Elder Taylor Fawcett: Week 15 - Spaghetti Noodles and a Parasite

Hola:

This week was great! We had a conference with President Herrera and it was super awesome. We also had interviews with him as well. My interview went pretty well, President Herrera was very happy with the work Elder Iza and I are doing and he was also very impressed with how much my Spanish Language abilities have progressed. Our Mission President is super awesome, I think he probably the best one out there!

This week we did quite a bit of teaching and we have investigators at different stages of the teaching process. We are hoping to schedule a few more baptisms in the next few weeks but we will have to see how things go. Also this week, we received a new less active who has a number of problems that we are helping him to work with. Ironically, his name is Richard even though they pronounce it differently down here! He was baptized when he was 8, got married and had a daughter that is now 6 but hasn’t seen her for quite a while. Along the way in his life, he made some bad decisions that caused his life to make a turn for the worse. He lost everything; his wife and his daughter and has forced him to live in the streets. He has been living in the streets for several months and has many problems with a number of things including a big dependence on alcohol. But one day, he said he had a personal revelation that people would be sent to help him, and that’s when we found him. He really has a desire to return to the Church and so it is great to help him do that. We are helping him out a lot and it is amazing to see him change and overcome his weaknesses. It is really cool to see the change in people’s lives, it doesn’t matter where you are, where you have been or what you are doing. The Gospel can make you whole again. If you are doing bad things, you can always change and can come back!

In the last little while, I have been thinking a lot about my mission and I have realized that it really doesn’t matter if I have 1 million or one baptism while I am out here. That is not what matters and that is not why I am here. I am not working out here to rack big numbers or statics, I am out here because at this time in my life this is where the Lord wants me to be and it doesn’t matter if I am teaching new converts or reactivating members, I am here representing our Savior Jesus Christ. So far, I think that the biggest convert in my mission so far has been myself. I have grown up a lot and my Testimony has really grown in the short time I have been here.

In sacrament meeting this week, I was sitting down when the Bishop came up and asked me if I would talk because the assigned speaker’s couldn’t make it this week. So, I agreed even though I was scared out of my mind. I didn’t have time to prepare anything really, so I went up to the pulpit and somehow I was able to give a talk for over 12 minutes on how every member is a missionary, It was very difficult because I had to completely do it by the Spirit because I didn’t have time to prepare. But all the members said my Spanish was great and that they really appreciated the message.

This week, I got served some sort of what I thought was spaghetti noodles... but as I began eating it, I realized they were NOT noodles at ALL! As a matter of fact, until after I had eaten it all, I really didn’t want to know what it was because it was so nasty! After I was done eating, I found out it was Tripe or Small Cow Intestines. As for my stomach infection I mentioned last week, the antibiotic didn’t do anything so after more tests, I guess I get to go back to the doctor’s this week and get treated for my First Parasite! Not a big deal and I am not the first Elder to get one!

I love this work and all of you! Thanks for all your support!

Elder Taylor R. Fawcett

Peru Cusco Mission