Monday, June 26, 2017

Week 50 - Saqsaywaman

Hola,                                                                                                                                                    
  
Well, one year from today I will officially get on the airplane and be on my way back home. With the way changes fall, my official release date is June 26, 2018. I am not trying to be trunky or anything, I just think its super crazy how fast time flies and how little time I have left here in Peru. This week was the big celebration here in Cusco to celebrate the Incas. Although I didn’t get to go, I heard music coming from miles away and even saw a few people every now and then dressed up. So that was pretty sweet!

This week it was crazy busy. We had the leaders meeting here in Cusco and that was awesome to be able to be there for that as well. I was also way sick for a big chunk of the week. I’m not quite sure what was wrong with me, but my stomach literally hurt so bad. We think I had some sort of infection, but the best thing to do for that is to just let it pass. Being a missionary here in Peru, you quickly learn that getting sick is a part of the mission. So you can either suck it up or be miserable.

Today for P-day we went to Saqsaywaman, which was a temple for the Incas. It was super cool to walk around and see some incredible ruins along with some really cool areas that people consider to perhaps have been baptismal fonts. There were a lot of places that people say has significance in the Book of Mormon and it was really neat and awesome to see some incredible things. The crazy part was that there was a huge mix up that happened when we were there and let’s just say the people thought we were the problem when we were really okay and the police were called and thought we did something, but we didn’t do anything wrong at all. So today we almost got arrested in Saqsaywaman which just made it that much more interesting hahaha!
   
Some quick stories from the week. Well, that family we are teaching is awesome! The wife and her son are wanting to be baptized, but now it’s all up to us to being able to convert and help the husband. His big problem I would say is he just gets hung up on little doctrines he doesn’t agree with and doesn’t think about all the things he does agree with. The process is slow, but I know that the Lord has prepared this family and that someday they will all be baptized and sealed.

Other than that, I was riding in another taxi (yeah I know, another taxi story) with this guy who was listening to some pretty loud rap music (reminded me of my brother Tanner) and was completely a hard contact because of the situation. I felt like I needed to talk to him and so I just started trying to talk over the rap. Eventually he clued into the fact that I wanted to talk and turned down his music. After talking to him for a while he accepted a visit and I was able to pass the reference to the sector he lives in. I guess the thing I am amazed at is the fact that it would have been so much easier to just ignore the prompting because it would have been a “hard” contact rather than putting forth some effort and contacting him. I have really learned that the more effort we put forth, the more the Lord is going to bless us.   

In closing, I want to share with each of you how much I love missionary work. I may not be the best at contacting, speaking, or teaching lessons, but the thing I have really learned here is how to follow the spirit. With the spirit, you can literally do ANYTHING! The Lord will always bless you as you put forth your best effort to teach the gospel. As his servants, he intents this message to reach every single one of his children and as long as you are receptive to his promptings, the Lord will bless you with what you need. I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Fawcett



In Cusco, There Are 2 Zones, Cusco and Inti Raymi (King of the Incas)
Last Week on P-Day, The 2 Zones Battled it Out In Paint Ball!!!


Elder Fawcett and a Peruvian Women at Saqsaywaman
Note She is Standing While Elder Fawcett is Kneeling!!!


The Fortress of Saqsaywaman pronounced - "sexy woman" and in the Quechua language means "satisfied falcon", it was this "falcon" that guarded the capital of the empire, since it was possible to overlook all of Cusco from the hill where it was built. This complex is considered the most important ceremonial site of the Hanan Qosqo (High Cusco) period. The site has three retaining terraces, featuring huge walls with precisely interlocking stones, creating a zigzag formation. Some speculate the plan was to always be able to outflank a besieging army, others that the shape forms the teeth in the figure of a puma that Cusco was designed to resemble. The fort contains three towers. The Central Tower, called Muyuj Marca “the round place” was a residence for the Incas. Its walls were covered in gold and silver plate. The second tower was known as Paucamarca “the friendly place” and the third tower, called Sallajmarca “the rough place”.