la iglesia de jesucristo de los santos de los ultimos dias

reasons why i love church in ecuador:

1. testimony meeting.
in the states, testimony meetings are seemingly filled with travelogues, public declarations of gratitude, and longwinded stories.
in ecuador, testimonies are just that: testimonies. concise statements that testify to the congregation of what they know to be true.
also, instead of individuals going up one at a time to speak, families walk up together, each member speaks, and then they all walk back to their seats together. it's beautiful to watch and is such a moving symbol of how families can be together eternally.

2. hymns.
last week we were accompanied by a mia maid-aged flautist.
this week we were accompanied by both a keyboardist and violinist.
beautiful.

3. talks.
like testimonies, talks are concise, to-the-point, and simple yet profound. i never once looked at the clock, felt like i would fall asleep, or grew tired of the speaker.
there were monologues, no jokes to open with. just simple words strung together to form a beautifully constructed, moving talk.

i can't believe how much i've learned since i've been here.
it's hard to believe how much one can change in a little over a week.

but it's possible.