Writing!
____________________________________________________________________

In a separate quick note to mom, Elder Layton responded to our question about any lingering effects of Dengue. He wrote:

"...you get Dengue from the mosquitos in the jungle. Hermana Perez sent me straight to Lima because the second time you get it, it's a lot worse I guess. There's really barely any risk of anything serious happening but it's a rule. People have died from Dengue in the past. I hope that answers your question. I'm not bummed at all. Lima's the best."

The Unofficial Comprehensive Missionary Handbook

We received a CD with several dozen pictures today. You can view them all by clicking the link at the sidebar on the right. We've taken the liberty to create our own unofficial missionary handbook for current and future missionaries. But we're fairly sure these guidelines are all in the official one somewhere.

As soon as you fly into (or drive into) your area, perform an intial assessment of your new assignment.

If you don't fly in, it helps to find a high vantage point with a great view of your surroundings.

Visit people in their public places.

Visit them in their homes

You've been sent to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to every creature. Sometimes those who have been prepared will live in homes in unusual settings. Don't let that stop you.

If you happen to be assigned to an area with high density housing, you should be able to contact at least twenty people per hour...

...especially if you have good transportation.

...unless you happen to encounter natural barriers from time to time.

You can get to know the locals.

They will come in all shapes, colors and sizes.

Just don't get too close. There will come a time when you are called to go to a new area. Encourage the local members to participate in the process through friendshipping. Missionaries should never allow investigators to become permanantly attached.

No Elder! That's way too close!

Of course, it goes without saying. Don't ever get into a fight. But if you just must, make sure you have the reach advantage. A missionary with a broken jaw will have a hard time teaching.

Eat lots of good healthy food. You'll need the energy.

Here's a little known fact. Missionaries around the world are now encouraged to have pets. Only adopt a pet monkey if it has extremely adorable eyes.

Love all of your companions.

Since you'll be spending lots of time together, you'll want to have bonding time.

You will end up doing just about everything together.

But c'mon...that's just a little weird.

That's better.

Appreciate those who are willing to feed you. Otherwise, you might end up getting on their nerves a little.

Attend all of your zone conferences and other meetings.

Serve the people often and you will grow to love them more deeply.

Some of them will be people you never forget.

If you do these things, the Lord will bless you with lots of success. That's great, but I said, "lots of success".

That's incredible...but I'm talking about A LOT of success.

There you go!

You'll come away with the best feeling in the world.

And there will always be time for relaxing later.

Once a week you'll have a day to relax and take care of personal business. Sometimes you'll just hang out with the other missionaries in your area. They'll always be great friends, even if some of them have questionable taste. (A LONGHORN FAN IN PERU!?!?! GO DUCKS!!!!)

You'll get an occasional chance to keep fit with local sports...

...and try the local cusine.

Even a rare game is allowed.

But of course, after your breather, there's much more work to be done. When all is said and done, you'll look back at the time on your mission and be grateful for the people you've known, the lives you've been a part of, the work that has been accomplished and for the blessings that you have experienced and helped others to experience.

And when the time does come when it's your turn to return home, your life will be forever blessed because you served the Lord with all of your heart, might, mind and strength. It will be time to return to college, career choices and lots of good friends.

In anticipation of that time, the Church has provided parents of current missionaries with the following form. It will quite useful for returned missionaries - especially those who have intentions to return to the "Y". Click to enlarge and if you feel you qualify, print it out and keep it in a secure location until AFTER the return of your favorite missionary.