hey everyone! well there actually isnt much more that i can tell you about this week, because i talked on the phone with the family, but i will still give a brief overview and updates on the baptism. i want to talk about the baptism first, because it was great! Arturo, Rosy, and Arturito were all baptized and confirmed on sunday, and had a wonderful time. i baptized Rosy and Arturito, and E. wilding baptized Arturo, dad. they were very concerned that after baptism, our communication would stop, but we reassured them that we will stay in contact forever. a few members pitched in to buy them a three year subscription for the liahona! so they will be solid on that, and on member support. they are so great, but sadly not many members came to their baptism. Rosys best friend in another ward was supposed to come and speak, but didnt show up until after the ordinance, because they didnt bathe themselves in time.... oh mexicans. but it didnt matter, they still enjoyed it. during the service, me and elder wilding sang a musical number of lord dismiss us with thy blessing, elder wilding singing harmony and me on bass, but it sounded really good acapella, and the bishop asked us to sing in sacrament. it was a little nerve racking, but we did good. also in sacrament, Mario got the priesthood, a new bible, and proclamation to the world and the living christ. he is doing really good, but still just doesnt have a ton of friends. we are helping him work his way in to the ward, and they will hopefully receive him well.
we found a decent number of new investigators this week, but not enough. we did thankfully find a super awesome mom and son, but we werent able to make it to our appointment on saturday because of tyhe interviews for baptism. thankfully we got ahold of them sunday morning to ask forgiveness, and we will call them tonight for another appointment. we really think they will be escogidos(elect) if we can stay in good contact with them, the only problem is that they live on the other end of our area, and they are the only investigators in that part.... we will try though.
well i remembered a few things i wanted to tell you all during the skype chat, but i completely forgot. during the next one, i will have a notepad of things i want to say. but these are just some things that i have noticed that are important in the work, and being prepared to do it all day long. 1. smiling. we made it into some doors this week because the people have seen us in the street, and asked us why we are always so happy. 2. service. we also got into a few doors because people saw us when we did the service project as a zone, and wanted to know why. 3 faith. you may see that all these things are very simple, but really, the simple things are the most important. 1 nephi 16: 29. faith to find, faith to continue, faith to trust in god even though it is difficult, faith to drop people if they arent ready right now, faith to love. 4. talk. talk with your companion if there are problems, talk to everyone. 5. keep the commandments 1 nephi 17:3. you have to keep the commandments and be like christ to receive the spirit. with the spirit, you can go anywhere, and if someone says something that throws you off guard, the spriit directs you. just like ammom with king lamoni. he deceived a man with god, because he had a part of god with him (the spirit of discernemnt)
i dont want to be preaching, but i want to help a little bit to prepare you all for your missions. this is really the best experience of my life, and i wouldnt trade it for anything. i heard someone say that president eyring said: a person who goes on a mission has 56 years more than a person who doesnt go on a mission. of experiences, knowledge, testimony, faith, love, etc. i know that is true, because if i was studying at home for an hour, but with no real purpose, like to help someone else, it wouldnt be as meaningful for me or anyone. i hope you all are preparing for a mission, or are getting to that age, do everything in your power to be a disciple of christ now and complete your challenge, and commandment. 3 nephi 5:13. if you notice anything you lack right now, try your hardest to apply it now. not for me, but for your brothers and sisters, and the lord that awaits your service. pray for help to complete.
love you all tons, and am really grateful for your help, support and love in every prayer, letter, or action that you do. i know the lord will bless you 10X if we do the hard things for him. Malakiah 3:10. test him how much he will bless you.
elder facer
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Dear Family:
We are sending to you a picture of your beloved missionary during our Christmas conference where we have had a wonderful spiritual experience. Best wishes for all during this Christmas Season, hoping to be closer to our Savior with all our heart and to serve Him until the end. With love,President & Sister Spannaus
We are sending to you a picture of your beloved missionary during our Christmas conference where we have had a wonderful spiritual experience. Best wishes for all during this Christmas Season, hoping to be closer to our Savior with all our heart and to serve Him until the end. With love,President & Sister Spannaus
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
One of the simplest, sloppiest letter writers is all grown up...
yesterday we had a christmas zone conference, and it was incredible! sadly me and e. wilding had to do everything for the setup, because it was in our church and we have the keys. sorry but yes i did get your package, haha and it made me laugh, because i remembered the gifts elder snyder had when we were looking through his baggage, i figured he helped you get them. haha its good to hear he is with someone, and please tell him i say feliz navidad y nuevo año y que le amo! thanks. also i got two packages from rusty which were awesome! full of ensigns and a few treats with a letter from him and his mom. its good to hear they are doing good, and he told me that he is going home teaching, but still not to church.... i will write to him and see if i can help too.. or if you see him, please rebuke him for me! haha jk. well to finish what i was saying about zone conference, i had such a good time! we joined with the zone of iguala and had such a good time! i saw two of the other people from my mtc district, and now only lack to see elder smith. they are both doing pretty good, and one of them, elder nelson, is training. also the new zone leader got to the mission with me, elder anaya. i always knew he would be an awesome misisonary and that he would be great. it was fun to see him again and talk. elder dominguez grandados tells elder snyder hi as well as elder johnson. we started out eating a ton of food that was prepared professionaly by members, and then had a white elephant gift exchange. i ended up with a nice pen/pencil set and gave a nice pen with candy and highlighters. the gift could only be 60 pesos (6 bucks) so it was hard to stay under. then we had the spiritual part with a lot of musical numbers. we watched the picture slide show of the service projects of the whole mission, and it was fun to see who i knew from the mission. hna spannaus had an amazing talk. she said she had read 3 nephi and focused on every time it mentions Christ, or gives an attribute, or an act that he did, etc. in just 3 nephi there were about 331 times. wow!!! can you imagine how many times it must mention something about christ in the whole book of mormon! it truly is another testament of christ. she spent 10 minutes reading us the list of all the paraphrased scriptures she found. i guess i had never really thought of how much he is, and what he did. he really is the perfect example in everything. later president spannaus talked about his experience of going to jerusalem about 4 years ago. he explained the pictures he showed us, and also his thoughts from his journal. incredible!!! it was alot about finishing your mission up strong, no matter what, and that every prophet, leader, etc of God, even christ completed their mission working until the very end. christ even had to do it all alone after the garden of gethsemane. it really is never too late to come back and ask for support and forgiveness from God.
mom, if you could please tell the primary from our ward how grateful i am for their letters. as i read every single letter, i cried, then i cried some more, and some more!! geez, im still not sure why i was crying, but i think it was because i might have the opportunity to be a good example for all those little growing kids. even just some of the simplest, and sloppiest letters were the most touching ´thank you´. i didnt realize what my work was doing, until i got those letters yesterday night. please tell them that i also say thank you from the bottom of my heart for those sweet, sincere letters that they were probably forced to write. i really do love each and every one of them and am so grateful for their support.
well this last week, we also baptized again, it was our good friend mario. he is such a stud and was so happy to finally receive his baptism and forgiveness from his sins. he really understood the importance of baptism, and has already helped us teach his daughter arumi. he always reads, and is super strong. he just lacks a little confidence in the ward, and still hasnt stayed all three hours, but knows that it is the right church. he was pretty lost all of his life, and never went to a church, he was an alcoholic for most of his life and got a lot into science and atheism, but he later realized that it was impossible that there is no god. one night he prayed for help, and the next night we came looking for his daughter arumi, and she didnt show, so we taught him. from that night, he hasnt gotten drunk, and has improved his family relationships, which were pretty bad before, at the point of divorce. elder wilding did the ordinance, and did it perfectly. also camilo, one of my converts from elder cardenas, got the melchizedek priesthood on sunday! so awesome, he only has 2 months of member, and has blessed the sacrament every week, read and prayed, and never misses a class of institute!
well sadly thats about it that is going on for the good. the work is still struggling a little to find new investigators, but we decided its really time to focus on the members to receive references. we havent received one in two weeks, and for that, we are really struggling to keep finding. but we keep trucking along. manuel is probably going to have to be dropped this week if he doesnt come to church next week, because he just feels that he hasnt felt anything yet. he is still looking for a ´sign´ i really wanted to planch him with one of the bible scriptures from the new testament when christ says oh ye wicked and perverse generation that seek after a sign when we have already received it, but im not sure if that would push him towards baptism... haha but luckily we are going to baptize again this week a family of three! arturo, rosy, and arturo. they are so great, and arturo is the reason. he was never raised in a religion or in god, but when he met his wife, she introduced him to christianism with the christians, but he didnt like it, and said that some day he would find the right church for him. we came by, and ever since that first day, he has been excited and going to church, reading, praying, and acting on faith to keep the commandments. they have a date for sunday in the morning before church. please pray for them!!!!!!!
that is really all that is going on, just that it is actually getting cold now. every night nad morning is pretty cold, and during the day is still alittle warm, and i still sweat. sadly i keep gaining little by little in weight. i am really going to have to go on a diet or something..... me and elder wilding are still doing good, just a few little attitude problems, but its just because we do things differently. all is well, and thank you all for all youre doing for me! love you all and i ask for your prayers and that you have a super wonderful holiday! ill see a few of you on saturday!
elder facer
mom, if you could please tell the primary from our ward how grateful i am for their letters. as i read every single letter, i cried, then i cried some more, and some more!! geez, im still not sure why i was crying, but i think it was because i might have the opportunity to be a good example for all those little growing kids. even just some of the simplest, and sloppiest letters were the most touching ´thank you´. i didnt realize what my work was doing, until i got those letters yesterday night. please tell them that i also say thank you from the bottom of my heart for those sweet, sincere letters that they were probably forced to write. i really do love each and every one of them and am so grateful for their support.
well this last week, we also baptized again, it was our good friend mario. he is such a stud and was so happy to finally receive his baptism and forgiveness from his sins. he really understood the importance of baptism, and has already helped us teach his daughter arumi. he always reads, and is super strong. he just lacks a little confidence in the ward, and still hasnt stayed all three hours, but knows that it is the right church. he was pretty lost all of his life, and never went to a church, he was an alcoholic for most of his life and got a lot into science and atheism, but he later realized that it was impossible that there is no god. one night he prayed for help, and the next night we came looking for his daughter arumi, and she didnt show, so we taught him. from that night, he hasnt gotten drunk, and has improved his family relationships, which were pretty bad before, at the point of divorce. elder wilding did the ordinance, and did it perfectly. also camilo, one of my converts from elder cardenas, got the melchizedek priesthood on sunday! so awesome, he only has 2 months of member, and has blessed the sacrament every week, read and prayed, and never misses a class of institute!
well sadly thats about it that is going on for the good. the work is still struggling a little to find new investigators, but we decided its really time to focus on the members to receive references. we havent received one in two weeks, and for that, we are really struggling to keep finding. but we keep trucking along. manuel is probably going to have to be dropped this week if he doesnt come to church next week, because he just feels that he hasnt felt anything yet. he is still looking for a ´sign´ i really wanted to planch him with one of the bible scriptures from the new testament when christ says oh ye wicked and perverse generation that seek after a sign when we have already received it, but im not sure if that would push him towards baptism... haha but luckily we are going to baptize again this week a family of three! arturo, rosy, and arturo. they are so great, and arturo is the reason. he was never raised in a religion or in god, but when he met his wife, she introduced him to christianism with the christians, but he didnt like it, and said that some day he would find the right church for him. we came by, and ever since that first day, he has been excited and going to church, reading, praying, and acting on faith to keep the commandments. they have a date for sunday in the morning before church. please pray for them!!!!!!!
that is really all that is going on, just that it is actually getting cold now. every night nad morning is pretty cold, and during the day is still alittle warm, and i still sweat. sadly i keep gaining little by little in weight. i am really going to have to go on a diet or something..... me and elder wilding are still doing good, just a few little attitude problems, but its just because we do things differently. all is well, and thank you all for all youre doing for me! love you all and i ask for your prayers and that you have a super wonderful holiday! ill see a few of you on saturday!
elder facer
Monday, December 13, 2010
Working Out in Different Ways
We finally baptized!!!!! alfredo pulled through for us this week, with shockingly only one lesson.... we talked to him about acting on faith, and beleiving-not knowing. i dont know why, but many mexicans have a hard time realizing the difference between the two. but we talked to him, and helped him realize that he has already received an answer. he told us right then and there that he was going to do it. i was the lucky one to perform both the ordinances: baptism, and confirmation. it went really well, just that it took forever for the service to get started, but it went well. he and is girlfriend betty, who is a super solid member who has given us three references and all three have gotten baptized, they were both way happy after the service. i talked with him for a little in the bathroom, and told him to go home and write in his journal or on a piece of paper how he felt, how he feels, and what this means to him. betty told me that he was really excited to do it, but that he hadnt really expressed his inner feelings about the ordinances yet. he is a little bit closed, but still a great friend. he speaks english very well, and we talk at times for practice.
this week has been good, but just not a whole lot has happened..... we did better on our lessons, but that is about it. our other two possibilities that we had for this week will have to wait for at least this next week, or even farther..... katia is great, and is also excited to get baptized, but she headed down to tierra colorada to be with her son this weekend and her dad before he tries to get to the united states. its kinda funny how open people are here about being illegal in the US and how many times they go and get caught and sent back, but still try agian with the punishments wide open.... we get alot of people asking us if we can help them get across, or a cheaper visa, and its really annoying. but anyways, katia is great and she will hopefully be able to return from tierra colorada next wednesday and work for her baptism next friday or saturday. we did talk to manuel, and he still doesnt feel like he has an answer, so we will try to help him realize what he has and go back through all the teaching with him, about if he doesnt act soon, we may have to drop him until he does act..... i hope it comes soon.
on the 22 of this month, we are having an activity for christmas our church with three wards. it is going to be really good, and i think it will have a good turn out, of members and investigators. speaking of investigators attending the activity, we have a great family progressing, but sadly very slowly. it is arturo, rosy, and their son arturo. also they have three other kids, but two are under age, and the oldest girl, but she doesnt live with them. they are all so great and love us, and the church, but after three weeks, we have only taught them three times and one was a great family home evening that we had on obedience for them. they were really sad to hear that it was possible that one of us left this past weekend, but thankfully we both are still here. elder arevalo, my old district leader, left for the offices today, and will go home on wedensday. its really sad to watch close friends, or companions leave, but the work keeps moving on. so me and elder wilding will have at least one change together, but i think that is all we will have.
also one more investigator is mario. he is so great, and is super excited for his baptism this week, he has been ready for about a week, but wanted to wait it out a little longer, but is ready to do it this week. we are also hoping his daughter and her husband will be willing to do it with him, they are almost all ready also, and we are hoping after his baptism, his stubborn catholic wife blanca will change with him. he is praying for that like crazy as well as reading everyday and praying. what a stud!
well the weather is still about the same, but in the morning and night, it is pretty cold. the breeze we get every day is a little chilly, but it feels good when we are sweating. me and elder wilding are happy to be together for another change, and will continue to progress in all ways. we are happy and still ready to work. by the way, we did a service project as a zone this last friday, we cleaned a park for a mothers and children hospital for 7 hours. mostly for lack of equipment it took so long, but also a lot of lazy mexicans. haha i got a little burnt but not too bad, and it was a good experience. the only problem was that my body still hurts a little bit. i havent been working out as hard as i used to.... but its all good
if you all could keep in your prayers manuel, katia, mario, crisanto, arumi, blanca, arturo, arturo, and rosy, it would be really great. or at least a few names each. haha thanks a ton for all your love and support, it is really great to know that i have a good family and friends who are always there to help in my times of need. love you all tons and we will talk next week!
elder facer
this week has been good, but just not a whole lot has happened..... we did better on our lessons, but that is about it. our other two possibilities that we had for this week will have to wait for at least this next week, or even farther..... katia is great, and is also excited to get baptized, but she headed down to tierra colorada to be with her son this weekend and her dad before he tries to get to the united states. its kinda funny how open people are here about being illegal in the US and how many times they go and get caught and sent back, but still try agian with the punishments wide open.... we get alot of people asking us if we can help them get across, or a cheaper visa, and its really annoying. but anyways, katia is great and she will hopefully be able to return from tierra colorada next wednesday and work for her baptism next friday or saturday. we did talk to manuel, and he still doesnt feel like he has an answer, so we will try to help him realize what he has and go back through all the teaching with him, about if he doesnt act soon, we may have to drop him until he does act..... i hope it comes soon.
on the 22 of this month, we are having an activity for christmas our church with three wards. it is going to be really good, and i think it will have a good turn out, of members and investigators. speaking of investigators attending the activity, we have a great family progressing, but sadly very slowly. it is arturo, rosy, and their son arturo. also they have three other kids, but two are under age, and the oldest girl, but she doesnt live with them. they are all so great and love us, and the church, but after three weeks, we have only taught them three times and one was a great family home evening that we had on obedience for them. they were really sad to hear that it was possible that one of us left this past weekend, but thankfully we both are still here. elder arevalo, my old district leader, left for the offices today, and will go home on wedensday. its really sad to watch close friends, or companions leave, but the work keeps moving on. so me and elder wilding will have at least one change together, but i think that is all we will have.
also one more investigator is mario. he is so great, and is super excited for his baptism this week, he has been ready for about a week, but wanted to wait it out a little longer, but is ready to do it this week. we are also hoping his daughter and her husband will be willing to do it with him, they are almost all ready also, and we are hoping after his baptism, his stubborn catholic wife blanca will change with him. he is praying for that like crazy as well as reading everyday and praying. what a stud!
well the weather is still about the same, but in the morning and night, it is pretty cold. the breeze we get every day is a little chilly, but it feels good when we are sweating. me and elder wilding are happy to be together for another change, and will continue to progress in all ways. we are happy and still ready to work. by the way, we did a service project as a zone this last friday, we cleaned a park for a mothers and children hospital for 7 hours. mostly for lack of equipment it took so long, but also a lot of lazy mexicans. haha i got a little burnt but not too bad, and it was a good experience. the only problem was that my body still hurts a little bit. i havent been working out as hard as i used to.... but its all good
if you all could keep in your prayers manuel, katia, mario, crisanto, arumi, blanca, arturo, arturo, and rosy, it would be really great. or at least a few names each. haha thanks a ton for all your love and support, it is really great to know that i have a good family and friends who are always there to help in my times of need. love you all tons and we will talk next week!
elder facer
Sunday, December 12, 2010
the miracle plant from david and estela.......
some of my good friends of the zone. elder arevalo is one of my best friends. he is on the top in the middle with glasses.
la mordida! whenevery there is a birthday or celebration with cake, they make the celebrater take a bite, like a wedding, and usually there is someone to push your face in the cake.
zona chilpancingo as of right now.
mario, ward mission leader and convert of cardenas, and on the right is camilo, my convert
camilo and angel, convert of elder cardenas. his dad is pablo, our convert
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Don't Get Discouraged!!
i think we will plan to talk around 11 am my time on Christmas morning, so that should be 10 your time if i am correct. ps; the zone leaders said i got two or three packages, so they arrived on time. thank you! i will get them tonight.
another week down without baptisms..... both alfredo and manuel didnt have as firm of a testimony on joseph smith as they had expressed to us, and had more doubts, but they said they will do all that is possible to find an answer and get baptized. they both want it, but it just hasnt happened yet. the good thing is that i think i am learning how to not get discouraged: trusting in god! how simple, no? but sadly it has been hard in the past. i think i have really learned to always stay positive, and accept whatever trials the lord sends our way. it is really hard, but after having these 6 weeks of not baptizing, i have started to realize the benefit of the trial. i just really hope that we baptize this week, so i can keep my streak going of never whiting out in a change. but what will come is in the lords hands. we did really good this week on our dats, and im not really sure if its anything we really did. it just worked out, but i think because of these dats we will get really good results out of them.
i also went on changes with my district leader: elder arevalo. he is really one of my greatest examples right now. he is a fun, hard workin guy who really knows how to teach. he learned a lot from some of the greatest missionaries in this mission. he came and really helped me learn what i was lacking in teaching, as well as being bold with people. i thought i was bold before, but he showed me a whole new level! we challenged a lot of people, found few, but also had very many lessons with members present. as well as taught many members a lesson to strengthen their testimony on what we are doing, and to help them realize their part in the missionary work. i was very impressed with this week, as well as i wasnt as near as tired as other weeks, because we did more teaching, and much less walking. elder arevalo taught me a ton in just those two days, but sadly he is leaving the 12 of december. i will really miss him, but he may be my way of getting good new shoes, because in mexico, every thing is super cheap! here is probably the most expensive you will find. except for ties! i can get a tie for 40 pesos, or 4 dollars!!!! and they are good sturdy ties. if anyone is needing ties for mission prep, or which ever reason, i can get it in about any color or design here. so let me know!!! haha. but any ways, today at soccer, i slipped twice and really tore up my legs, i miss playing at timpanogos indoor and getting torn up, but the only reason was because i dont have any grip on my shoes.... so e. arevalo might be able to help me get some good, cheap shoes.
we are doing good, and have 9 people with a baptismal date within this month, but lets see how it works out. in november we had 10 and all of them fell, so lets see how the lord will work with us this month..... i have decided to change the way i teach and plan after being with elder arevalo. he taught me to teach by the scriptures and to what end. also that i need to plan out my own lesson plan with specific scriptures to answer doubts and teach the principles. today, i will go and buy the notebook to start. also how much easier it is for mexicans to learn with an object lesson.......... i felt like i was teaching a class of 8 yr olds, but they really started to understand, and they all accepted a date. so i have started to make my own object lessons for the restoration, and the plan of salvation. hopefully it works as good for me as it did for him.
i have almost finished the book of mormon in spanish, i am in ether 2 right now, and i will finish by the end of this week i bet. i have really found many great scriptures in this time going through in a different language. you really do come across new things every time. especially how much i now love the writings of mormon in the book of mormon. chapter 7 is short but very powerful, and also i really liked ch. 9. both talking about the importance of christ, and how we are able to see and recieve miracles. it is only by faith. maybe its not that profound to you all, but it was important to me. haha. if we trust in god to do what ever he asks, he works miracles. trust is the key. or in other words faith.
lys, you made me laugh when you said that you and el bebito were the center of attention in peru, because just this last week, i was also the center of attention. we were contacting a lady and she went to get her husband to set an appointment, and we were waiting when three of her teenage daughters came out and were completely gawking over me.... they were staring in my eyes and trying to flirt and wanted to take a picture, but i just felt wierd. maybe it was because i didnt have el bebito to take the attention away from me... maybe next time. haha i was happy to hear from a lot of people this week, and i hope all is well for everyone. thank you for your support and love and letters. it really means alot to me, because im not going to lie: the mission is hard! i have never struggled like this in my entire life, but i have also never learned so many important lessons. like the christ like attributes, scripture study, love everyone, discipline, diligence, etc. there are a lot of things i have learned, but i now think the most important thing i have started to catch on to is dont get discouraged! trust in the lord, work hard, and keep the commandments. the commandments seem simple, but review them and your covenants. find at least one thing you can change or make better in your life to keep your covenants sacred and important to you. the lord will bless you tons.! i know thats a true principle, because i have seen it happen many times here. love you all, and i will try to take more pics of whatever i can this week for you. if you have questions please ask me, especially about talking on christmas. cuidense muchisimo.
elder facer
another week down without baptisms..... both alfredo and manuel didnt have as firm of a testimony on joseph smith as they had expressed to us, and had more doubts, but they said they will do all that is possible to find an answer and get baptized. they both want it, but it just hasnt happened yet. the good thing is that i think i am learning how to not get discouraged: trusting in god! how simple, no? but sadly it has been hard in the past. i think i have really learned to always stay positive, and accept whatever trials the lord sends our way. it is really hard, but after having these 6 weeks of not baptizing, i have started to realize the benefit of the trial. i just really hope that we baptize this week, so i can keep my streak going of never whiting out in a change. but what will come is in the lords hands. we did really good this week on our dats, and im not really sure if its anything we really did. it just worked out, but i think because of these dats we will get really good results out of them.
i also went on changes with my district leader: elder arevalo. he is really one of my greatest examples right now. he is a fun, hard workin guy who really knows how to teach. he learned a lot from some of the greatest missionaries in this mission. he came and really helped me learn what i was lacking in teaching, as well as being bold with people. i thought i was bold before, but he showed me a whole new level! we challenged a lot of people, found few, but also had very many lessons with members present. as well as taught many members a lesson to strengthen their testimony on what we are doing, and to help them realize their part in the missionary work. i was very impressed with this week, as well as i wasnt as near as tired as other weeks, because we did more teaching, and much less walking. elder arevalo taught me a ton in just those two days, but sadly he is leaving the 12 of december. i will really miss him, but he may be my way of getting good new shoes, because in mexico, every thing is super cheap! here is probably the most expensive you will find. except for ties! i can get a tie for 40 pesos, or 4 dollars!!!! and they are good sturdy ties. if anyone is needing ties for mission prep, or which ever reason, i can get it in about any color or design here. so let me know!!! haha. but any ways, today at soccer, i slipped twice and really tore up my legs, i miss playing at timpanogos indoor and getting torn up, but the only reason was because i dont have any grip on my shoes.... so e. arevalo might be able to help me get some good, cheap shoes.
we are doing good, and have 9 people with a baptismal date within this month, but lets see how it works out. in november we had 10 and all of them fell, so lets see how the lord will work with us this month..... i have decided to change the way i teach and plan after being with elder arevalo. he taught me to teach by the scriptures and to what end. also that i need to plan out my own lesson plan with specific scriptures to answer doubts and teach the principles. today, i will go and buy the notebook to start. also how much easier it is for mexicans to learn with an object lesson.......... i felt like i was teaching a class of 8 yr olds, but they really started to understand, and they all accepted a date. so i have started to make my own object lessons for the restoration, and the plan of salvation. hopefully it works as good for me as it did for him.
i have almost finished the book of mormon in spanish, i am in ether 2 right now, and i will finish by the end of this week i bet. i have really found many great scriptures in this time going through in a different language. you really do come across new things every time. especially how much i now love the writings of mormon in the book of mormon. chapter 7 is short but very powerful, and also i really liked ch. 9. both talking about the importance of christ, and how we are able to see and recieve miracles. it is only by faith. maybe its not that profound to you all, but it was important to me. haha. if we trust in god to do what ever he asks, he works miracles. trust is the key. or in other words faith.
lys, you made me laugh when you said that you and el bebito were the center of attention in peru, because just this last week, i was also the center of attention. we were contacting a lady and she went to get her husband to set an appointment, and we were waiting when three of her teenage daughters came out and were completely gawking over me.... they were staring in my eyes and trying to flirt and wanted to take a picture, but i just felt wierd. maybe it was because i didnt have el bebito to take the attention away from me... maybe next time. haha i was happy to hear from a lot of people this week, and i hope all is well for everyone. thank you for your support and love and letters. it really means alot to me, because im not going to lie: the mission is hard! i have never struggled like this in my entire life, but i have also never learned so many important lessons. like the christ like attributes, scripture study, love everyone, discipline, diligence, etc. there are a lot of things i have learned, but i now think the most important thing i have started to catch on to is dont get discouraged! trust in the lord, work hard, and keep the commandments. the commandments seem simple, but review them and your covenants. find at least one thing you can change or make better in your life to keep your covenants sacred and important to you. the lord will bless you tons.! i know thats a true principle, because i have seen it happen many times here. love you all, and i will try to take more pics of whatever i can this week for you. if you have questions please ask me, especially about talking on christmas. cuidense muchisimo.
elder facer
Monday, November 29, 2010
Lessons learned from cold showers
mom, thank you so much for your words in this last letter. they were actually very helpful with all that you said. i am very very grateful to have such a wonderful mom who loves and cares for me like you do. your words, although you probably didnt know it, were very inspiring, and i feel are going to help a lot. thanks for working by revelation. also, for christmas, we will plan to talk by webcam over msn messenger i think, i am still working it out, but i think that will be how we do it. i will write next week with more info.
i was pretty sad to hear how little snow you got, but elder wilding's sister in taylorsville sent a pic and it was pretty white! man i really miss the snow right now, because the sun is still just beating on us every day. i was thinking, what would it be like in acapulco in may or june?........ i may have to refuse the change if i go at that time... haha jk. im glad to hear that thanksgiving went well for all of you, but i was also sad that i didnt get anything for thanksgiving dinner. we have a guy in our ward who is from Oregon, and his wife is mexican. he barely speaks spanish, and she speaks the both pretty good. he is an advanced english teacher in a school, so everyone does speak english. we teach him spanish once a week, but the rest is his practicing. he organized a thanksgiving dinner in his school for all the advanced english students, because many have been to the US, and wanted to show their family what it is. he invited us, but there was beer there, so we decided it was best that we weren't in that scene... so we ended up eating pozole that night. its kinda like a corn soup, but its actually really good. the only bad thing is that you get sick of it pretty quick. they eat it every thursday. food is still good, and i still get to try new things once in a while. a lady invited us to eat bistek, steak, with her for this coming wednesday, but the steak here just isnt the same..... especially not how dad does it.
we are still doing well, and healthy. the only bad thing is that we have been out of water for three weeks, so we bathe by buckets of ice cold water in the morning, which probably isnt that good for you either, but we survive. they are doing construction on the street, and on pipes i think, so it doesnt get to us at the top of the mountain.... but at least we get showers. the guy from oregon, shawn, rarely has water in his house, and says he can only bathe himself three times a week.. but luckily just moved houses.
sadly not a lot is happening in the work, but i will try to see more blessings, even the little ones, and give thanks for them. it has been a good experience to suffer a little, because it makes you look for any little thing that comes. we did find some new great investigators, and also on thursday, we went on divisions and i went with Elder Ramon, zone leader and my uncle, elder snyders brother of the mission. elder ramon started his mission in this area, and remebered quite a few of the people he taught that didnt get baptized, so we returned to their houses and got in a few doors, and set some more appointments. that was a good help and a very fun experience. later in the week, we challenged alfredo. he is one of my good friends, who is dating a girl in our ward who is super great. he is pentecostal, and is super strong in his church, and knows a ton about the bible. we are helping him understand that the only way he can know for sure what church has the authority of God is through prayer and trying God on giving him an answer. so please help him by praying for him to receive an answer. he is reading in the book of mormon, on his own time, and also praying and has been to our church maybe 10 times or more. also he attended stake and general conference. please pray for him and manuel to be baptized this week. they both are being prepared, and have a date for this week, but we need miracles.
this last weekend, the ward had a young men-womens temple day, and one of my converts and three from cardenas went and had an incredible time, i will send a few pictures.
im sorry that i dont have a ton of time to write today, but i do love you all and am grateful for your updates and support. thank you and please keep doing your part in the missionary work, and to keep covenants. thanks for your help and love.
elder facer
i was pretty sad to hear how little snow you got, but elder wilding's sister in taylorsville sent a pic and it was pretty white! man i really miss the snow right now, because the sun is still just beating on us every day. i was thinking, what would it be like in acapulco in may or june?........ i may have to refuse the change if i go at that time... haha jk. im glad to hear that thanksgiving went well for all of you, but i was also sad that i didnt get anything for thanksgiving dinner. we have a guy in our ward who is from Oregon, and his wife is mexican. he barely speaks spanish, and she speaks the both pretty good. he is an advanced english teacher in a school, so everyone does speak english. we teach him spanish once a week, but the rest is his practicing. he organized a thanksgiving dinner in his school for all the advanced english students, because many have been to the US, and wanted to show their family what it is. he invited us, but there was beer there, so we decided it was best that we weren't in that scene... so we ended up eating pozole that night. its kinda like a corn soup, but its actually really good. the only bad thing is that you get sick of it pretty quick. they eat it every thursday. food is still good, and i still get to try new things once in a while. a lady invited us to eat bistek, steak, with her for this coming wednesday, but the steak here just isnt the same..... especially not how dad does it.
we are still doing well, and healthy. the only bad thing is that we have been out of water for three weeks, so we bathe by buckets of ice cold water in the morning, which probably isnt that good for you either, but we survive. they are doing construction on the street, and on pipes i think, so it doesnt get to us at the top of the mountain.... but at least we get showers. the guy from oregon, shawn, rarely has water in his house, and says he can only bathe himself three times a week.. but luckily just moved houses.
sadly not a lot is happening in the work, but i will try to see more blessings, even the little ones, and give thanks for them. it has been a good experience to suffer a little, because it makes you look for any little thing that comes. we did find some new great investigators, and also on thursday, we went on divisions and i went with Elder Ramon, zone leader and my uncle, elder snyders brother of the mission. elder ramon started his mission in this area, and remebered quite a few of the people he taught that didnt get baptized, so we returned to their houses and got in a few doors, and set some more appointments. that was a good help and a very fun experience. later in the week, we challenged alfredo. he is one of my good friends, who is dating a girl in our ward who is super great. he is pentecostal, and is super strong in his church, and knows a ton about the bible. we are helping him understand that the only way he can know for sure what church has the authority of God is through prayer and trying God on giving him an answer. so please help him by praying for him to receive an answer. he is reading in the book of mormon, on his own time, and also praying and has been to our church maybe 10 times or more. also he attended stake and general conference. please pray for him and manuel to be baptized this week. they both are being prepared, and have a date for this week, but we need miracles.
this last weekend, the ward had a young men-womens temple day, and one of my converts and three from cardenas went and had an incredible time, i will send a few pictures.
im sorry that i dont have a ton of time to write today, but i do love you all and am grateful for your updates and support. thank you and please keep doing your part in the missionary work, and to keep covenants. thanks for your help and love.
elder facer
Monday, November 22, 2010
Looking for miracles...
well first off, im a little disappointed that i didnt get a letter from mom, and no one has told me why... i still love you, but i was sad.... HAPPY UNCELEBRATED BIRTHDAY TOMORROW MOM! i love you so much, and am sad that i cant be there.. but know that you have my prayers and a birthday wish from me!
sadly another week has passed and still no baptisms... this is the fourth week we havent baptized, and i feel really bad that it looks like i dont know how to work to elder wilding. hopefully he doesnt think that. we have tried to change up our attack plan, or strategy, but we still arent seeing results. this is probably the hardest challenge i have had in the mission so far, and it seems like it has no end. at times it really is hard to think and trust in god that its in his time that he works. but god doesnt really work with time like we do, so who knows when this will change. we keep working, but it has been hard to keep the faith (bon jovi!) jaja jk. it really makes you notice every blessing you are given and give thanks immediatly.
we have started to find a lot more investigators, but a lot you can see right away that they probably wont progress, and then we keep the chosen ones! we found one this week named mario. he is the father of arumi, another investigator, who really wants to quit smoking, and asked us what he needed to do. he said that he has seen some good changes in arumi, and believes that this is the right way of god. he went to church yesterday, and really enjoyed the primary program and wants to buy a triple so he can study all the scriptures! way cool. by the way, the primary program in mexico is a lot worse in singing than in our ward...... but it was cute, they tried really hard, and brought the spirit. we actually got a good number of miracles in church, like unexpected investigators, people that havent gone in a while, and people we havent talked to all week! we are definately receiving blessings, but just little by little, and not the ones we are thinking about receiving. but the good thing is that we are just going on forward and trying hard. that is all he can ask from us, and i think in time it will pay off. we have been thinking a lot about still changing our tactics, but i think we will stay with what we have right now, and try it out a little longer.
this morning we actually cleaned the house and mopped everything. speaking of that, i miss carpet so much............ and also snow. lys and betsy told me there was a lot of snow, and i really started to miss it. i dont think i will ever get snow in my mission. maybe in the northern states of mexico, but not here. it hasnt rained since september, and has stayed pretty consistent since. we are always in sun, and there is shockingly a lot of wind for here, but it feels nice. sadly there is a ton of dust, and it just kicks it all up in our face and clothes. we dont sweat too much, but it is still there, i cant wait for the time when i wont even sweat anymore. speaking of that, i can now eat a serano pepper with out flinching or sweating etc. it really almost is nothing anymore. i hope to bring home some chile called chile de arbol. it is probably one of the hottest in the world. i like to eat it and suffer, but wow does it burn!!! also almost every wednesday we eat with this recnt convert family, and they love chile. at times she gives us habanero, which is the hottest, and i really almost cant handle it, but it is so flavorful and really makes the food good in my opinion. si no es picoso, no es sabroso. voy a extrañar esta comida un buen! i think from eating a lot of chile, i have dropped in weight a little from sweating so much, and also eating less. right now in my exercise, i am working on flexibility, which is hard, but worth it.
me and elder wilding are doing good, but we are just good at finding each others buttons and laying hard on them...... luckily we work everything out pretty quick, and it never gets in between us. we are good to talk about things and share our opinions and be open minded, so we work well together. just that we both have different ways to work. well we are planning for two baptisms this week, which will be miracles.... yelitza and fernanda. we will see with them both tomorrow, hopefully. i really want everything to work out, and that we dont whiteout on a month, or a change...... i know its all in gods hands, but i dont want that, especially because it really is possible to baptize every week here. i ask for your prayers and support during this next week, because our work load is still heavy, and we have a lot to do. i pray for you all who read this( and those who dont also) i love you all and am grateful for your support and love to keep me out here. i really appreciate it and need it. i hope you are all doin what the lord wants and trying firstly to please him. if god is happy everyone is happy. jaja. i love you all, but sadly have to go. stay strong!
su hermanito, hijito, amigito, elderito facer
sadly another week has passed and still no baptisms... this is the fourth week we havent baptized, and i feel really bad that it looks like i dont know how to work to elder wilding. hopefully he doesnt think that. we have tried to change up our attack plan, or strategy, but we still arent seeing results. this is probably the hardest challenge i have had in the mission so far, and it seems like it has no end. at times it really is hard to think and trust in god that its in his time that he works. but god doesnt really work with time like we do, so who knows when this will change. we keep working, but it has been hard to keep the faith (bon jovi!) jaja jk. it really makes you notice every blessing you are given and give thanks immediatly.
we have started to find a lot more investigators, but a lot you can see right away that they probably wont progress, and then we keep the chosen ones! we found one this week named mario. he is the father of arumi, another investigator, who really wants to quit smoking, and asked us what he needed to do. he said that he has seen some good changes in arumi, and believes that this is the right way of god. he went to church yesterday, and really enjoyed the primary program and wants to buy a triple so he can study all the scriptures! way cool. by the way, the primary program in mexico is a lot worse in singing than in our ward...... but it was cute, they tried really hard, and brought the spirit. we actually got a good number of miracles in church, like unexpected investigators, people that havent gone in a while, and people we havent talked to all week! we are definately receiving blessings, but just little by little, and not the ones we are thinking about receiving. but the good thing is that we are just going on forward and trying hard. that is all he can ask from us, and i think in time it will pay off. we have been thinking a lot about still changing our tactics, but i think we will stay with what we have right now, and try it out a little longer.
this morning we actually cleaned the house and mopped everything. speaking of that, i miss carpet so much............ and also snow. lys and betsy told me there was a lot of snow, and i really started to miss it. i dont think i will ever get snow in my mission. maybe in the northern states of mexico, but not here. it hasnt rained since september, and has stayed pretty consistent since. we are always in sun, and there is shockingly a lot of wind for here, but it feels nice. sadly there is a ton of dust, and it just kicks it all up in our face and clothes. we dont sweat too much, but it is still there, i cant wait for the time when i wont even sweat anymore. speaking of that, i can now eat a serano pepper with out flinching or sweating etc. it really almost is nothing anymore. i hope to bring home some chile called chile de arbol. it is probably one of the hottest in the world. i like to eat it and suffer, but wow does it burn!!! also almost every wednesday we eat with this recnt convert family, and they love chile. at times she gives us habanero, which is the hottest, and i really almost cant handle it, but it is so flavorful and really makes the food good in my opinion. si no es picoso, no es sabroso. voy a extrañar esta comida un buen! i think from eating a lot of chile, i have dropped in weight a little from sweating so much, and also eating less. right now in my exercise, i am working on flexibility, which is hard, but worth it.
me and elder wilding are doing good, but we are just good at finding each others buttons and laying hard on them...... luckily we work everything out pretty quick, and it never gets in between us. we are good to talk about things and share our opinions and be open minded, so we work well together. just that we both have different ways to work. well we are planning for two baptisms this week, which will be miracles.... yelitza and fernanda. we will see with them both tomorrow, hopefully. i really want everything to work out, and that we dont whiteout on a month, or a change...... i know its all in gods hands, but i dont want that, especially because it really is possible to baptize every week here. i ask for your prayers and support during this next week, because our work load is still heavy, and we have a lot to do. i pray for you all who read this( and those who dont also) i love you all and am grateful for your support and love to keep me out here. i really appreciate it and need it. i hope you are all doin what the lord wants and trying firstly to please him. if god is happy everyone is happy. jaja. i love you all, but sadly have to go. stay strong!
su hermanito, hijito, amigito, elderito facer
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Positive Attitude--Always
thank you all for your letters this week, and jeff, i am so proud of you and so excited. i know you will be an excellent missionary in the eastern states. it may be a different area than mexico, but it definitely is the same work of the lord. Mosiah 4:11 remember your nothingness and trust in God completely.
well i have some bad news. well really its not bad, just rough. (im trying to be more positive....) our three baptisms for saturday fell through on monday night. when we went to talk for a little bit, they said they didnt feel like they needed to be baptized again. after receiving that marvelous miracle from Heavenly Father, they misinterpreted it, and flipped it around.............. we were so bummed, but i tried to remember the most important thing elder snyder taught me. positive attitude always. for that, i tell jeff to just trust in the lord and keep moving forward. it is really the hardest lesson to learn, but that is probably the biggest trial i have had on the mission--discouragement. we have been working really hard this week to help them realize their answer, and not to challenge god to give them another, but they just wouldnt accept it without something to clarify it.... but its gods work, and we just need to keep working and looking for the people who are ready. we tried to find more people to teach this week, and about everyone we found didnt show up for the next appointment, and we couldnt contact them.... also yelitza, who will be baptized this week, is really worried about what her family will say, and her boyfriend from the coast. she right now is living with her aunt because its close to her college. we are going with her tonight to see what will happen. well in short, 5 of our 8 investigators that had a baptismal date decided they didnt want to work for it, and we couldnt find them to teach them. they just didnt want it enough.... we are really being tested by the lord, but i think if we can pull through it with a positive attitude, trusting in the Lord, we will be blessed greatly, whether in baptisms, or in experience, i dont know, but we will just keep waiting.
yesterday, we had such a good general stake conference. elder christensen of the seventy directed it in spanish, and sister esplin of the primary presidency also talked. by the way, it was transmitted from slc to 67 stakes and 2 districts in mexico. also elder bednar and president eyring spoke and had a translator on their side. elder bednar talked on receiving revelation, and that every person is able to receive it, but it can come in many different ways related to light. first of all, immediatley like a light switch in a dark room, second, line upon line like the sun rising in the morning, third, a cloudy day, but we still know its there, we may not realize we are receiving revelation, but we are still walking in the light. very very good. then president eyring talked alot about heritage. how we claim our heritage from heavenly father, and also all the other heritages from our ancestors. he mentioned that his dad was born in mexico city, and that is where his grandpa was mission president. he said by this opportunity to relate to the mexican people, he was fullfilling his heritage, also that he had the same name as his grandpa. i thought about that a ton, especially because i have received the wonderful privilage to the name brigham. the example that brigham mitchell set, that you all know, was very powerful, and i need to claim that heritage from him and follow in his footsteps. i was very inspired during conference, but sadly we only got about 2 investigators in church.
we have been working really hard, and hopefully the work will pay off soon.... thank you all for your prayers, and if you could still continue praying for napoleon, yelitza, crisanto, arumi, fernanda, and galvino it would be very appreciated. we need all the help we can get to complete our goal of 4 for the month of november
well, it is staying pretty cold for me here, i am sleeping in sweats, and a big blanket, i am very happy here, and hope that i can stay here for at least another change. it ends the 12 of december, and i think interviews are the week after. thank you all for your support, and i am so pleased to hear that all is well. please take care, and prepare for missions!!!!!!!
with much love
elder facer
well i have some bad news. well really its not bad, just rough. (im trying to be more positive....) our three baptisms for saturday fell through on monday night. when we went to talk for a little bit, they said they didnt feel like they needed to be baptized again. after receiving that marvelous miracle from Heavenly Father, they misinterpreted it, and flipped it around.............. we were so bummed, but i tried to remember the most important thing elder snyder taught me. positive attitude always. for that, i tell jeff to just trust in the lord and keep moving forward. it is really the hardest lesson to learn, but that is probably the biggest trial i have had on the mission--discouragement. we have been working really hard this week to help them realize their answer, and not to challenge god to give them another, but they just wouldnt accept it without something to clarify it.... but its gods work, and we just need to keep working and looking for the people who are ready. we tried to find more people to teach this week, and about everyone we found didnt show up for the next appointment, and we couldnt contact them.... also yelitza, who will be baptized this week, is really worried about what her family will say, and her boyfriend from the coast. she right now is living with her aunt because its close to her college. we are going with her tonight to see what will happen. well in short, 5 of our 8 investigators that had a baptismal date decided they didnt want to work for it, and we couldnt find them to teach them. they just didnt want it enough.... we are really being tested by the lord, but i think if we can pull through it with a positive attitude, trusting in the Lord, we will be blessed greatly, whether in baptisms, or in experience, i dont know, but we will just keep waiting.
yesterday, we had such a good general stake conference. elder christensen of the seventy directed it in spanish, and sister esplin of the primary presidency also talked. by the way, it was transmitted from slc to 67 stakes and 2 districts in mexico. also elder bednar and president eyring spoke and had a translator on their side. elder bednar talked on receiving revelation, and that every person is able to receive it, but it can come in many different ways related to light. first of all, immediatley like a light switch in a dark room, second, line upon line like the sun rising in the morning, third, a cloudy day, but we still know its there, we may not realize we are receiving revelation, but we are still walking in the light. very very good. then president eyring talked alot about heritage. how we claim our heritage from heavenly father, and also all the other heritages from our ancestors. he mentioned that his dad was born in mexico city, and that is where his grandpa was mission president. he said by this opportunity to relate to the mexican people, he was fullfilling his heritage, also that he had the same name as his grandpa. i thought about that a ton, especially because i have received the wonderful privilage to the name brigham. the example that brigham mitchell set, that you all know, was very powerful, and i need to claim that heritage from him and follow in his footsteps. i was very inspired during conference, but sadly we only got about 2 investigators in church.
we have been working really hard, and hopefully the work will pay off soon.... thank you all for your prayers, and if you could still continue praying for napoleon, yelitza, crisanto, arumi, fernanda, and galvino it would be very appreciated. we need all the help we can get to complete our goal of 4 for the month of november
well, it is staying pretty cold for me here, i am sleeping in sweats, and a big blanket, i am very happy here, and hope that i can stay here for at least another change. it ends the 12 of december, and i think interviews are the week after. thank you all for your support, and i am so pleased to hear that all is well. please take care, and prepare for missions!!!!!!!
with much love
elder facer
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Is it winter in Mexico?
first of all, i cant believe the cold i have been feeling this week, sadly i had to put my sweater on, and i promised myself that i wouldnt use it in mexico.... every morning has been getting colder and colder. a brother in the ward said that in mexico city it was 2 below 0 (C) and in toluca it was 8 below.... crazy. i really feel mexican, because elder wilding, who only has two weeks in mexico still doesnt feel the cold. thankfully there is still a ton of sun, but also a lot of wind. we are still going strong even though it is getting tough, thanks for your support lys, bets and mom to give some comfort. we didnt baptize again this week, but for the rest of the month and the few weeks after, we have baptisms planned.
if someone, or many people who read this can tell cam oldroyd i love him and am glad to hear that he is making the right decisions even though its extremely tough, the lord will do his part. from our last zone conference in september, we have been reading the book of mormon in spanish and marking every verse about faith, the atonement, and the promise the lord gives about if ye keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land. elder wilding pointed something out to me this week, which was basic knowledge, but it really had a big impact on me and a few investigators. it doesnt say if ye keep my commandments, nothing bad will ever happen to you. we will be saved, but it will be tough. also this morning i was reading in alma 30, thats where im at in the challenge to finish the BOM by christmas, where it talks about korihor. he was only bad because he didnt have a strong testimony about the truths and the basics of the church. for that reason, he was fooled by the angel of the devil. he knew it was bad, but felt good doing it, because he was having success, and people were giving him attention. we all know the end of the story, but i think its really interesting that at the end, he tells alma that he knew it all before, but was tricked. if we really know it and study it regularily, we will not be tricked by the devil. i have sadly seen that many times in the mission, or heard about experiences with long time members, ex missionaries etc. if we dont study and know the basics, we arent firm enough in our foundation.
also yesterday in church, i taught the principles of the gospel class, and thought for a minute, ´why did the first presidency choose principles of the gospel, and not doctrine of salvation or some other topic´ now i know why. i really had a good lesson on growing in our talents. i enjoyed it and got some good comments from my class. i have really come to enjoy preparing and teaching classes. i have realized that is one talent i am developing, to talk to groups of people, or just people. i liked to do it before, but now i am getting good at it. these last two weeks i have taught, i have got comments from investigators that they really felt something in my lessons. i am so grateful to be an instrument in the lords hands in his work.
right now, we are teaching a family of three. dad david, mom estela, and son david. dad david, started out not wanting too much, but with time and weeks in church, he has really changed, but was always just waiting for his answer. we gave him ether 12 to read, and when we came back he had questions, and a new found faith. by the spirit i promised him that if he read and prayed this night, that he would receive his answer. after the promise, i realized what i said and was a little in shock. what do i know is that god will give an answer, so i offered a prayer that god would complete my promise to david. background info: they have a plant that is very special to them, but it was really about to die, and they wanted to throw it out, but he gave it a litte more water that day, and left it out in the sun, but in the night returned it to his room. later that night he was reading with his wife, and when they finished, they talked for a long while about these things, later they said a prayer and asked god if the book of mormon was true, and went to sleep. after about 5 mins he opened his eyes and saw this plant, but it wasnt the same dead plant he had before, this was a new and beautiful plant. god had restored it for him, and he made some good symbolism connections. we, the missionaries, were the little water to his dead plant, life, he was about to throw it out, but waited a little longer. and by our teachings and help, god restored his life with new purpose, and a new joy. it also changed the views of his family and they are all going to be baptized this weekend!
also we have another awesome family, a newly wed couple we are teaching, crisanto and arumi. they are friends of a member and she started them out and we taught them about family. they both were super excited about it, and wanted to hear more. crisanto was super great in church, and made a lot of comments, and actualy gave advice to another guy in elders quorum. he felt good, and was really excited to have us over to his house again this week. please pray for them, they are so great, but we are still praying and fasting to know what date will be their baptism. as of right now, and our fast yesterday, we are feeling for the 20 of nov.
we are still working with others, but not a ton is going on with them yet. we did have a jehovahs witness, galvino, accept us, and we left him the book of mormon, and he read the entire thing in less than a week. sadly he didnt come to church, but we are trying to help him gain a testimony about it. when we explained what this all meant to him, and that he needed to get baptized here with our church, he really froze and didnt know what to do, but we left him with more reading and prayer....
i just want to let you all know that i am proud of you for what you do, for your prayers, and support in whichever way it comes. i really dont know if i could do this without your support, so thanks a ton. grandma sumner: i just wanted to let you know i love you so much and am praying for you like crazy right now. i hope all turns out well, but just trust in the lord with all your heart, might,mind and strength. proverbs 3:5 6. i know you are on the right path, but keep going and never falter. i love you.
lys, thanks for the pics, they were super cute!!! andrew is coming to be a handsome young man, jaja. just take it easy with the head tilting..... love it!
all is well here, we are just moving forward and staying strong. i hope all of you youngins out there are listening to your parents and getting ready to go on missions. also stay strong in school and build your testimony!!!!!!! thanks for everything.
elder facer
if someone, or many people who read this can tell cam oldroyd i love him and am glad to hear that he is making the right decisions even though its extremely tough, the lord will do his part. from our last zone conference in september, we have been reading the book of mormon in spanish and marking every verse about faith, the atonement, and the promise the lord gives about if ye keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land. elder wilding pointed something out to me this week, which was basic knowledge, but it really had a big impact on me and a few investigators. it doesnt say if ye keep my commandments, nothing bad will ever happen to you. we will be saved, but it will be tough. also this morning i was reading in alma 30, thats where im at in the challenge to finish the BOM by christmas, where it talks about korihor. he was only bad because he didnt have a strong testimony about the truths and the basics of the church. for that reason, he was fooled by the angel of the devil. he knew it was bad, but felt good doing it, because he was having success, and people were giving him attention. we all know the end of the story, but i think its really interesting that at the end, he tells alma that he knew it all before, but was tricked. if we really know it and study it regularily, we will not be tricked by the devil. i have sadly seen that many times in the mission, or heard about experiences with long time members, ex missionaries etc. if we dont study and know the basics, we arent firm enough in our foundation.
also yesterday in church, i taught the principles of the gospel class, and thought for a minute, ´why did the first presidency choose principles of the gospel, and not doctrine of salvation or some other topic´ now i know why. i really had a good lesson on growing in our talents. i enjoyed it and got some good comments from my class. i have really come to enjoy preparing and teaching classes. i have realized that is one talent i am developing, to talk to groups of people, or just people. i liked to do it before, but now i am getting good at it. these last two weeks i have taught, i have got comments from investigators that they really felt something in my lessons. i am so grateful to be an instrument in the lords hands in his work.
right now, we are teaching a family of three. dad david, mom estela, and son david. dad david, started out not wanting too much, but with time and weeks in church, he has really changed, but was always just waiting for his answer. we gave him ether 12 to read, and when we came back he had questions, and a new found faith. by the spirit i promised him that if he read and prayed this night, that he would receive his answer. after the promise, i realized what i said and was a little in shock. what do i know is that god will give an answer, so i offered a prayer that god would complete my promise to david. background info: they have a plant that is very special to them, but it was really about to die, and they wanted to throw it out, but he gave it a litte more water that day, and left it out in the sun, but in the night returned it to his room. later that night he was reading with his wife, and when they finished, they talked for a long while about these things, later they said a prayer and asked god if the book of mormon was true, and went to sleep. after about 5 mins he opened his eyes and saw this plant, but it wasnt the same dead plant he had before, this was a new and beautiful plant. god had restored it for him, and he made some good symbolism connections. we, the missionaries, were the little water to his dead plant, life, he was about to throw it out, but waited a little longer. and by our teachings and help, god restored his life with new purpose, and a new joy. it also changed the views of his family and they are all going to be baptized this weekend!
also we have another awesome family, a newly wed couple we are teaching, crisanto and arumi. they are friends of a member and she started them out and we taught them about family. they both were super excited about it, and wanted to hear more. crisanto was super great in church, and made a lot of comments, and actualy gave advice to another guy in elders quorum. he felt good, and was really excited to have us over to his house again this week. please pray for them, they are so great, but we are still praying and fasting to know what date will be their baptism. as of right now, and our fast yesterday, we are feeling for the 20 of nov.
we are still working with others, but not a ton is going on with them yet. we did have a jehovahs witness, galvino, accept us, and we left him the book of mormon, and he read the entire thing in less than a week. sadly he didnt come to church, but we are trying to help him gain a testimony about it. when we explained what this all meant to him, and that he needed to get baptized here with our church, he really froze and didnt know what to do, but we left him with more reading and prayer....
i just want to let you all know that i am proud of you for what you do, for your prayers, and support in whichever way it comes. i really dont know if i could do this without your support, so thanks a ton. grandma sumner: i just wanted to let you know i love you so much and am praying for you like crazy right now. i hope all turns out well, but just trust in the lord with all your heart, might,mind and strength. proverbs 3:5 6. i know you are on the right path, but keep going and never falter. i love you.
lys, thanks for the pics, they were super cute!!! andrew is coming to be a handsome young man, jaja. just take it easy with the head tilting..... love it!
all is well here, we are just moving forward and staying strong. i hope all of you youngins out there are listening to your parents and getting ready to go on missions. also stay strong in school and build your testimony!!!!!!! thanks for everything.
elder facer
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
So many lessons to learn...
thanks for the package and for the little spiritual thought, it really is a big part of the missionary work, gossip and judging others. when i was receiving mi hijo on tuesday, president said that it has been really spreading fast throughout the mission, and we need to stop it. i was actually pretty shocked to hear it, but when i thought about it, he is right. missionaries are sometimes like little 15 year old girls (no offense tara) jaja!
everything is going really good right now. me and elder wilding are doing really good. he is from springville utah (who would have guessed) he played goalie for rangers many years ago and knows all the friends like trevor parker tyler josh carlos etc. also he played for springville high, and we both remember playing against each other. jaja! he is pretty tall and skinny, he makes me get up and run in the morning most days, but sadly i havent seen much difference in my weight. i weigh 71 kilos..... tell me what that is in lbs please..... we had a very progressive week ,but sadly no baptism. we will have a little tougher time getting things moving, but i think all will be good. we are planning a ward activity to help get more references, and also the presidents of the ward are really excited because it will also help them get their home teaching and visiting teaching organized better. i really cant describe how excited i am to have ward council! jaja. the zone chilpancingo completed the goal of 37 baptisms in the month of october with 37, i think almost everyone completed their area goals, we did.
we are doing pretty good, but had our first argument about working. i handled the situation like elder snyder, but sadly it really frustrated my companion. i dont want to work like that, but like he showed me, it is the most effective way that my companion will learn. later i explained to him why i did it, and he understood, and was actually grateful. i have really thought alot about what elder snyder has taught me , and all the things i have applied to teaching my son. like emily oneill just wrote me, elder snyder taught me things that i wont forget for my entire mission. i will definately teach elder wilding every thing i can. we are both really happy toghether, the only problem is that he is comparing here to idaho a ton. he was on a visa waiting mission for two months there. he liked the way they did it there, but for every area, it will be a different way to approach things. we have learned pretty good, and will keep improving. sorry i dont have a ton of time to write today, we are running a little late, i have really been realizing the importance of working hard here, and i wish i would have learned that in the high school or college time. studying is super important, in all aspects, and never under estimating what will come. dont get prideful and think you are prepared, because that is the time the lord will test you in the hardest way he can. always stay humble,(the best you can) and OBEY MOM AND DAD! it sounds cheesy, but its actually super true. i really feel bad that i made mom and dad worry themselves about me and my rebellious time in high school. dont follow in my bad footsteps. i love you all still!
but if you could please pray for yelitza, franklin, patricia, gustavo, mari, fernanda, galvino, crisanto, and arumi it is gratefully appreciated. if everyone could at least take a name or two and pray, we would really like your help. love you all, and i keep praying for you
elder facer
everything is going really good right now. me and elder wilding are doing really good. he is from springville utah (who would have guessed) he played goalie for rangers many years ago and knows all the friends like trevor parker tyler josh carlos etc. also he played for springville high, and we both remember playing against each other. jaja! he is pretty tall and skinny, he makes me get up and run in the morning most days, but sadly i havent seen much difference in my weight. i weigh 71 kilos..... tell me what that is in lbs please..... we had a very progressive week ,but sadly no baptism. we will have a little tougher time getting things moving, but i think all will be good. we are planning a ward activity to help get more references, and also the presidents of the ward are really excited because it will also help them get their home teaching and visiting teaching organized better. i really cant describe how excited i am to have ward council! jaja. the zone chilpancingo completed the goal of 37 baptisms in the month of october with 37, i think almost everyone completed their area goals, we did.
we are doing pretty good, but had our first argument about working. i handled the situation like elder snyder, but sadly it really frustrated my companion. i dont want to work like that, but like he showed me, it is the most effective way that my companion will learn. later i explained to him why i did it, and he understood, and was actually grateful. i have really thought alot about what elder snyder has taught me , and all the things i have applied to teaching my son. like emily oneill just wrote me, elder snyder taught me things that i wont forget for my entire mission. i will definately teach elder wilding every thing i can. we are both really happy toghether, the only problem is that he is comparing here to idaho a ton. he was on a visa waiting mission for two months there. he liked the way they did it there, but for every area, it will be a different way to approach things. we have learned pretty good, and will keep improving. sorry i dont have a ton of time to write today, we are running a little late, i have really been realizing the importance of working hard here, and i wish i would have learned that in the high school or college time. studying is super important, in all aspects, and never under estimating what will come. dont get prideful and think you are prepared, because that is the time the lord will test you in the hardest way he can. always stay humble,(the best you can) and OBEY MOM AND DAD! it sounds cheesy, but its actually super true. i really feel bad that i made mom and dad worry themselves about me and my rebellious time in high school. dont follow in my bad footsteps. i love you all still!
but if you could please pray for yelitza, franklin, patricia, gustavo, mari, fernanda, galvino, crisanto, and arumi it is gratefully appreciated. if everyone could at least take a name or two and pray, we would really like your help. love you all, and i keep praying for you
elder facer
Monday, October 25, 2010
Elder Facer Went Through 2 Companions This Week
well alot has happened in these two weeks. we had our interviews with president this week, but sadly my package didnt arrive in time... ever since monday night, elder cardenas had been sick, but we continued working. when we had interviews, president spannaus said that he needed to stay in bed for three days and sleep, so i got put with an {hermano local) its just that a member goes with me on splits. i dont know what its called in inglish haha. the good thing is that he was actually willing and wanted to work! he is preparing for his papers and not doing anything with his life right now, so he came with me. we did a lot of contacting, and had some appointments, but not many. i really enjoyed my interview, we talked about the companionship, obedience, experience, the area, and then about my questions. it was funny, because president knew right away that i had more questions to ask him. i like to go to him with some of my questions about how to improve, or doctrinal questions. we talked about making scripture study better, and understanding them better through prayer, more reading, meditation, and fasting. the first two are easy, but the last two are tough to do, i wish elder snyder was still here to help me meditate. haha. i will definately try to apply those things. also we talked about the atonement, and he gave me a little homework to do in mosiah 12-17. i really enjoyed it, and think it was the most descriptive i have read about the atonement. i felt bad, because i have read that part many times, but never got anything out of it.
we have sadly struggled to find people willing in this area, but its tough. we really need the help of the members. later in the week, we started to get some, thankfully. it has been unusually hot this week too. we havent had any rain in about a month, and because of that, there is a ton of dust everywhere.
yesterday, sunday, we had a great baptism of a girl named yajaira. she was so excited and ready to be baptized, we jsut needed to help her family get excited also. all of her family are members except her and another brother. her parents were sealed in the temple with the family, but sadly becasue of work, went inactive. one daughter got married in the temple to the bishops son, and really helped us out a lot. the mom and sister of yajaira are excited and really want the brother to start listening to us also, i think he will be willing also, because he looked interested and curious in the baptism. she also got confirmed in sacrament meeting. the only problem is that she lives like 45 mins away...... i am sending the photo and a few others right now, i hope alyssa or someone has been able to put them on my blog. i havent seen it, so i hope it is going well!
so yesterday after church, during our dinner appointment we got a phone call to say that elder cardenas is going on special changes monday moring for cuautla morelos to be zone leader. its funny because he was there before this area, and will now return to be a leader. he didnt want it too much, because it means he has be been an example, but i know it will be super good for him, and his companion is elder klein who is an excelent missionary. i will stay here and receive mi hijo.......! my first son. my family in the mission is almost all dead. my brother is zone leader in iguala, and my uncle is my zone leader right now, they are the only family i have alive, so i am happy i can keep the family alive! also they will die soon. i dont know anything about my kid, just that he is american and is coming directly from the US. i am super worried to have a lot of responsibility with him to train him right, but i think i have had sufficient preparation. i realized that most of everything i learned, and that i do, is because of my dad, elder snyder. also by my dad Gary(most importantly) of course! i jsut hope i can be all that he needs, but i realize that the lord does everything for a reason, and that everything will be good. i think it will be good.... i go to get him tomorrow in the morning in cuernavaca.
i was very sad to hear that tara lost the soccer game, but she is right, it was a good experience and she will have other chances. i dont think i ever won anything with my soccer teams except my senior year we won region(tied) but still won! haha. so keep your head up and give it all you got! to counteract the sadness, jeff is getting his call! congratulations bro! im so excited to hear where you are going, and my guess will be new hampshire.(dont worry, it was revelation) youll do great. haha jk. i love you all, and am so grateful for your example and influence! stay strong and stay on the winning side of the battle! im still happy, still excited, and still sadly a little fat( thanks mom for telling me....) but i will drop it when i can!
elder facer
we have sadly struggled to find people willing in this area, but its tough. we really need the help of the members. later in the week, we started to get some, thankfully. it has been unusually hot this week too. we havent had any rain in about a month, and because of that, there is a ton of dust everywhere.
yesterday, sunday, we had a great baptism of a girl named yajaira. she was so excited and ready to be baptized, we jsut needed to help her family get excited also. all of her family are members except her and another brother. her parents were sealed in the temple with the family, but sadly becasue of work, went inactive. one daughter got married in the temple to the bishops son, and really helped us out a lot. the mom and sister of yajaira are excited and really want the brother to start listening to us also, i think he will be willing also, because he looked interested and curious in the baptism. she also got confirmed in sacrament meeting. the only problem is that she lives like 45 mins away...... i am sending the photo and a few others right now, i hope alyssa or someone has been able to put them on my blog. i havent seen it, so i hope it is going well!
so yesterday after church, during our dinner appointment we got a phone call to say that elder cardenas is going on special changes monday moring for cuautla morelos to be zone leader. its funny because he was there before this area, and will now return to be a leader. he didnt want it too much, because it means he has be been an example, but i know it will be super good for him, and his companion is elder klein who is an excelent missionary. i will stay here and receive mi hijo.......! my first son. my family in the mission is almost all dead. my brother is zone leader in iguala, and my uncle is my zone leader right now, they are the only family i have alive, so i am happy i can keep the family alive! also they will die soon. i dont know anything about my kid, just that he is american and is coming directly from the US. i am super worried to have a lot of responsibility with him to train him right, but i think i have had sufficient preparation. i realized that most of everything i learned, and that i do, is because of my dad, elder snyder. also by my dad Gary(most importantly) of course! i jsut hope i can be all that he needs, but i realize that the lord does everything for a reason, and that everything will be good. i think it will be good.... i go to get him tomorrow in the morning in cuernavaca.
i was very sad to hear that tara lost the soccer game, but she is right, it was a good experience and she will have other chances. i dont think i ever won anything with my soccer teams except my senior year we won region(tied) but still won! haha. so keep your head up and give it all you got! to counteract the sadness, jeff is getting his call! congratulations bro! im so excited to hear where you are going, and my guess will be new hampshire.(dont worry, it was revelation) youll do great. haha jk. i love you all, and am so grateful for your example and influence! stay strong and stay on the winning side of the battle! im still happy, still excited, and still sadly a little fat( thanks mom for telling me....) but i will drop it when i can!
elder facer
Monday, October 18, 2010
A Plea From Chilpancingo
hey sorry about last week that i wasnt able to write, everything has been pretty crazy recently. we have had a lot of work, and not a ton of success. thankfully we are still baptizing every week. this week we had the baptism of pablo and his son antonio. they are so great. just a month ago, his other son angel was baptized by elder cardenas and his other companion, and at that time, pablo was still completely against joining. but when we talked about living together as a family forever, he really started to pay attention. his wife has been a member for over 20 years, but sadly has never really stayed active because no one in the ward helped her to remain. for that i challenge all of you that read this letter: IF YOU SEE ANYONE IN YOUR WARD THAT IS NEW, AT LEAST GO AND SAY HI AND FIND OUT WHO THEY ARE. OFFER SERVICE IF YOU CAN. president hinckley said every convert needs a friend. and you are that friend he is talking about! but at least they have all returned to the church and are so excited for their goal to go to the temple on October 17, 2011. i am so excited for them, i know they will go places. they are all super smart and actually are super rich also. that doesnt happen very often in mexico..... jaja.
i wanted to tell you all thanks for your letters and support in all that you do! it really means a lot to still have your support during this dificult time. everything just hasnt been going the same as it was before in anenecuilco, and i guess im just not adapting super well to it. we arent finding enough new investigators every week, and we dont have many appointments every day. there really is absolutely no one here in the morning. we dedicate the entire morning to contacting, because we cant contact members for references, no one is there for an appointment, and its just really a downer to not be finding success like we did in my first area. if we are lucky, we will find 2 or 3 everyday, and very few of them progress. we really need the help of members. and that is my second challenge to all you that read this: YOU MUST GIVE REFERENCES OF FRIENDS OR FAMILY MEMBERS, CO-WORKERS ETC TO THE MISSIONARIES. WE NEED YOUR HELP, IT REALLY IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DO IT ON OUR OWN. i thought about this yesterday. of all my baptisms that i have had, all but one have been member referrals. thats saying something. remember: if you are willing to talk to your friend and share your thoughts about our church, live the standards, etc the lord will help you in the situation. he knows whats best for your friend, which is salvation, which only comes by one baptism, by one authority of God, and there isnt another church that can do that. Your friends need their salvation, and it should be important to you as well as us as missionaries. please help in whatever way you can.
something really scary happened this last thursday. while i was on divisions in another area, my companion and the exchange elder arevalo almost got assaulted. there were some guys driving in a truck, and they yelled some things at them, but the elders ignored it, and the guys later yelled, ya well lets see how you react to this then! and pulled out a gun and cocked it in front of the elders and two sisters that they were talking to. luckily nothing happened, but this area is starting to get a little dangerous. also the day before i came to Guerrero, 4 mob boss/drug bosses were shot and they killed 4 mexican soldiers almost right in front of our meeting house. its because this is the only way into acapulco is through chilpancingo. so the police and military try to cut them off before they get into acapulco. the drug dealers( narcos) are too powerful in acapulco, and the national military cant take them down yet, so they are trying little by little.
we are really going to need a miracle for a baptism this week. we are preparing yesenia and her daughter melanie, but we sadly havent seen them all last week, so we dont know how this is going to work out. please pray for them, yajaira, and gustavo. sadly we dont have a ton of people prepared, but we are still moving little by little.
i hope everything is well for all of you, my friends and family. i pray for you all everyday, and hope that you are able to turn to the lord in every trial that you face. i am a witness that he really blesses us, just for talking to him in prayer. he loves you, and knows what you need, but first you need to ask. i have been studying d&c a little this past week, and i really like the popular scripture of study it out in your mind and in your heart, then ask Him. also how many times the lord says if you desire to be a great means among the children of men. we all have the potential to do it, we just need to put forth our faith into works! i love you all tons and miss you. until next week....God speed
elder facer
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i wanted to tell you all thanks for your letters and support in all that you do! it really means a lot to still have your support during this dificult time. everything just hasnt been going the same as it was before in anenecuilco, and i guess im just not adapting super well to it. we arent finding enough new investigators every week, and we dont have many appointments every day. there really is absolutely no one here in the morning. we dedicate the entire morning to contacting, because we cant contact members for references, no one is there for an appointment, and its just really a downer to not be finding success like we did in my first area. if we are lucky, we will find 2 or 3 everyday, and very few of them progress. we really need the help of members. and that is my second challenge to all you that read this: YOU MUST GIVE REFERENCES OF FRIENDS OR FAMILY MEMBERS, CO-WORKERS ETC TO THE MISSIONARIES. WE NEED YOUR HELP, IT REALLY IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DO IT ON OUR OWN. i thought about this yesterday. of all my baptisms that i have had, all but one have been member referrals. thats saying something. remember: if you are willing to talk to your friend and share your thoughts about our church, live the standards, etc the lord will help you in the situation. he knows whats best for your friend, which is salvation, which only comes by one baptism, by one authority of God, and there isnt another church that can do that. Your friends need their salvation, and it should be important to you as well as us as missionaries. please help in whatever way you can.
something really scary happened this last thursday. while i was on divisions in another area, my companion and the exchange elder arevalo almost got assaulted. there were some guys driving in a truck, and they yelled some things at them, but the elders ignored it, and the guys later yelled, ya well lets see how you react to this then! and pulled out a gun and cocked it in front of the elders and two sisters that they were talking to. luckily nothing happened, but this area is starting to get a little dangerous. also the day before i came to Guerrero, 4 mob boss/drug bosses were shot and they killed 4 mexican soldiers almost right in front of our meeting house. its because this is the only way into acapulco is through chilpancingo. so the police and military try to cut them off before they get into acapulco. the drug dealers( narcos) are too powerful in acapulco, and the national military cant take them down yet, so they are trying little by little.
we are really going to need a miracle for a baptism this week. we are preparing yesenia and her daughter melanie, but we sadly havent seen them all last week, so we dont know how this is going to work out. please pray for them, yajaira, and gustavo. sadly we dont have a ton of people prepared, but we are still moving little by little.
i hope everything is well for all of you, my friends and family. i pray for you all everyday, and hope that you are able to turn to the lord in every trial that you face. i am a witness that he really blesses us, just for talking to him in prayer. he loves you, and knows what you need, but first you need to ask. i have been studying d&c a little this past week, and i really like the popular scripture of study it out in your mind and in your heart, then ask Him. also how many times the lord says if you desire to be a great means among the children of men. we all have the potential to do it, we just need to put forth our faith into works! i love you all tons and miss you. until next week....God speed
elder facer
NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
A chat through email...
Today was pday; we played soccer and ate with a member for breakfast. Hope you enjoy the pictures. i know its so sad that i have gotten fat.... i still work out almost every night doing 100 pushups, and 20 pull ups, but it just isnt enough to conquer the tortillas. elder cardenas has a little device that i only need my memory card and it attaches into the usb port so I’m finally able to send pictures. i know, finally when you send my camera cord, i get another way. our house is shockingly nice. the first counselor in our ward is an architect and its his house construction. we pay 1500 pesos, and the ration is 11 pesos to 1 dollar. do the math. we could get up every morning to run, but we are lazy, i usually write in my journal that time too. ok sorry, its not that i am a lazy missionary, but just that i use that time for something else, and do my workout at night, so i am tired. i am definitely not a lazy missionary, dont worry. also if you notice in the last picture, i have new shoes. sadly they are brown. but one of our investigators is really rich, and he owns four shoe stores, and had an extra pair of boots that he didnt like. they are way comfortable, but its bad because i dont have a ton for brown. i would like to wear them more, but its ok, they should last my entire mission. elder cardenas has some boots, and he has had them his whole mission. im sorry that i wasnt able to write a weekly letter today, i was really busy with the pictures and i had to write president. i will be sure to include everything next week and our great baptisms. if you could please pray for yesenia, melanie, pablo and antonio. they are all great and preparing for this week, also a little girl that is the niece of the bishop, and wants to get baptized, so we will get her done this week too. thanks for everything, i love you so much mom. well talk next week!
elder facer
elder facer
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Moving Forward
well another good week. we had another baptism of a 17 yr old boy named camilo. he was so prepared, he received everything and did everything we asked, he also lives in an apartment complex with a solid memeber who has given us a ton of references, a recent convert named mario received the priesthood last week, and baptized camilo this week, they are really good friends.
conference was really good, but also really hard to understand. first of all they wouldnt let me watch it in english, mostly because they were lazy, and the signal was really bad. so sunday in the afternoon i didnt see the first half of conference. did elder bednar speak? i didnt get to hear him. elder holland and elder christofferson were really good, but i was most impressed with elder uchtdorf and elder eyring in priesthood. i would really appreiciate it if you could send me a copy of conference, because it isnt completely sure that we will get the conference issue. and that it might also be in spanish. also in conference there was this guy that came up to us, and started confessing his whole life to us, and that he want to go to the temple. he was baptized in 1996, and hasnt gone to church, but has been reading the book of mormon and reads it to his dad. he lived in the us(before his baptism) and was a bigtime drug trafficer. he went, and got sent back three times, and the third time he talked with barrack obama or some thing like that and had to make some deals with him that he wouldnt come back. he hasnt done drugs in a long time, but is still pretty crazy from doing them before.. and because he speaks poor english and wants to practice, he tried to talk to me almost the whole day.............
me and elder cardenas have talked a lot and have come to a few conclusions about how we work and all. we really do get along well, its just that he is lazy and has had bad examples his whole mission. we talked and we are going to work harder and try to be more obedient, especially with the girls... but he is improving and i think we will see some changes in the next few weeks. by the way, if you can tell dan that elder dominguez, his companion in acapulco, is my zone leader and is so great. he talks alot about dan and his example to a lot of the elders. his companion is elder ramon. haha. we have received a lot of love from the members, everyone is willing to help us and give us all the food they have, its crazy, and its hard because they want to give it all, but cant.
not a whole lot is happening here, we are having good weather and not too much rain. everything is super green still and from the roof of our house you can see almost all of chilpancingo. and we are just preparing for a few baptisms to come. please pray for the bravo family, xochilt(socheel for all you gringos) lupita, yesenia and melanie. they are progressing but all have a few problems that they arent completely willing to give up yet, so we heed some help. the next time i will receive packages is the 20th of november. so if anyone would like to send letters or packages, that is the time to send it. it takes about 2 1/2 weeks to get here, so plan ahead. thank you all for everything, for your prayers and support. every member a missionary!!! do your part to talk to friends and i promise you, you will be able to see the blessings the Lord had prepared for you. this isnt my plea, but the plea of the prophets, do your part, so that we can do ours. i love you all so much and am so greatful for all you do.
take care family and friends. until next time.....
elder facer
conference was really good, but also really hard to understand. first of all they wouldnt let me watch it in english, mostly because they were lazy, and the signal was really bad. so sunday in the afternoon i didnt see the first half of conference. did elder bednar speak? i didnt get to hear him. elder holland and elder christofferson were really good, but i was most impressed with elder uchtdorf and elder eyring in priesthood. i would really appreiciate it if you could send me a copy of conference, because it isnt completely sure that we will get the conference issue. and that it might also be in spanish. also in conference there was this guy that came up to us, and started confessing his whole life to us, and that he want to go to the temple. he was baptized in 1996, and hasnt gone to church, but has been reading the book of mormon and reads it to his dad. he lived in the us(before his baptism) and was a bigtime drug trafficer. he went, and got sent back three times, and the third time he talked with barrack obama or some thing like that and had to make some deals with him that he wouldnt come back. he hasnt done drugs in a long time, but is still pretty crazy from doing them before.. and because he speaks poor english and wants to practice, he tried to talk to me almost the whole day.............
me and elder cardenas have talked a lot and have come to a few conclusions about how we work and all. we really do get along well, its just that he is lazy and has had bad examples his whole mission. we talked and we are going to work harder and try to be more obedient, especially with the girls... but he is improving and i think we will see some changes in the next few weeks. by the way, if you can tell dan that elder dominguez, his companion in acapulco, is my zone leader and is so great. he talks alot about dan and his example to a lot of the elders. his companion is elder ramon. haha. we have received a lot of love from the members, everyone is willing to help us and give us all the food they have, its crazy, and its hard because they want to give it all, but cant.
not a whole lot is happening here, we are having good weather and not too much rain. everything is super green still and from the roof of our house you can see almost all of chilpancingo. and we are just preparing for a few baptisms to come. please pray for the bravo family, xochilt(socheel for all you gringos) lupita, yesenia and melanie. they are progressing but all have a few problems that they arent completely willing to give up yet, so we heed some help. the next time i will receive packages is the 20th of november. so if anyone would like to send letters or packages, that is the time to send it. it takes about 2 1/2 weeks to get here, so plan ahead. thank you all for everything, for your prayers and support. every member a missionary!!! do your part to talk to friends and i promise you, you will be able to see the blessings the Lord had prepared for you. this isnt my plea, but the plea of the prophets, do your part, so that we can do ours. i love you all so much and am so greatful for all you do.
take care family and friends. until next time.....
elder facer
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Life in Chilpa
hey everyone. things are going really good here in chilpo. we had two baptisms yesterday of the daughters of the second counselor in the bishopric. somehow their records got lost and no one remembered who did the ordinance, the witnesses etc, so we baptized them again. and the zone for the third time in a row has completed its baptism goal. no other zone that i know of is completing right now. i heard from my old zone leaders, and they said that sadly cuautla is struggling pretty bad. the goal was 35 and they ended with like 20... we finished with 34 when our goal was 32! we also have baptisms planned for every week in october! this area is really blessed, and also we are doing good to work hard. in church yesterday i gave a brief introduction and shared my testimony with the ward. i think that is my favorite part. i like teaching and sharing thoughts on specific things, but i definately prefer to take 5 or 10 mins to share my testimony. also i have been having a lot of people tell me that my spanish is doing really good, and that i have a very good accent. take that joseph and alyssa that thought i would never get it down! haha jk.
the only bad thing really, is that elder cardenas is pretty tough to work with. we teach well together, and are good friends, but he is just really fried.... he goes to sleep with an ipod of who knows what music, wakes up around 715, studies a little, then makes breakfast during companionship study. his parents sent him an 8gb ipod touch, with some church music and some not, the bad thing is that it also has internet.... i have told him how i feel about that stuff, and that to receive the blessings, we need to try to be obedient. he agrees, but still isnt willing to give it up. elder snyder told me something, that you cant force obedience on your companions. you do all you can, get up at 630, teach short effective lessons, eat for only an hour, be home at 9/930 and in bed by 1030. but when it comes to your companion, all you can do is suggest, and be a good example. if you try to force it, it can really tear apart your companionship. D&C 88: 42? that is unrighteous dominion. and that is how you lose trust, and confidence from someone.
i still try to do what i can for him, to serve etc, but he just has bad influences, such as our district leader, and they talk a lot. sorry i dont mean to be a gossiper, but just if you have any more advice, it would be very appreciated.
we are still doing really good though. its mostly because we have an amazing ward. they want to help and give us references, and also they really prepare their friends etc to receive us, or to go to church. they are so friendly, and we have very good teachers in the classes that actually prepare lessons! man i am so excited. haha. everything is going really good, and i am enjoying the mission. i love moving houses too, because in every one, there are old ensigns. i have sadly never realized the gold that they are. i told myself that when i return, i will never let another home teaching appointment go by without being really prepared for every person. there is something in every ensign for every person. i especially love the conference editions. they are first come first serve, so when i come across one, i will gladly take it.
sadly we are still getting a lot of rain here, and parts of sun. in the morning its really cold, the midmorning its really hot, midday very comfortable, midafternoon rainy, and night very comfortable. but thanks to the rain, its so beautiful here, everything is so green and flourishing. even though a lot of it is city, there are a ton of mountains. its also very hard to find peopple in the morning, so we are going to have to be smart and diligent to get more new investigators. well sadly my time is up for today. i hope all is well for every one of you that are able to read my short message, and also for those of you who choose not to. but i love you all, and still pray for you all night and day. keep up the great work and get jeff and joseph out on missions!!!!!!!!!!! haha. but seriously.
love
elder facer
the only bad thing really, is that elder cardenas is pretty tough to work with. we teach well together, and are good friends, but he is just really fried.... he goes to sleep with an ipod of who knows what music, wakes up around 715, studies a little, then makes breakfast during companionship study. his parents sent him an 8gb ipod touch, with some church music and some not, the bad thing is that it also has internet.... i have told him how i feel about that stuff, and that to receive the blessings, we need to try to be obedient. he agrees, but still isnt willing to give it up. elder snyder told me something, that you cant force obedience on your companions. you do all you can, get up at 630, teach short effective lessons, eat for only an hour, be home at 9/930 and in bed by 1030. but when it comes to your companion, all you can do is suggest, and be a good example. if you try to force it, it can really tear apart your companionship. D&C 88: 42? that is unrighteous dominion. and that is how you lose trust, and confidence from someone.
i still try to do what i can for him, to serve etc, but he just has bad influences, such as our district leader, and they talk a lot. sorry i dont mean to be a gossiper, but just if you have any more advice, it would be very appreciated.
we are still doing really good though. its mostly because we have an amazing ward. they want to help and give us references, and also they really prepare their friends etc to receive us, or to go to church. they are so friendly, and we have very good teachers in the classes that actually prepare lessons! man i am so excited. haha. everything is going really good, and i am enjoying the mission. i love moving houses too, because in every one, there are old ensigns. i have sadly never realized the gold that they are. i told myself that when i return, i will never let another home teaching appointment go by without being really prepared for every person. there is something in every ensign for every person. i especially love the conference editions. they are first come first serve, so when i come across one, i will gladly take it.
sadly we are still getting a lot of rain here, and parts of sun. in the morning its really cold, the midmorning its really hot, midday very comfortable, midafternoon rainy, and night very comfortable. but thanks to the rain, its so beautiful here, everything is so green and flourishing. even though a lot of it is city, there are a ton of mountains. its also very hard to find peopple in the morning, so we are going to have to be smart and diligent to get more new investigators. well sadly my time is up for today. i hope all is well for every one of you that are able to read my short message, and also for those of you who choose not to. but i love you all, and still pray for you all night and day. keep up the great work and get jeff and joseph out on missions!!!!!!!!!!! haha. but seriously.
love
elder facer
Monday, September 20, 2010
Adios to Anencuilco
you wouldnt believe what a great week we had! the last few weeks, me and elder leyva have really struggled to find new people to teach and get them to church, but our zone leaders promised us that it would pay off if we kept working hard and trusting in the lord. and wow were they right. we found 34 nuevos and got 10 investigators in church. it was incredible. there is one family we taught that had received missionaries before, but never were really interested. well they had a big family problem, and went to a life long friend who is a strong member in the church, hermana isabel. she directed them to us, and we have been teaching them for this past week. there are about 35 people in this family over the age of 8. and the other 15 or 20 are under. they are all willing to do whatever we ask, because they really feel diferent when we come and teach. we gave three blessings to their family, and they are so willing to do whatevery we ask. so far we have only taught 20 of these 35.
well today i am writing late, because i am now in guerrero, chilpancingo Guerrero. it is kinda the capital of guerrero and it is so awesome! i was incredibly sad to leave elder leyva after only 4 weeks, but president and the lord know what goes on. i actually just arrived, unpacked and went to write. i am with elder cardenas, he was in zone cuautla with me, and i went on exchanges with him once before, so we knew eachother a little bit before. he has been here for 3 months, and has 6 months left in his mission. i am excited to be with him, and our house is sweet!!°!!! when i can, i will take lots of pictures of our house, the area, and my comp and me. once again, i have a huge area, we will be working almost all of it, because there are members in all parts. there is a member in the centro that has an indoor soccr field, and the missionaries play there every monday for free! like the ones at timpanogos indoor! also elder leyva was right next to my area before he came to anenecuilco, and so he filled me in on a lot of what goes on, and the climate, etc. its really almost the same as anenecuilco, except everything is in hills, big hills! but i am accustomed to it. i hope.....we have an active ward of 160 and usually bring 10 investigators every week. its also a brand new chapel. every thing is way green, and its really windy which keeps everything a little cooler, and also everyone says chilpa is the best zone in the mission. they have great support, great area, weather, leaders, etc the only bad thing is that elder cardenas might be a little fried, but with me on his side, we will be fuerte trabajadores! or really excellent tools in the lord's hands. i am really excited to be here, but also sad to leave my first area, i only had 4 months there. speaking of time, can you believe 1/4 of my mission is gone! i feel like i havent done near enough in this short time. today in the morning, i talked with elder harley, he was in my district in the mtc. he was also in the same area and ward as elder smith and nelson, the other missionaries from my district in this mission. he filled me in on how they are doing, and i guess everything is good. i also talked with the old executive secretary of the mission, and he told me a little about the visa problem, i guess its because every month you have to go to mexico city to renew your visa, and if not, deported...... elder harley was also in the mtc for 13 weeks, then a month in ogden for a visa waiting mission... but he said everything was good, and that he was one of the last few to get his visa to mexico. its sad, but also they are trying to keep mexicans in mexico, and get rid of some americans. sadly, i will be one of the last americans in mexico i think.
if you want, the next zone conference for me is in november, so if you would like to prepare a package, with a little help of elder snyder, that would be wonderful, also be sure to include my camera cord to attach to the computer so i can send pictures faster. as of right now, i am happy and still working hard, and a little tired and hungry. in a little bit, the whole district is going to eat with a member in the stake! haha i love you all tons, and when i find out more about my area and companion etc i will write. until next time, i love you all, and keep praying for yourselves. final quote:elder bednar, generalconference of may 2009 (or 2008 i dont remember) pray with faith. dont pray for me to find people to teach. its your job to find the people for the missionaries, and pray for the opportunity and strength to open your mouth to a friend, neighbor, coworker etc. i would recommend reading the real thing, because i probably slaughtered it, but you all understand what im trying to say. haha love you tons!
elder facer
well today i am writing late, because i am now in guerrero, chilpancingo Guerrero. it is kinda the capital of guerrero and it is so awesome! i was incredibly sad to leave elder leyva after only 4 weeks, but president and the lord know what goes on. i actually just arrived, unpacked and went to write. i am with elder cardenas, he was in zone cuautla with me, and i went on exchanges with him once before, so we knew eachother a little bit before. he has been here for 3 months, and has 6 months left in his mission. i am excited to be with him, and our house is sweet!!°!!! when i can, i will take lots of pictures of our house, the area, and my comp and me. once again, i have a huge area, we will be working almost all of it, because there are members in all parts. there is a member in the centro that has an indoor soccr field, and the missionaries play there every monday for free! like the ones at timpanogos indoor! also elder leyva was right next to my area before he came to anenecuilco, and so he filled me in on a lot of what goes on, and the climate, etc. its really almost the same as anenecuilco, except everything is in hills, big hills! but i am accustomed to it. i hope.....we have an active ward of 160 and usually bring 10 investigators every week. its also a brand new chapel. every thing is way green, and its really windy which keeps everything a little cooler, and also everyone says chilpa is the best zone in the mission. they have great support, great area, weather, leaders, etc the only bad thing is that elder cardenas might be a little fried, but with me on his side, we will be fuerte trabajadores! or really excellent tools in the lord's hands. i am really excited to be here, but also sad to leave my first area, i only had 4 months there. speaking of time, can you believe 1/4 of my mission is gone! i feel like i havent done near enough in this short time. today in the morning, i talked with elder harley, he was in my district in the mtc. he was also in the same area and ward as elder smith and nelson, the other missionaries from my district in this mission. he filled me in on how they are doing, and i guess everything is good. i also talked with the old executive secretary of the mission, and he told me a little about the visa problem, i guess its because every month you have to go to mexico city to renew your visa, and if not, deported...... elder harley was also in the mtc for 13 weeks, then a month in ogden for a visa waiting mission... but he said everything was good, and that he was one of the last few to get his visa to mexico. its sad, but also they are trying to keep mexicans in mexico, and get rid of some americans. sadly, i will be one of the last americans in mexico i think.
if you want, the next zone conference for me is in november, so if you would like to prepare a package, with a little help of elder snyder, that would be wonderful, also be sure to include my camera cord to attach to the computer so i can send pictures faster. as of right now, i am happy and still working hard, and a little tired and hungry. in a little bit, the whole district is going to eat with a member in the stake! haha i love you all tons, and when i find out more about my area and companion etc i will write. until next time, i love you all, and keep praying for yourselves. final quote:elder bednar, generalconference of may 2009 (or 2008 i dont remember) pray with faith. dont pray for me to find people to teach. its your job to find the people for the missionaries, and pray for the opportunity and strength to open your mouth to a friend, neighbor, coworker etc. i would recommend reading the real thing, because i probably slaughtered it, but you all understand what im trying to say. haha love you tons!
elder facer
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