Elder Facer Q & A

Susan caught Brigham on the computer this morning, so this week’s letter is mostly in Q & A format. J

everything is going well, because we have time to write today! im really sorry about last week, the interviews with president and shopping for food and trying to get a haircut, which i didnt...., took up our whole day. By the way, when elder snyder comes home in 5 weeks (25 august), he has offered to bring home my gifts for you all, and my photo memory card. so if you can wait, he will get them to you. i cannot use my blog, and yes i did get the package last monday! thank you so much! it was just what i needed. last week was not zone conference, just interviews. president spannaus decided to only make them every 3 months instead of every change, but my interview was really good. i talked with him for a long time about gaining true and pure love, more sincere prayers like the examples in the book of mormon, enos, alma etc and how to pray with all energy of heart. he told me that everyone prays differently. for them, it may have been all energy of heart, but for me it may be different. i have to just pray, ponder, pray some more, and listen some more to find out how the spirit will talk directly to me in my prayers. ya i have heard a little from rusty. he is doing pretty well, but if ever you see him, please tell him i expect him to be at church with his dad!

Q: Wow, that’s a quick turnaround for Elder Snyder! ok, so what progress are you making with your testimony, and with the language?

A: im not sure on the exact date for conference, but it is the 20-30 of august. either right before snyder leaves, or just after. he has your contact info, and will call you when he gets home. ya he wants to get home and study right away. he is still doing really well he pushes forward like a champ still! testimony is hard to graph, but im definately making progress. elder snyder is so good at thinking things through down to the very center, and i dont do that, so he helps me pick things apart. language is definatley improving. i gave a talk in church two weeks ago on the retention of members, and as you noticed, i didnt have to call or write you to do my talk for me! how wonderful for us both! haha a lot of people say my accent is improving, and i can definately see it because there are other elders that have a whole change more than me, and still talk lilke they just came from the mtc.....

ya finally a baptism this week. its a little 9 yr old girl who is just dying to get baptized, but her parents are lazy and wont take her to church. its not like at home, where they can carpool with another member, or walk to church, she lives in a big pueblo, her family is the only members there, and its a 30 minute combi drive to the church... hey i love you so much, but i do have to get off now. sorry. i will try to get more in next week. i would love to get a fresh treat! by the way, the singles packets were a very good idea. if you could, when you send a next package, put a date on something, so i know the date you sent it, and i can track how long it will take for stuff to get to me. thanks love you!!!!

elder facer

A Quick One This Week

hey Im really Sorry i dont haVE much Time At All Today to write... i Got A Lot of letteRs and spent A Lot of Time REAding.  also Sorry About THe RAndom Caps, the COmputeR Is going nuts on me...

wEll AnotheR hard week.  wE worked our buns off eveRy Day trying To find nuevos, and wE Actually did.  wE found 17, but not Many stayed Strong.  wE only ended up with 1 in sacrament meeting Which waS A huge bummer, because anyone wE put with Fecha, means They got Bumped Back, And WE cOuldnt COunt Them for fecHa This Week.  so wE only had tWo keep Their FechaS.  veRy rough.  WE ARE tring to ReAlize anything WE ARE DOing wrong And trying To change That, so wE Can be REAdy to REceive The blessings of The lord.  but man is it hard not To get frustrated and discouraged! when i started in The mtc, i Thought eveRything WOuld Be hard, but STill almost A Walk in The paRk.  but Man waS i wrong!  I Cant believe how haRd Satan wOrks to discourage missionaries.  but WE ARE Trying To keep up. 

did you All Get To Watch The World cup? how waS it from There?  shockingly most STorES Didnt close Down, but becausE they had a Tv In Their tienda.  but The streets wERe Almost COmpletely empty.  most women dont like SocceR here, BecausE it is so addicting For Their men, and is a huge distraction for The Family.  wE didnt haVE people stay home From cHurch, BecausE WE ARE eaRlier.  actually i DOnt dO MucH in cHurch, just help my inveSTigators.  once in A While wE help Teach A class.  i actually got Told By The bishop on wEdnesday ThaT i WaS giving A Talk on The REtention of recent converts and less actives; And it turned out pretty wEll i think.  it waS VeRy haRd Though, becuaSe i couldnt look At Anyone, i Really did have to REad it, Becuase i was talking aBout SOme thing i kneW nothing ABout, and In a diffeRent language.  But Everyone that talked to me ab out it said thaT my accent is getting betteR.  i should Be aBle to Speak pretty WEll within The Next month i hear...

WEll im Sorry For THis week, and not HaVing A ton to write About, or much Time.   thanks For The updates, And taRa i am sorry i didnt write aBout your Birthday last Week, but happy Birthday! and i love you

I Love you all, and keep praying For You!

i LovE yo0u

eldeR FAceR

Change 2

what a frustrating week! for some reason our numbers of nuevos, con miembro, and reunion sacramental dropped to an all time low.... it has been really hard to see this, and realize that it could have been our fault. no baptisms this week, but we are preparing one family to be baptized this week. its a mom and her two kids that are old enough. she cant read, never went to school, and has 9 kids.... the husband is a member, but drinks and isnt married to his wife, breaking the law of chastity. so we are going to try to go to tasco this week, in guerrero, to get them married and baptized this saturday. elder snyder has had an ingrown toenail for about a year now, and was going to wait it out for the last nine weeks, but it just got too bad. so we went to a doctor, and he numbed him and pulled it all off! gross but way cool. it reminded me of alyssa when the piano dropped on her toe. but this is super inflamed already. haha.

well since you want to know a little more about mexico, i will see if i can help with that. a two liter of pop, cost 10 pesos, and a 1.5 liter of water costs 9 pesos. its sad that we buy pop, because it is cheaper that water. everyone drinks about a 2 liter of coca cola every day. if we dont see more that three kids under 6 carrying at least one 2 liter back to their house every day, it was very rare.

all food have three esential ingredients, salt, chiles or peppers, and lime or limón. i love the food here so much. it took a little time to adjust to, but it was definately worth it. sadly some people think we are huge gringos, and cant eat spicy, so they make this wierd chicken stuff that is pretty good, and mexican spaghetti, or noodles with crema which they call sopa. i think it will be even harder to come back home, and try to adjust to american food because americans dont have a specific type of food. when you think mexican food, it is always tortillas, frijoles, chiles, y pollo. we have those things in about every meal with a side of crema which is sour cream. they eat it like we eat frysauce. also here, everything is 100% fresh. fruit, chicken, tortillas, everything is freshly made. but in america, its all preservatives and junk. haha. but i still love it! haha.

everyone owns a volkswagon bug. and so many people in the morning need a push start. haha! here it is almost ok to shop on sundays, because that is their way of life. they dont go to a big convenience store and stock up. they only buy just what they need for that specific meal or to prepare for dinner. so if we eat at someones house on sunday, and they run out of drink, they go buy another, even the bishop sent his wife to do that last week..... but our bishop is still a great leader, it has just become very common here...

i sleep pretty well, the weather still too humid and hot. but its fine. elder snyder will never be trunky! he is a champ and such a gread dad. thats what they call an elder who picks up a brand new missionary. i know my geneology for 3 generations! its funny how nice everyone is here. if you turn down food, you are pretty much the devil and they dont forgive super easily haha. so we eat a ton! even the poorest people will buy us a 500 ml of coke if we only taught them a lesson, it is their way of saying thanks. if some busy store owner is working, and we ask him for direcciones, he will gladly stop what he is doing and help us to the best he can. even though addresses are pretty much worthless in anenecuilco.... the house numbers dont mean a thing, and most people dont even know the name of the street just above or below them. only their street.... also we have a huge area to cover. so it can be very hard some times. haha well this is about all the info i have time for today, and hopefully next week i can give you a good weekly report. i love you all!!

elder facer

First Change Complete

im a little concerned why im not getting a letter every week anymore.... well tara is keeping me up to date at least. thanks tara! haha. well we had a very confusing and rough week this time. our goal of 7 baptisms for the change had really stressed us out, because we didnt know how we were going to get it.. we were busy every second of the day, and never had any down time in our daily planner. every day was full from 11 am until 9 or 930 pm. but it was very odd, for some reason this week we really didnt find anyone new. every other week, we have had approx. 15 nuevos, but this week we got 6.... it was kinda sad to see that number. but a good number we got, was 12 investigators in sacrament meeting! we usually only get 6. that was a product of our past finding people.

it has been really hard to get people prepared for baptism and committing to it this week, because so many people here, arent married! it is so frustrating. it is always because one of them just doesnt want to spend the money.. very frustrating. but we are making progress at least. i dont know if you remember me mentioning Maria Luisa before, but she is so solid. she has come to church every week since the first time she went, and she reads and prays everyday. the only reason she isnt baptized, is because of her dumb ´husband´. they arent even married. he is a jerk. he has cheated on her many times, and treats her like dirt, and just wont leave. it is her house, and she cant kick him out, because he wont leave and the police wont help her. the government is so corrupt here. the word illegal, doesnt exist. so sadly she has come to the conclusion to leave to live with some relatives in baja california... she is waiting for her last son to graduate from this school year, then she will leave him with one of his older sisters, and leave for about a year until he leaves.... its so sad, but she did say that we will be able to baptize her before she leaves so she can have her records anywhere waiting for her. that was so great to hear! but also it is still very sad about her situation.

we did get 3 baptisms this week though. trinidad, his wife dulce, and a little girl with inactive family stephanie. that is the correct spelling of her name. trinidad and dulce are the ones visiting from sinaloa, and it turns out that they will be here for about a month and a half more. he is so awesome. after i baptized him, we were both changing, and he turned and asked me ´what is this i am feeling? it is really awesome´ i seriously about broke down there and told him what it was. he was so excited and said ´so wait, i can have this feeling always? i want that´ he is such a wonderful guy. so i baptized him and dulce, luckily their names werent that hard. juan trinidad erenas torres, and dulce prado something. haha then aurelio baptized his daughter stephanie. she was really afraid of the water, but all went well. hahah

we found this investigator from san diego, he is 6 foot 2, about 350 lbs, and an english teacher here. he is staying with his sick abuelita. he is great. he loves to learn about the gospel, and retains the information really well! which is shocking here. haha. im just worried that we might need a bigger font for him...... please pray for him.

other than that, we have had just our basic routine of investigators, except we are seeing big results from these three kids and i ask that you pray for them too. they are sayonara, marcos, and diana. they are right on track, and just need a little bit more incouragement. please pray for the spirit to be with them. thanks

other than that, we are staying pretty healthy this time, and very poor.... for some reason, everyone in the zone feels like we were cut short on money and everyone is down to their last pesos. and we still ahve a week left at least before we get more money. speaking of that, did you get a new pin number for my card?

mom, do you know when the church is going to put out the new pmg? do you know if they are changing anything on it, or is it just making it smaller.

im glad to hear that the lane is being fixed, and everyone is still working hard. i hope grandma is feeling better and making great improvements! thanks for the update maryjo!

how is john and aricas baby doing? does someone have a picture of alyssas house they can send me? and if i want to get some pics of the mission in for the end of year slideshow, when would you like them by? everyone, thanks for all you do, and for your prayers. i am definately feeling comforted when times get rough, because i know i have all of you backing me up. thank you so much, you really dont know how much that really helps!

i love you all and pray for you all too!

elder facer

June 21--Week 6...or 5?

well another week down, but this one was better, because there wasnt any sickness!! haha.  but sadly we didnt get a baptism...  our goal of seven seems pretty far out now considering we only have two, and this is the last week in the change.  but we do have at least 3 baptisms planned for this weekend. hopefully the Lord will bless us with the chosen people that we can baptize.  also there is a girl whose family are members, but she wasnt baptized and wants to be, but the only problem is that she is 45 mins drive away from our main area....

can you believe that i am already on week six of the field?  after this week i am 1/8th over with my mission. haha. but im not counting down or anything. 

ALL FATHERS OUT THERE.  im very sorry that i missed fathers day yesterday, but i have good news.  Today is Día de los Padres.  so happy día de los padres instead! haha. i love you all fathers.  especially my dad, who i miss very much.

congratulations john and arica on a beautiful new baby! im so excited for you.  and i am sorry to hear about grandma.  its good to hear that everything is going good, i hope that the recovery will be very speedy and not very painful. 

well this week has been kind of crazy.  we have had so many appointments, that we havent had any real time to contact any one new, or referrals..... but this week we are changing our plans, and focusing big time on really seeking out the escogidos.  elder snyder and i had a very progressive talk last night, and we are going to change a lot of our ways of teaching, and only try to focus on the escogidos, and not as much on the others, who God hasnt prepared as much to hear the gospel.  we have been working a lot with the bishop this week, and because of that, we have realized so much more how great of a man he is, and all that he does for his family, and the ward. 

we have the coolest investigator i have ever seen right now.  his name is trinidad, and his wife is dulce.  they have one kid who is like 6 months.  they are down visiting family right now, and we happened to be able to teach them, the family they are visiting is a less active family.  so we got a double hitter on this one.  but he is so involved in everything we do.  if we tell him to read a chapter, he prays before, studdies it, and prays after.  when we ask for a recap, he practically gives it verse for verse! it is incredible.  his wife isnt as good, but she still is in the lessons, goes to church, and reads a little.  im just so mad that he isnt in our area, and cant stay in our ward.  he lives in Sinaloa, im not sure if it is a state, or just  a city.  but i have a very good feeling that in a year, i will be able to go to the temple with him and dulce to be sealed!!!  i know that he will strive for that.  they are only here for like 3 and a half weeks, so just long enough for us to baptize and confirm them, then they are headed back....

im sorry that i dont have a ton of time again, i just cant realize how little time we actually have even on pdays.... thanks for keeping me updated, everyone.  i love to get your letters and just know whats going on in everyones life.  thank you all so much, not only for your letters but also for your example.  both before the mission and still now.  stay strong in your families.  being here only six weeks, i am seeing how incredibly hard satanás is working to ruin families.  please stay strong, and listen to the guidance and council of your parents.  if parents are readiing this, show it to your kids.  obedience is key, whether on the mission or not.  i love you all, and pray for your good health, and success in life and callings.  may the Lord watch over you all in all things.

elder facer

A Rough Weekend

Hey. how is everything going this week? tara filled me in on some stuff.

well i guess i just cant stay healthy here. haha. this week, a very poor investigator fed us, and she gave us water from the tap..... we were ok, until an appointment with another investigator the next day in the evening. I threw up twice at her house, and later that night elder snyder started and practically didnt stop all night long. this was on friday that it started and continued to saturday. we couldnt do anything on saturday, because we were both on the toilet or in front of it most of saturday. a very sweet member lady brought us a simple breakfast, and had other members bring medicine and lunch. by the end of the day, we were a little better, but not fully recovered. we had to cancel all of our appointments, and only remind about going to church. but sadly we did have to get up and work at 5, because we had to prepare for another baptism.

This week, it was a little girl of 10 yrs who for some reason wasnt baptized.... so we taught her in one week and baptized her! it was a good experience, especially because her uncle was able to do the ordinance. but very sadly, our expected baptism canceled on friday. it was the lady whose house i threw up at. Her name is Sandra. she is by far the most golden investigator we have, but she doesnt feel like she is prepared enough again. we have done all we can, so please pray for her, and help her to receive her answer.

mom. elder snyder has the condensed version of PMG, and i have sadly lusted over it. haha jk. but there is a lady you can email and she will send it to either you or me. her email is miniPMGmom@gmail.com. i would truly love it if you would at least check for me and see what it would cost, or if you could get it for me.

im sorry i dont have a ton of time today, but thanks for your prayers and i pray for all of you everyday! keep up the good work, trust in the lord, y ¡hechar le ganas!
i love you all
elder facer

Not a Lot of Time

im writng really late today, but we went to tepoztlan to see an ancient pyramid.! i am going to send a box home soon enough for you, with a few small gifts and my memory card. the biggest gift ever! i have been trying to take pics of everything, but it is hard to remember sometimes.

angelica is a great member here who speaks great english, and would really love to go to byu to study, if you could please send the info of what she needs to do that would be great. she is currently a student at a college in cuernavaca, and i would like to see if there was any way to help her get there.

well luckily i am better now. it was something in one of the meals i ate that was appearantly very new! i love the food here. everymeal, we have tortillas with it, usually a soup, and usually with chicken. they eat chicken with everything. i would have to say one of my favorite things to eat here, is called picadas. or french toast! haha me and elder snyder eat it for breakfast almost everyday. haha it is wierd to have to provide for myself... i miss you mom haha. for other meals i dont know, i havent have had a ton of stuff. everything is mostly the same genre of meal.

to try to answer some of alyssas questions, there is absolutely no neutral color of house. purple, red, green, blue, yellow, white, black. all made out of cement. when i send the pictures home, you will see a lot more of what i mean. i love laughing with elder snyder about that here, here, you can say hi to anyone, and they will respond. but if i was to do that with everyone on the street in the usa, almost no one would respond. yes driving is insane. it really does scare me when we have to go long distanes in a combie (little bus) or in a taxi. everyone knows to watch out for them. the poverty level really is insane here. especially in anenequilco. mom, i dont know if you would be able to handle coming to pick me up.... bugs and cockroaches, spiders, mosquitoes etc are everywhere in our house. but also there are geckos to help get rid of some bugs. it is crazy hot here everyday, but i hear when i go to acapulco, it is even worse.... everyone dies in acapulco of heat.

we had mission conference on tuesday, and that was incredible! it was good to see president and get his info on some things.

sorry im trying to get through this quick, because i dont have a ton of time. if i dont answer a question this time, please ask it again and i will answer it next time.

i also went on splits with another missionary in my district, so we could get a lady her baptismal interview. splits was great, i was with a mexican companion who didnt know english, so it really forced me to speak 100%. it was great. also that day i saw a moving circus and two huge white tigers! awesome.

with that baptismal interview, it was ana. we are teaching her, and her baptism was last saturday and i did the service. it was such a great experience. the first baptism i went to here, i performed it.

im sorry that i dont have more time, cause i really want to write more! but for today i cant. i love you all and keep up the good work. please pray for karina, luis, alejandra, sandra, guadalupe, jazmin, juan, hector, maria luisa, paty, jesus, cristina, and herlinda. these are some of our progressing investigators who definitely need all the help from prayers they can get! love you all!

elder facer