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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