Elder Taylor Fawcett: Week 40

Hola,

I hope all of you are doing Super Great, down here in Juliaca it has been a very long and stressful week due to so many things going on. This past week we had the chance to do our Super P-Day with President Herrera which was a TON of fun. We went to the Floating Islands in Puno once again and we also went and played a lot of really fun games. Overall, I had a great time! As well, this week we had interviews with President Herrera and a Mulitzone Conference with him as well. It was really busy, but overall a great experience! Now for a bunch of stories for the week.

So this week my Companion, Elder Melo and I were out proselyting when a super drunk guy holding a bottle of beer walked up and started talking to us. He kept on insisting that we come inside the shop and have a drink with him. We told him that we didn’t drink, so that was when he walked inside and bought a big 2 liter of Inca Kola and asked if we could drink that. Laughing, my companion and I agreed and walked inside to find that this guy was all alone getting drunk. We sat down and the man told us we weren’t allowed to leave until we finished the entire 2 Liter bottle. As we sat there, we began to teach this man about the basic things that we as members believe in. As well, we began to ask the man what he believed in. After talking to him for a while, the guy still drinking his bottle of beer and us drinking the Inka Kola, I felt like I should ask him why he was drinking. He began to explain that his wife had died and that it was all he had to forget and feel better. That was then when we started a quick overview of The Plan of Salvation and explained that someday he would see her again. We finished the 2 liter bottle and set up another opportunity to visit this guy when he wasn’t so drunk.

Another experience was as Elder Melo and I have been teaching a man named Darlin, we have been amazed by how well he is accepting everything that we have taught him. He is progressing super well and it is amazing to see his progress. Not only that, but we normally teach him on his break at his work and this past week we found out that his Boss Lucio is a member who hasn’t been to Church in like twenty years or so. Not only that, but this man also was a return missionary. So as we have been teaching these two guys this past week, we invited them both to come to church with us. It was truly an amazing experience to watch this man come to church after not coming for such a long period of time.

This past week was the Holy Week (I think that’s what it is called in English), to remember the week of the sacrifice and crucifixion of the Savior. During this week a lot of members of the Catholic Church have big parade type things to remember this event. As we were out proselyting, a lady stopped us and asked if we were The Mormons. We said we were and also clarified the real name of the Church. She told us she had a question for us. She asked us where our crosses were, why we didn’t wear them, or why our Chapel didn’t display them. It was then that I remembered a talk President Hinckley gave about the cross and I knew how to answer her question. I testified to her that we believe that our Savior Lives. We believe that the Savior rose from the tomb on the third day and that he continues to live. She really liked that answer and we also set up an appointment with her.

This past week our Bishop called and asked me if I would be the main speaker on Easter Sunday. I agreed, but felt really nervous since I would be speaking on such a special day. I spent a lot of time praying and pondering what I should speak on, when I got the impression that I should talk about something that distinctly differentiates us about our believes and about what the Savior did during this sacred week. As Sunday rolled around, I felt like I should talk about the things that the Savior did throughout the week, but when I got to the three days after his crucifixion, I felt really inspired to talk a lot about exactly what the Savior was doing in the spirit world during those three days. As I testified that the Savior had begun the work for the dead during those three days in the Spirit World, I felt such a powerful spirit knowing that My Ancestors were helping carry out that work now.

In Closing, I just want to share my testimony that I know that our Savior Lives. He was Resurrected and he Lives today, I am so thankful for him and the knowledge I have of him. I love him dearly and am so grateful for the trust he has in me to be one of his representatives in Peru. I testify of the truthfulness of this work and of the incredible miracles I see each day!

Love

Elder Fawcett