Monday, January 31, 2011

Looking for tender mercies

hey, im sorry that im not going to be able to write a ton this week, because the server was down. we had a wonderful, and rough week. we are definitely seeing the trials of the lord again. i would mostly like to focus on the experiences we had on saturday and sunday. saturday was a really rough day, because we were just looking a ton for our investigators to get them to curch, but everyone that we were able to talk to, even though they had already told us they would go, said no. gaby, ill explain her later, said she would go, and was super ready, but something came up sunday and she couldnt go. we also talked to ivan, and he was ready to go, but sunday morning while getting ready, he went to the store to buy a razor to shave. as he was walking down a steep hill in front of his house, his sandal got caught on a branch and he fell face first and scraped up everything pretty bad, so he also didnt go.
saturday after going after our investigators and all of them bailing, elder zazueta was really bummed out, and just wanted to go home(around 6pm). i told him we cant, and we just have to stay positive and keep going with a smile to look for more people, and through faith, the lord works miracles. it was really hard to keep going , but i knew that i couldnt give up on him, so i had to keep walking with perk, and with a smile, even though all still went bad. it was really bad, but im glad the lord helped us finish the day strong.
sunday was also very hard, because it was elections here in guerrero, and elections here are nothing like at home. people die here during elections for their votes. so everyone is scared to leave the house elections day, and i also think that was a big reason that some people didnt go to church. elder zazueta also got a little mad at me for not letting him go to the store and buy food on sunday, but when i explained why, later he came and asked an apology. that was cool. during planning, he was still really disappointed, because of all that is going on right now in our area, and the zone etc, so we talked and really got a lot worked out. as i was talking to him, i realized where i had heard these things before, elder snyder. all the things i was telling elder zazueta(mostly everything) was from dan, and i realized at that point how much i had grown, and how much i had been taught in the mission. a ton of it is thanks to dan. e. zazueta cheered up, and we ended the night well and got to sleep.
this week, we also had a ton of lessons with members and they helped us a ton to teach and prepare some people.
well sadly thats all the time i have, so i just want to say i love you all, and hope you have a wonderful week!
elder facer

Monday, January 24, 2011

zazueta and me
Last picture with Elder Wilding in Chilpancingo.

Getting the kingdom rolling in Acapulco

first of all, i want to tell mom that you cant write me stuff like that here, im crying way to much in front of my companion and other people in this place. haha. the lord really does work by tender mercies, and it comes from our own efforts. d&c 123:6,17. wow, i am so grateful for wonderful parents like you two that are always serving the lord, and looking for ways to help others and not yourselves. being out here by myself really makes me realize the qualities and characteristics that you two have taught me, and the things i need to try harder to apply still. all the christlike attributes that we read about in pmg, you two have taught me since i was a little kid. all the principles we teach to investigators about god is our loving heavenly father, gospel blesses families, importance of obeying prophets, christ and his ministry, apostasy, joseph smith, book of mormon, prayer, all the plan of salvation, faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the holy ghost, enduring to the end, 10 commandments, reading and praying every day, obey prophet, worthily going to church to partake of the sacrament, tithing, fast offerings, etc. are all things that you two have taught me since i was a little kid, and that is the only reason i am here. if i didnt have you two, it would have been incredibly difficult to make it here. i owe you two everything. and all i can say is thank you.
i want everyone who reads this letter to really ponder and pray to find what things your parents have taught you, and how you can improve on each of those qualities. we look for families here to teach, because it is the basic unit of all god does here. without the family, we are nothing. if we are alone, we will always also have our heavenly father. hno. stocking shared with me the importance of humility, and the killer sin of pride. humility is the key of receiving and giving thanks for the tender mercies the lord has given us.
well this week, we kept working and have had a good time being together. it has been a little rough, but we are working out kinks of disobedience and diligence, but we are getting there, and the lord is blessing us for our efforts. we found an awesome kid named ivan on wednesday, while we were looking for another reference, but he allowed us to share with him our message, and accepted baptism and a date the first appointment. saturday when we passed, he had read what we left him, prayed, and read all the introduction, testimonies, and the first chapter of 1 nefi. very awesome! he also went to church yesterday, and really enjoyed it, and found nice people to be his friends. we found 12 nuevos, but not a whole lot of progression like we hope for. we will keep working hard, and finding more, and working with these people from last week. we also showed our plan to work with the members in ward council yesterday, and all the members signed up for a day to go with us this week! we will start to work with them, and hopefully progress with them in the missionary work. well, not a ton happened this week for us, but i did do my first baptismal interview, and the lady didnt pass... just because the elders were trying to rush her too quick, and hadnt taught her everything. she was still smoking when i talked to her.. so we put it off. also i gave another, and she passed.
we had interviews with president on tuesday, and had a good experience. he told us that we would be here for a long time together, so now is the time to start off right and be united completely and consecrate all of our actions to the lord. love you all, and am grateful for your support. take care!!!!!!!!
elder facer

Monday, January 17, 2011

what the?!

well you really wouldnt have expected this, but right now i am in Progreso, Acapulco as Zone Leader.... on friday when we started the day off, elder wilding and me, we went to talk with a few people to set up appointments, and to check with mario (ward mission leader) about coming with us in the afternoon to our appointments, and setting up our lunch appointment with some awesome investigators gilberto and consuelo. after talking with one family for an appointment the next day, the zone leaders called to say ´get back home right now, its very urgent´ but they never said why. so we took a taxi and got back there, and they told us both that we were leaving. after that, we had one hour to pack and get to the bus station. i left to be zone leader, here, in progreso, elder snyders area(please tell him), and elder wilding left to zumpango, still in chilpancingo. we didnt have any time to talk to converts, or members, so some monday, elder wilding and his new companion elder dahl are going to head back to the area and get pics, email addresses etc. i was pretty sad, because it was right after me and elder wilding had been fasting for a few people, then we both had to leave. elder haertling and another elder will still be there, but i hope they can get to our investigators and help them... as we prayed together to end the fast, i was really sad, but i was also realizing that i had to go, because the lord had a reason for me to leave at that moment. the end of next week are changes, so we left really early, because another elder, e. gonzalez(elder snyders other son, that was also in progreso) left early for school, so president had to make some special changes. i realized that there was some reason i needed to be zone leader etc. i still dont know what it was, but i remember praying as it talks about in d&c, if you desire to do great in the eyes of the lord, he will help you to do it, and i wanted that, so i remember for a time i was praying about that, maybe this could be another opportunity to help others and learn service. mosiah 2:17
i am here with elder zazueta, who i knew from cuautla, and he only has 14 months. as i stepped off the bus, i felt just how humid aca really is! i was also waiting in the station for about 20 minutes waiting for elder zazueta with his hermano local to come and find me, so it was a little wierd being all alone for a time, but they came to me. that night, we planned and talked about the zone, and that it is suffering a little bit right now, and how we need to pick it up. sleeping is pretty rough because you are always swatting at mosquitos, and it is really sticky because of the humidity, but im starting to get accustomed.
my first day here, we didnt have any appointments, but a few references to contact in the night, but during the day, we were contacting the entire time. elder zazueta still had a little fear to get out and contact a bus, but i showed him how to do it, and he contacted the second one, so we did a lot of street contacts and passed out a lot of pass along cards and pamphlets, and we will see if they get contacted or if there are results. we did it for about 15-20 mins then started to contact. as we did it for the whole day, we ended up finding 8 nuevos, which was really needed, and then we ended and went home. church was also really good, there are a ton of really solid members who want to help, but i just dont think they know how, so we are going to try to work with them and get the member missionary work going. our bishop is a new guy, so we will need to help him along, but we have strong teachers and a happy ward. not a ton else is happening, but we are doing good, we went to the beach this morning, and saw some cliff jumpers from 90 feet! but somehow those pics, and the other ones that elder romney took(other elder with us) got erased from his phone, so you all will have to wait another week to see pics of acapulco elder zazueta, and me.
also, elder smith, my mtc companion is the district leader here in my district, so it will be good to see him, but i dont think he was too happy to see me at church yesterday. im not sure why, but maybe it was pride... who knows. ill still show him love and we will probably be going on splits with him this week too.
everything is super great right now, but im just really worried about the investigators we had in Guerrero, i sure hope they will all continue. by the way mom, all my packages that i have got, get to me sealed. all is well here, and we are both happy and sweaty! if you could please pray for german, we put him with a baptismal date for thursday, and he needs a little more help to complete. thanks! love you all tons, and i am glad to hear that everything is good at home! love you and pray for your health and safety.
elder facer

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Striving for Virtue

buenas tardes! first of all, i want to congratulate joseph on making the 2nd band at byu! thats so sweet! keep up the great work little brother, i love you!
we have had a pretty good week here. it hasnt been as progressive as we would have hoped, but we are definitely getting off our feet. after the ward mission plan, we got a few brothers to come with us for a few hours during the night for visits, and we have had good success. before we hadnt received many references from the members, but as we take them out, they tell us about inactives that they remember, and also it helps them build their testimony of the work. we have received 5 references and contacted 4 this last week. also for this week, we have brothers coming for wednesday through saturday in the later hours of the day to accompany us. we are getting the bishopric and leaders of the quorums. it has actually been a big success, and we are planning to continue.
well on wednesday, we went on divisions and i went to the other area with a new elder who got here with elder wilding, his name is e. marlor from colorado. he had relatives that went to timpanogos high (bennion?) and shockingly at helaman halls knew tiffany peterson(ex girlfriend) it was pretty funny actually. we worked a lot of contacting and member search, and received some help, but not a ton. the area of obrera, their area, has been without missionaries for a long time, so they are trying to get the members help to get some progress going. the members that rent to them are super cool! they are great cooks, and really rich, and powerful members. they really are excited about being able to go on divisions with missionaries, as well as do their home teaching! (not very common) i learned a lot from elder marlor, even though he is younger and less experienced with the mission than i was, he taught me some good things to improve on.
well this past week, me and elder wilding have been trying to work on the christlike attribute of virtue. we really studied what it meant to be virtuous and how to obtain it, and we had some good results. it is one of the most important attributes in my opinion, because when you have virtue, you are focused on your mission, and your purpose to complete, and you do what you can to trust in god and complete your purpose. you arent focused, or even talking about home, and focus all your efforts on preparing people for baptism. we werent perfect, but we tried hard, and i feel like we had some good success and a wonderful learning experience.
we made some good contacts this week, and and completed our goal of nuevos again. before, we were struggling to get it, but with the members help, it goes much more smoothly. we are teaching a lady named esmeralda who we found on tuesday, and she is progressing really well, and we have help of a few members that are her friends. it was a reference from the bishop, and her mom is a member who helps us a ton also. she never really had interest in the church before, but when we talked to her the first time, she was touched and shared a few things with us, and has been progressing really well.
we really need some help from you all and your prayers, especially for miguel, so he stops drinking, and so he can overcome the temptations to do it. ulises to completely stop smoking. esmeralda to feel comfortable at church. ilianet, salvador, and giovanni to come to church and accept a baptismal date. crisanto and arumi to accept a date and complete with our homework. and teresa so that she can accept the message of the plan of salvation. we have quite a list and really need your help and prayers to get these people to progress. they are all good, and have good potential, but always need more help. thank you all so much.
well, im about out of time this week, but i want to say one more thing. as we were thinking about the virtue, i really had to think of what ways i could better dedicate my life to the lord. find your favorite sin, or even distraction, and try giving it up for the lords sake. i have tried not focusing on the world so much, and soccer, and etc. i want to challenge you all to do it too. elder maxwell talked about this in consecrate thy performance in the december of 2008 (i think) incredible... we give up easy things to god, but the favorite things are the hardest and we will receive the most blessings when we are able to give up the last and hardest things to follow him. it is really hard, i know... but ask HIM for help, and he will give it to you, and a way to complete and progress.
i love you all, and for all your letters! thanks for your support and prayers, and know that i am praying for you all too! love you tons!
elder facer

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Measuring the Growth of 9 Months

thanks everyone for the letters, it didnt feel weird to be 20 until i read a few of your letters that said youre not a teenager anymore. that was the weird part. so far, i havent had my face shoved in a cake, but i think that will come tomorrow at our lunch appointment.
well ill start off this letter to answer moms question, just so i dont forget to do it. what is the thing in which the mission has changed me the most...... i would probably say love. you really come in contact with a ton of people, and sometimes that is the hardest thing to do, to love and understand them. at times it has been really hard, but at others, it is easy. i am still learning a lot about charity. also another thing would be acting when the lord tells me to. im not sure how many of you remember my story about getting hit by a car the end of my junior year, but at that time, i got hit because i didnt listen to the spirit. i really have struggled to always listen, especially when it is something new, or different or hard, but for that one reason, my parents taught me WE DO HARD THINGS. i hated saying it before, probably because i hadnt really done anything hard, but now it is hard! the lord really knows how to test you, but also how far he can test you without losing you. it is hard to trust in the lord and act, or change, or do something different. i am still working on it, but i have definitley noticed when i act, and when i dont. i have also learned a lot about being positive, even when its hard. especially on new years day, when everyone is either drunk, or not in their house, and fasting... haha. i really dont know if i can say one thing in specific that i have learned, or the thing that has impacted me the most, because there are so many. i thought before the mission i was decent, but now i only feel like i am starting to be decent. (partly because im not an immature teenager) haha jk. i have really learned a ton in these 9 months, and things that i want to change when i get home. i remember elder holland said if you leave for the mission, and return, and do the same things, or havent changed, why did you even go? i am out here to learn, to grow, and to change.
well new years was basic, not much happened. we had curfew of 1030, so we werent out super late, but we did go to a familys house to bless an aunt and uncle that arent members and needed help in all aspects. it was nice, then ate buddin. they say is almost like pudding, but i didnt think so. i thought it was like old cold oatmeal with raisins.... but they made it with love, haha. hopefully we also were able to impact the super catholic grandma that was there too. i was thinking about that a little. how many times in the new testament(because i am reading it right now) they give a blessing, and the person is immediately healed, and how many people that affected. i sure hope i can be a good tool in the lords hands to do that too with this couple we blessed. at midnight, the mexican men have a lame tradition, they go out in the streets and shoot their guns, or pistols etc into the air while whichever person is still walking around, and most of the people shooting or walking are drunk and will most likely get shot. i havent heard of any one dead from new years yet, but maybe it will come up. i slept through the entire night, and didnt hear a single gun shot. the first one in the house asleep for new years in probably 15 years! wow
well sadly not too much happened this week, we found a few good new investigators, and have some member help with them, and the only thing really note worthy(and because im about out of time) is little lupitas baptism! she is the little partly blind girl i told you about, ill send pics, and she was super anxious to get baptized. also, the service went really well and the family is finally complete. they are very happy and hopefully willing now to complete with their covenants....
i just ask that you pray for miguel, jessica, and ulises. we dont have many right now, but we are still looking, and getting more help from the members, so we are slowly moving along. may God bless you all as you strive to complete his commandments and respect and keep your covenants. he is always there and always willing to help, but he only steps in when we show we are willing to act on faith. i love you all, and am so happy to have your support, there isnt a group of people i want supporting me more than you all. youre great, your families are great, and the lord loves us and is here to help. what more do we need? love you all. until next week...
elder chicharito facer