Week 63 - Where's Your Jacket!!

Hola,

Serving here in Cusco is such a cool experience. This past week we had some way cool experiences happen that were seriously the best! First off I just want to talk for a second about how awesome the people here in Perú are. So as most of you know I was always the kid who was outside in shorts and a T-Shirt when everyone else thought it was cold. Well here in the mission all of the natives think it is really cold and sometimes it is but most the time it’s like 60 degrees so I am just fine out in a short sleeve shirt. Well, this past week we were out and it was exactly like that. Everyone thought it was freezing cold and for me, it was warm. Having learned from experience I have learned that I should always wear a jacket or else the people get mad at you, but this past week I was in the process of washing mine. So when we went to visit a member in our Ward, he looked at me and said “Elder where is your jacket? You are going to freeze out here!” He then commenced to take off his OWN jacket and hand it to me. “You need this more than I do!” He said. Well here it is really offensive to reject things from people so I kindly tried explaining to him that I was perfectly okay. After promising to him that I would immediately go and get my jacket off of the clothes line where it was drying at our house, we saw the little man who recently was converted to the church that only speaks Quechua walking down the street. I am not sure if I have explained what he does for a living but the little Quechua man picks up plastic bottles for a living (old soda bottles, 2 liter bottles, anything like that). Noticing that the little man was shivering and not wearing a jacket the member walked up to him and handed him the jacket that he had wanted me to wear. The two of them spoke in Quechua and I didn’t catch all they said but when the member came back he explained “I gave it to him to keep because he needed it more than I do.” This experience really taught me how we all should live our lives. So many times we are so concerned about our own needs that we fail to recognize the needs of others. During the rest of my time in Perú I would really love to continue to learn these loving characteristics from these incredible people.

As far as my week this week as you all will see in pictures I sent home I had the chance to baptize this really awesome lady named Wendy this past week! Wendy was inspired to join the church through the example of the way that her Uncle who is a member has lived his life. She is awesome and it was a really cool experience to be able to perform the baptism.

This week we also taught our new investigator named Billy that I mentioned last week! Billy is super awesome! He has so many desires to learn and grow and in the first visit that we had with him the Spirit was super strong and he accepted the Restoration very well and completely believes the story of the Book of Mormon and everything. He has been reading it and is loving it! He is progressing super well, he came to church and we also put a baptismal date with him! We are hoping and praying that we can get him as ready as possible because he is going to make a great member of the Church!

Diego as well is progressing well. Unfortunately things aren’t going as well as we thought because he isn’t going to be ready to be baptized quite yet. He hasn’t gained that solid testimony that he needs to be a member, which is really important because as missionaries we aren’t just here to baptize anyone who is out on the street. We are here to baptize people who are not only willing to fully take Christ's name upon them but also people who are ready to help build up Gods kingdom on earth. If you would all keep him and all of our other investigators in your prayers that would be awesome because I know that would really help them a whole lot! 

Last story for the week! So this past week we were doing some work in the office when we heard a knock at the door. Outside we were greeted by a short little man who was homeless and looking for somewhere to work. He asked us if we were the ones that hired people to work for the church but we explained to him that we weren’t. After that we explained to him that we were missionaries and our job was to help other obtain the happiness that our Heavenly Father desires for all of his children. He looked at us and at first was a little hesitant because he didn’t believe that God actually wanted him to be happy because he literally has nothing but after explaining to him that true happiness isn’t found in material things, he started to understand a little better. Although he didn’t accept to listen to us, we did invite him to Church. As Sunday rolled around we were outside greeting people as they entered the Church but there was no sign of the homeless man. Today we were talking to a few Elders in another Sector and overheard them talking about a homeless man who had randomly shown up to their Sacrament Meeting. After talking to them for a second we realized that it had been the same person that we had invited to Church. It just goes to show that sometimes, we cannot fully see the effects of efforts as we serve the Lord. 

The work here in Perú is moving on well and we are seeing the Lord’s hand in each and every day of our lives. I have truly grown to learn what it means to be a True Disciple of Christ. It is more than just the everyday things we live. It is the way we think, act, and treat others. I have learned what it means to have the Love of Christ in us by trying to love all of Gods children here in Perú, even when they yell and swear at us or try to make fun of our beliefs. I love being a missionary and hope that each of you have the best week!

Love,

Elder Fawcett

Elder Fawcett, Hermana Wendy and Family
at Her Baptism

Hermana Wendy

Week 62 - "That They May Always Have His Spirit To Be With Them"

Hola,

I am so tired! Honestly every week it feels like I am more tired than the previous. This week my Companion Elder Pinedo and I got some great work done! To start off we are continuing to help Diego prepare for his baptismal date! He seems really excited for it because he has mentioned to people that he is getting ready to be baptized so we are trying to help prepare him for that. More than anything we are trying to help in get his answer. It seems that he is beginning to recognize the Spirit because as we taught him this past week he said that he always feels something when we are with him. We explained the feelings that we feel when the Holy Ghost is present, so he is finally beginning to understand that he is feeling the Holy Ghost in each lesson! He is super awesome and is progressing super well!

Now for another cool story! This week a member presented us to a new investigator named Billy!  Billy has previously gone to church activities but this past Sunday he came to church for the first time because a member invited him to attend. So, on Sunday we were presented to him and were able to get a visit set up for this Tuesday. He also has mentioned to several people that he is getting ready to be baptized in the Mormon Church so we are super excited to start teaching him and hoping that we can get another person ready for baptism as well soon.

We got a really weird phone call this week from a Lady that asked me something very strange. She asked me if we would stop by to explain to her more about the previous lesson we had, had about Joseph Smith. Not recognizing the number nor the voice of the person I asked the name of the Lady. She responded and said that it was Dina (the niece of Ismael and Alieana). Now the reason that I say this is weird is because after we taught her the Restoration she told us that we were a bunch of liars and that there was no way that she was ever going to accept the idea of a 14 year old guy talking to God. We testified to her and told her that the only way she could truly know was if she prayed and asked God. So after talking to her on the phone I got the impression that she took our advice to heart and actually did pray and ask God. This week we were invited back so I guess we will see what happens!

Finally I just want to share a really cool story that happened this week. So my Penchanista was telling us that her son, ever since he was little, is able to see Spirits. Now when I say Spirits I literally mean Spirits. She told us about how there are many times when he will say that there are Spirits in the home and it was at this moment that her son walked in the room. He looked at us and told us that almost all the time we walk into the house he always sees people with us. I looked at him and asked him what the people look like and he said that all of them are in white and that there is always one person with each one of us as we enter. As he made that comment it made me think a whole lot. Each and every day as a missionary we are entitled to have the Spirit to be with us wherever we go. But also each and every single week as we partake of the sacrament we hear the words “that they may always have His Spirit to be with them”. As members of the church each and every one of us is entitled to have the Spirit to be with us but there is also a huge catch. In order to have that Spirit we need to be doing what we should be doing. How many times a day are we doing things that pushes the Spirit away. The Spirit will be with us but if we are not living worthy of it, we have no promise of having it. Each and every decision and choice we make will determine whether or not we are going to have it with us or if we will not. I love each and every one of you and want you all to know that each day I strive to do the very best I can because I know that the work I am doing here as a missionary not only affects the people on this side of the veil but also affects people on the other side as well. This work is a work that affects every one of God’s children!

Love,

Elder Fawcett

Based on the Pictures and Video we got today, it looks like the office Elders had a lot of fun today with the Mission President! Unfortunately, the video and some of the pictures would not upload although they show that Elder Fawcett has developed a lot more "adventurous/devious side" compared to when he left home!

Not Quite Sure What to Even Title This One!
(Yea, That is The President's Desk)

Elder Fawcett and Elder Pinedo
(Looks Like His Legs Have Finally Grown Into His Size 15 Shoes)

Elder Fawcett's Office Record, Release Date 26 June 2018

Week 61 - Taking the "I" Out of The Mission

 Hola,

At this point in the mission I honestly feel like I just barely wrote a weekly letter hahaha! Anyway, here we go again! This week was literally way awesome!!! First off the top thing that happened this past week was we had a wayyy spiritual lesson with Diego! Last week I know I mentioned that we are teaching him but this week I would like to tell you a little bit more about him. Diego is 23 years old and has literally had a really hard life. When he was 3 years old his Dad left him and his Mom. After a few years his mom remarried and his stepfather took him and his Mom to live in Japan for several years for his work. He struggled growing up not really having the influence a father who really did care about him, so after many years his mom, and stepfather moved back to Perú and he is currently living on his own trying to find his way in life. In his life he has attended just about every church you can imagine, Catholic, Jehovah´s Witnesses, Baptist, 7th day Adventists, and even Buddhism in Japan (he also speaks Japanese fluently!). So coming from a religious background that has taught him many correct things along with many other things that have been very twisted, it made for a very interesting lesson.

For the most part he accepted the story of Joseph Smith pretty well and only had a few questions but found the Book of Mormon very interesting. He has already read a whole lot of it and is really loving it! But when we came to lesson 2 that made for a really interesting lesson. For the most part he knew and understood the whole idea of the Plan of Salvation but having been to several different churches he had his own ideas and thoughts about it. For example he had a really hard time accepting that the Fall of Adam was necessary for the plan. After sharing scriptures and patiently trying to explain it to him, he just didn’t understand. I wasn’t quite sure what to do, but I got the prompting to just keep going with the lesson. So that’s exactly what we did. We continued and right as we hit the Atonement, the Spirit came powerfully into the lesson and there was no doubt in my mind that he had felt the Spirit. As we continued we still had a few struggles and I am just grateful that I know the Bible well because had I not, we would have been in real trouble because Diego knows it super well! As we got to the end of the lesson and taught him about the 3 Kingdoms of Glory, that was where his heart really changed. After explain and teaching him about each Kingdom, I looked at him and said “Diego what is your goal?” That was when I noticed the change in his countenance and I knew that he had finally understood the point of the Fall of Adam and everything else that we had taught. He looked at me and said that he was willing to do anything he could to get to the Celestial Kingdom. That was when the Spirit told me it was the time to invite him. So I looked at him and told him that he would one day achieve that Glory if he was willing to fully follow Jesus Christ in his life. Then I invited him to be baptized on September 30th and he said that he would!!! So we are really looking forward to helping get prepared for that. I know it’s not going to be easy because he still has a lot of questions but I know that he will one day he will be wearing all white stepping into the waters of baptism.

Other than that, this week we also had changes with the new missionaries so it was awesome to do some trainings with them! I always enjoy spending time with the new missionaries because it reminds me of myself and how I felt over a year ago when I got to the mission. Not knowing Spanish worth a dang, or even how to effectively teach the Gospel. I really would love to train a new missionary again later on before I finish the mission!

As for everything else down here in Cusco they are pretty great! I sure love these incredible Peruvians! The families we are teaching are doing great as well. Ismael and his wife are still struggling but I know that even though they have lots of struggles, the Lord will continue prepare them to accept all of our message someday. We also have a new investigator that is the brother of one of the members in the ward. We have yet to have a visit with him but I am really excited because his brother who is a member is an RM and is super cool! We are hoping to teach him and get him baptized because his brother has commented that it would be cool to serve a mission!

Overall things are going terrific down here in Perú and we are getting really excited with some of the people we are teaching. This week I would just like to close with my testimony that I have come to obtain through the experiences I have had. The mission was never meant to be an easy experience for me. There have been a lot of times throughout the mission when I have gotten very discouraged because thing weren’t going or turning out the way “I” wanted them to or had planned on. Investigators not progressing the way “I” wanted or not necessarily being placed in circumstances that “I” wanted to be in with a lot of different issues. But one of the big things that I have learned here is that the mission shouldn’t be what “I” want. If it were that way then how would I ever be able to learn the things that our Heavenly Father wants me too? Life should never be about what we want because that isn’t the reason why we are here. We are here to Love others and to show to our Heavenly Father that we have the desire to be like him because he isn’t concerned at all about himself. In life, there are so many times when people are so concerned about what “they” want and forget about the example that the Savior set of completely forgetting yourself and doing what is best for others. Here in Perú I hear things every once in a while with what is going on out there in the “real world”, which really saddens me because I realize that if people would forget about themselves and their personal interests, the world wouldn’t be worried about going to war all the time or so many of the other problems that are going on right now. As disciples of Jesus Christ we should always strive to forget about ourselves and do what the Savior would do! I love you all and pray each and every day for you!

Love,

Elder Fawcett

Week 60 -Serving the Lord thy God with All thy Heart, Soul and Mind

Hola, 

Another week down. It sure seems that the farther you get in the mission, the faster the mission seems to go by! Anyway this week was great! To start off I just wanted to let you all know that today was changes so my old Companion, Elder Ordoñez, is leaving the office. My new Companion is Elder Pinedo and he is from Colombia! He is awesome and we have already started working really hard and on teaching some of our investigators!  

As far as the investigators go, let me tell you about that! So this week we were out contacting trying to get some more people to teach when we came across some awesome people! The first of them was a really awesome reference we got of a guy about 22-24 years old! His name is Diego and is super awesome! We have taught the restoration and he is literally a golden investigator! He came to church and is already starting to progress super well! It truly is incredible how the Lord will lead you to those who are ready if you are willing to put in your full effort and try your absolute hardest to find them. We also contacted this awesome young couple that also seems like they are going to progress well but have a visit this coming week so I guess we will see how that goes! 

As for Ismael they are doing very well! His wife Aliana is totally ready for a baptismal date because she has felt the Spirit super strong in some of our visits and honestly already has a testimony that the Church Is True. The real problem however is the fact that her husband is still really struggling with his faith. He really wants to know for absolute sure that what he is doing is right and for that reason he has had a difficult time accepting the answers to his prayers. We know that with lots of prayer and fasting, the Lord will help him recognize his answer and begin to accept our message fully! Their nice, Dina, still has a lot of interest in learning and we are striving each visit to help her with her problems and also help her to accept our message a little more each day!  It truly is incredible how the Lord has the ability to soften the hearts of others through the power of the Holy Ghost. 

Also this week we has been super crazy with changes and trying to get things ready for all of that! But along with all of the hard work was the great blessing of seeing the progress of our investigator, Julio! Julio is literally the BEST!!! From what I heard from the Elders Quorum President he was out all week last week visiting the in actives and trying to help out with that! He is literally the best and a true example of what it means to take upon yourself the name of the Savior. Ever since he was baptized he has been preparing to receive the Aaronic Priesthood here really soon. His goal of being a missionary has also only grown and he is now studying Preach My Gospel to prepare for it. For me it is so incredible how someone who has such a short time knowing of the Restored Gospel, is already willing to give all he has to thank the Lord for blessing him with it. I am so grateful to have been able to witness his conversion process, it truly is incredible! 

Finally, President Herrera and his Family took us out to a really nice restaurant this past week (he tends to do that every now and then) and I had the chance to try an Alpaca Burger! Can I just say that is probably one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten, I know it may sound weird but I honestly love trying new foods!  

In closing I just want to share a cool experience I had this week. So as you all may know, there are so many traditional things here in Perú. There are lots of traditional dances, traditional dishes and a whole lot of traditional idol worship that happens with all of the Catholics that are here. So I was once again in a taxi talking to a guy when he said something that really impacted me, he said It is really sad how there are so many people here who are not willing to give up their traditions and set aside there worldly things to dedicate a little more time and thought to God. After he said that I have been really thinking about that a lot this past week. What are each of us putting before God? Are we putting our work before him? Are we putting our cellphone before him? Are we putting our friends before him?  Are we putting things that aren’t worth the time before him? After a lot of pondering I have realized that one of the biggest problems in today’s world is the fact that people are not taking the time to remember our Heavenly Father. He truly does love us and as every Father does, he wants us to take the appropriate time to remember to talk to him. Each of us needs to remember the first Commandment which is Thou Shalt Love the Lord thy God with All thy Heart, and with all thy Soul, and with all thy Mind. The Lord has Commanded us to do this, therefore we should never put anything before him. As a missionary I have been striving to help God’s children in Perú to be able to understand that if we put our Heavenly Father first, it will bring us True Happiness! I testify to each of you that if we put our Heavenly Father first always, it will make us happier than any other thing will! I love you all and hope you have a great week! 

Love, 

Elder Fawcett

Office Staff with President and Sister Herrera's Family

Alpaca Burger and Fries

My New Tie!!

Kind of Cramped with All of Us in the Taxi!!

Plaza de Armas in Cusco

Another Shot of the Plaza

Fountain in the Plaza de Armas

Cristo Blanco

Side View of Cristo Blanco

Cusco from Cristo Blanco