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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Monday, October 18, 2010
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
Monday, September 13, 2010
How Great Shall Be Your Joy...
buenas dias. thank you all, especially alyssa, for the pics and info on the new baby Andrew! what will you call him? i heard a new name yesterday, in spanish it sounded good, its eliazar. but sadly you already have a name.... haha jk im way excited!! congratulations lys and manuel, you're parents! i had a pretty great week with some rough spots, but what can you expect, not everything can go perfect for a missionary. but i do think i have grown a little!!!!!! and i am losing a little weight, i was on hole three of my belt and sometimes im on hole 4! the mission works wonders.
on saturday, we had the baptism of yta andegui sayonara rojas de la cruz:) hope you all enjoyed that, because i baptized her and its a fun mouthful to say! me and elder snyder found her i think in the second week, and then couldnt find her for a long time, then when elder leyva came, we decided to go back with her. she had broken the law of chastity, and wasnt super willing to tell us. she tried to hide it, but after being 4 months pregnant, its not so easy anymore for her. so one day when we were trying to get her prepared for the baptismal comitment, i was promped to ask a certain question and not directly come out and ask if she broke the law of chastity. then later she just asked, do you want to know why i cant do it? and she explained it all to us. this last thursday we went on divisions, i will tell about that in a minute, and elder murdock, from bountiful, came to my area and we talked with sayo, we got her to commit and she was so excited afterward. when we came back on friday, she said she practically couldnt sleep because she was so excited and couldnt wait to be clean again! i had the opportunity to do the ordinance, and during and after i was just so happy, i think i felt for a minute the undescribable joy that ammon and alma talk about in the book of mormon. i really just had to stop and thank the lord.
splits with elder murdock went great! he is our district leader, and i learned a ton from him! i learned examples to share, like with sins and rocks in a backpack that cant be taken off but the rocks can be taken out only by christ. how to explain prophets are the key point to revelation and modern day revelation. also how the church christ formed and fell, and the restoration on paper so its easy for them to see and understand. i learned a ton from him and hope to be able to apply what i learn.
we found about 18 people this week, but for some reason we couldnt get one of them to come to church yesterday.... it was a little frustrating, but its ok, at times it happens and you just need to keep going forward. we will keep working and moving forward. our other dentist appointment for elder leyva was going to be on saturday, but the dentist for some reason called elder murdock saturday morning and told him he doesnt have time today, and he will do it next tuesday. so we will go tomorrow and finish up for good!
well another hot and rainy week has passed, but we have been lucky that it is only raining at around 935 right after we are home! but some mornings when we get up, the entire street is filled with water and heading towards the bridge that is on our street. mexico is very poorly run in some things. especially drainage.
i hope everyone is happy and keeps moving forward! dont worry too much about me, im still doing great and loving the work everyday! dont worry dad, i can still do a pull up;) i love you all so much and hope everythings going well. i still pray for you all. remember that we will always be small in numbers but we have the lord on our side, and anything is possible with him!
elder facer
on saturday, we had the baptism of yta andegui sayonara rojas de la cruz:) hope you all enjoyed that, because i baptized her and its a fun mouthful to say! me and elder snyder found her i think in the second week, and then couldnt find her for a long time, then when elder leyva came, we decided to go back with her. she had broken the law of chastity, and wasnt super willing to tell us. she tried to hide it, but after being 4 months pregnant, its not so easy anymore for her. so one day when we were trying to get her prepared for the baptismal comitment, i was promped to ask a certain question and not directly come out and ask if she broke the law of chastity. then later she just asked, do you want to know why i cant do it? and she explained it all to us. this last thursday we went on divisions, i will tell about that in a minute, and elder murdock, from bountiful, came to my area and we talked with sayo, we got her to commit and she was so excited afterward. when we came back on friday, she said she practically couldnt sleep because she was so excited and couldnt wait to be clean again! i had the opportunity to do the ordinance, and during and after i was just so happy, i think i felt for a minute the undescribable joy that ammon and alma talk about in the book of mormon. i really just had to stop and thank the lord.
splits with elder murdock went great! he is our district leader, and i learned a ton from him! i learned examples to share, like with sins and rocks in a backpack that cant be taken off but the rocks can be taken out only by christ. how to explain prophets are the key point to revelation and modern day revelation. also how the church christ formed and fell, and the restoration on paper so its easy for them to see and understand. i learned a ton from him and hope to be able to apply what i learn.
we found about 18 people this week, but for some reason we couldnt get one of them to come to church yesterday.... it was a little frustrating, but its ok, at times it happens and you just need to keep going forward. we will keep working and moving forward. our other dentist appointment for elder leyva was going to be on saturday, but the dentist for some reason called elder murdock saturday morning and told him he doesnt have time today, and he will do it next tuesday. so we will go tomorrow and finish up for good!
well another hot and rainy week has passed, but we have been lucky that it is only raining at around 935 right after we are home! but some mornings when we get up, the entire street is filled with water and heading towards the bridge that is on our street. mexico is very poorly run in some things. especially drainage.
i hope everyone is happy and keeps moving forward! dont worry too much about me, im still doing great and loving the work everyday! dont worry dad, i can still do a pull up;) i love you all so much and hope everythings going well. i still pray for you all. remember that we will always be small in numbers but we have the lord on our side, and anything is possible with him!
elder facer
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
one step forward...
Hey everyone! hope you have had a good week to cancel out my rough week. we were so booked with things to do, that we werent able to complete any of our weekly goals. we had a service project on tuesday with the zone leaders, and after that the same day we needed to go to the bishops storehouse for our bishop and bring a ton of food; that lasted almost all day.
wednesday was zone conference, and that went amazing. i love zone conference so much, there are so many incredible things to learn and apply. mostly in this conference, we were focusing on how to start a lesson, and that president wants that we start with a five minute introduction to get to know the person better and to find what they need to be taught. also we talked on the importance of finding at the bare minimum 15 nuevos every week. i was also able to share some of the knowledge elder snyder shared with me. alma 29 4-5. elder longi and ramirez tell elder snyder hi, and that i have huge shoes to fill, being the last of the generation, practically. i was used in the practice example in front of all the other elders teaching the president...... so intense, but he said i did pretty good. president told us to try for a baptism this week, so we will see what we can do.
thursday and friday were ok days, but we never heard from hna spannaus when we needed to go to cuernavaca, and so we didnt put any appointments down during those days, so it was really hard to get ahold of our investigators. also we struggled to find people this week, we did find some really good complete families, but they have been hard to stay in touch with. it was a really cool experience we had this week with an investigator named sayonara, i know a bit wierd. she broke the law of chastity when me and elder snyder were teaching her and just kind of faded away from us and never told us, but me and elder leyva decided to go back with her and if she would be willing to tell us whats up and if we could help her, and she really just came out and said im pregnant {4 months along now, its getting quite obvious} but it was all because we were able to ask the right questions to make her feel comfortable telling us, and trusting us. it was really cool to follow the spirits guide during that lesson and watch what happend.
also on friday, we talked with sofia and david to try to prep them to be the baptism this week like president wanted, sofia straight up said no, and david said i want to get baptized, but i still want to go to church more first. so we will wait on him a little longer.
saturday, we left our area at 12 for cuernavaca, and didnt get back until 8.... we went for a molar problem for elder leyva, and the procedure took about 3 hours! we have to go back next saturday again, but luckily it wont take as long..... still raining a ton, but it has definately lightened up from what it used to be. the sky is usually cloudy, and it feels really good not to have hot and humid.
well thats about all the time i have for today..... but next week will be better, i love you all, and am so thankful for your updates! stay strong and remember we are on the winning side of the battle!
elder facer
wednesday was zone conference, and that went amazing. i love zone conference so much, there are so many incredible things to learn and apply. mostly in this conference, we were focusing on how to start a lesson, and that president wants that we start with a five minute introduction to get to know the person better and to find what they need to be taught. also we talked on the importance of finding at the bare minimum 15 nuevos every week. i was also able to share some of the knowledge elder snyder shared with me. alma 29 4-5. elder longi and ramirez tell elder snyder hi, and that i have huge shoes to fill, being the last of the generation, practically. i was used in the practice example in front of all the other elders teaching the president...... so intense, but he said i did pretty good. president told us to try for a baptism this week, so we will see what we can do.
thursday and friday were ok days, but we never heard from hna spannaus when we needed to go to cuernavaca, and so we didnt put any appointments down during those days, so it was really hard to get ahold of our investigators. also we struggled to find people this week, we did find some really good complete families, but they have been hard to stay in touch with. it was a really cool experience we had this week with an investigator named sayonara, i know a bit wierd. she broke the law of chastity when me and elder snyder were teaching her and just kind of faded away from us and never told us, but me and elder leyva decided to go back with her and if she would be willing to tell us whats up and if we could help her, and she really just came out and said im pregnant {4 months along now, its getting quite obvious} but it was all because we were able to ask the right questions to make her feel comfortable telling us, and trusting us. it was really cool to follow the spirits guide during that lesson and watch what happend.
also on friday, we talked with sofia and david to try to prep them to be the baptism this week like president wanted, sofia straight up said no, and david said i want to get baptized, but i still want to go to church more first. so we will wait on him a little longer.
saturday, we left our area at 12 for cuernavaca, and didnt get back until 8.... we went for a molar problem for elder leyva, and the procedure took about 3 hours! we have to go back next saturday again, but luckily it wont take as long..... still raining a ton, but it has definately lightened up from what it used to be. the sky is usually cloudy, and it feels really good not to have hot and humid.
well thats about all the time i have for today..... but next week will be better, i love you all, and am so thankful for your updates! stay strong and remember we are on the winning side of the battle!
elder facer
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