Week 98 - Wormed Again!

Hola,

This week was definitely a weird one. For starters it went by even faster than any other week during my mission On top of that I got super sick on Saturday with super strong stomach pains, which is normal for me since getting sick here isn’t an unusual thing but then it just started getting even worse. I don´t really want to go into details but I will just say that a worm came out of my body and I went to the hospital again and am being treated for Parasites again! They aren´t exactly sure which type of parasite worms I have so they gave me several different types of medicine to take, hoping that whatever type it is, it will be killed by the medicine. I have gotten sick more times than I can count during the mission, but this time has to be not only the most unusual but also the most painful sickness that I have had. Luckily I am starting to feel better and I just hope that the medications I am taking can continue to work the way that they are supposed to and I can get whatever type of parasite I have inside my body out as soon as possible!

Besides the parasites another very strange experience that happened to me occurred when we were out in the street looking for people to teach. A strange woman from Guayaquil, Ecuador came up to me and grabbed my hand and started saying weird things in a different language mixed with Spanish. It was really weird and I pulled my hand away as quickly as I could because there is huge problem down here with Satanic worshipers doing witchcraft stuff. It may sound strange but it is true. Even though it was a weird/sketchy situation I couldn’t help but laugh afterwards because one of the things that the lady said was “And you will remember me when you are in the shower putting shampoo in your hair.” It was super weird in the moment to hear but the next day when I was showering I was laughing pretty hard as I washed my hair with shampoo.

Other than the very strange lady we had a week full of a lot of success her in the work. Our new investigator Karina is progressing super well. She came to Church again and has accepted the invitation to be baptized. We only need to teach her the commandments and have her committed to keeping them for her to receive a baptismal interview and then be baptized. Even though we have been teaching her for such a short time, I know that she truly was prepared by our Heavenly Father to receive the gospel at this point in her life. The only thing we are worried about is her family owns some land where they grow coco beans (to make chocolate) and where they also grow coffee beans. We are just hoping and praying that she will accept to live the Word of Wisdom when we teach her it this week.

This week we also had our activity “Esto es Guerra Familia” (This is war families). It was a huge success! We had more members present than any other activity we have ever had before. Not only that, we had 5 investigators present and they all had a great time and got to know the members better. Overall the Members had a great time and it was great to see the Ward Members smiling and having a great time together.

In closing this week, I just want to share how grateful I am to have Spirit with me each and every day as a missionary. The way that it leads and guides us each and every day is something that is truly a miracle in itself. I do not know where I would be and I am so grateful to have it in my life. It is something so very important for each of us as members of the Church to consistently have it in order to be able to avoid the many, many temptations in today’s world. I love you all and pray you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Fawcett

Pictures from: "Esto es Guerra Familia"

Week 97 - This Is War Families

Hola,

Working in the Lords work sure makes time go by fast. This week was another week full of work for us here in Manco Capac. Practically a year without a Bishop in the Ward has taken a huge toll on the Ward but for us as missionaries it has been an opportunity like no other to serve in ways that we ever imagined we would. When there are only 30 people who attend the Ward each week when you first arrive to an Area you are Re-opening, it really makes you wonder as a missionary where to begin to help the members. After more than 6 months in this area, this past Sunday with the help of the Lord we were able to double that number to 60 in attendance! It truly is a blessing to see the work of the Lord progress, especially in an area that has faced so many difficulties. The mantle we hold as missionaries here is so much more than just finding and teaching investigators, it is about truly establishing the church amongst the members while at the same time converting new members of the Church so that they can someday be the future leaders of the area as well. I am grateful for the things that I have learned here and for the way I have personally been able to grow at the same time.

This week we found an awesome new investigator name Karina. She is 19 and has a lot of questions about the Church and life. We invited her to attend Church and this past Sunday she came! We have another lesson planned for tomorrow night (Tuesday) to continue to teach her and hopefully establish a goal of baptism with her. Despite being rejected nonstop most days, it is truly a miracle how the Lord will really guide you to those who really are ready and willing to listen to the message of his Restored Gospel. We are constantly trying to be guided to those who are ready for the Gospel and although at times it is incredibly difficult, I have learned that the Lord will really put you in the right place and at the right time to meet those who he has prepared to receive his Gospel.

Along with Karina, we have been working hard with our converts in the Ward as well. Russell is currently the 1st Assistant in the Priest´s Quorum (although there is no Bishop). He is doing very well and has had his share of difficulties with being a new member. Marcia is going to receive a calling this week to be a leader in the Young Women´s organization as well. We have been working hard with them on their family history as well and have got both of them up to at least their 4th generation or further. It’s amazing how big of an impact the conversion of one person can have on lives of so many other people! Edwin is doing well also. He seems to be really busy with his studies in the University (which I am sure I will understand well here in a few months). Basically the problem with him lately is the lack of time due to exams, studies, etc. We are trying to be patient and hope that we can continue to teach him and help him achieve his goal of getting to baptism.

This week we have a cool activity planned in the Ward called, “Esto es Guerra Familia” (this is war families). It is based off of a TV game show here in Perú which basically consists of teams competing in various different competitions. We have been planning it for a while and have decided to make it more of a minute to win it style game. The plan is the have every family in the Ward compete against other families (those who are the only members or investigators, etc. are being placed with families to even the teams and help them meet Ward members) in various games in order to win a prize which we have decided will be a year subscription to the Churches Liahona Magazine. We hope it will be a good activity for the Ward members along with recent converts and investigators that we are teaching.

In closing, this week I just want to state how grateful I am to have the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. There are so many people confused, and not aware of who they are and who they can become. The Church of Jesus Christ contains all of the answers we need for us to become who our Heavenly Father wants us to be. I am grateful to share that knowledge with the people here each and every single day. People that don’t even believe in him or have any sort of knowledge about a Supreme Being. The greatest blessing is to see them develop that belief and begin to rely on their Heavenly Father and his plan that will someday bring them more happiness than they can even comprehend. I love you all, have a great week!

Love,

Elder Fawcett

Parque Pino

How They Sell things in the Street

Arc in My Area Built 1847

Random Pics of My Area

Random Pics of My Area

Random Pics of My Area

Week 96 - Beginning My Final Change!

Hola,

Here we are again! Every single week it seems like I was just barely writing the letter from the week before. This week was super busy for us and a little difficult due to some event going on here in Puno. In our area, there was a big Catholic street market that went on all day every day for the entire week and a lot of people attended it which made it a little difficult for us to find and teach people. To give you some details about what this market consisted of, it basically was a market where people sold small items such as houses, fake money, cars and many, many other things. Basically the belief here in Puno is that is they buy a small house replica for example and have it blessed by a Catholic Priest, it will then come true for them. This applies to pretty much every other item that was sold there. It was really interesting and got even more interesting when we were confronted by one of these Catholic Priests in the street.

The Priest began to question us why we weren’t buying the items and having them blessed. Not quite knowing what to say without offending him, we just said that we weren’t from around here and don’t participate in those type of things. He then began to attack with anti Mormon doctrine and we calmly had him open the Bible in his hand to a few scriptures to resolve his question. After reading the scriptures he didn’t have much else to say and we then contacted him. Sadly, he lives in another area but it wouldn’t surprise me if this Catholic priest someday is baptized into the church.

Other than contacting a Priest we contacted several other people throughout the week. It was very difficult honestly to find people but we were able to teach some of our investigators. Edwin has accepted to be baptized and its now just a matter of him attending Church more and accepting to live all of the commandments. He has changed a whole lot during the time we have been teaching him and is making a lot of friends in our Ward. Along with Edwin, Milder the barber has finally committed to attend Church with us this week. He is a good friend of ours and I told him that I don’t have much time left and that I wanted him to come to Church with us until I left. He accepted and so this week we will hopefully have him in Sacrament meeting with us. The only problem with him right now is he wants to give me a very interesting hair cut for me to go home with. He insists I will look good with designs cut into my hair but I kindly have to reject that haha.

This week is changes and so today I begin my very last change in the mission. I am staying here in the area I am in and with my Companion I have been training so the goal I have set is to continue to help the Ward as much as I can until I leave. There is still no sort of leader in the Ward and a lot of responsibility falls upon us but we are really close to the members and trying to help all of them with everything that they are doing. 6 weeks is such a short time and it is crazy to think that in a few short weeks my time will be coming to an end. We are working hard and trying to accomplish the most we can with the time that I have left.

In closing this week, I just wanted to share a thought I had as yesterday was Mother’s day. I just want to give my Mom a shout out and thank her for all of the many, many things that she has done for me during the mission and everything she did before to make me the person I am today. There is no way I can repay her or express sufficient gratitude in any way for all of the love that she has shown me throughout my life. I have frequently thought about how incredible it is for each and every person to have the love of a Mother. It is something that can neither be defined or put into words. As I have thought about it, I have realized that the love that a Mother feels for her child must be the closest thing to the way that our Savior Jesus Christ loves us. He knows each and every one of us personally and perfectly and understands how we feel in the most difficult moments of our lives. His love for us is infinite and eternal because of his infinite and everlasting Atonement. I am grateful for him and to be able to feel his love not only for me but also the love he has for the people in my Ward, my investigators, and every person I have the chance to meet here in Perú. I love you all and hope that you have a great week.

Love,

Elder Fawcett

Catholic Street Market

Don't Want Anyone on Your Property...
Bottles Are a Good Solution!

Week 95 - Proselyting Through Harvesting Potatoes

Hola,

What a week! It seems like longer I am in the mission, the more tired I get. 6:30 comes earlier and earlier every morning! It’s all good though because I have never felt happier to get out of bed each day than I have while I have been on the mission. This week consisted of a lot of one thing, “finding”! We have been trying super hard to find new investigators and as I have worked, it seems like the times when I am least expecting to find investigators is when I am actually successful in finding them. For example, as I write this letter currently I am talking to a 24-year-old guy on the side of me who is really interested on what we have to teach him. Just got his address and number so should be interesting to go out and visit him this week!

For starters I just wanted to give a quick update on how things are going with the progress of our investigator Edwin! He came to church once again and is absolutely loving the Book of Mormon. During the announcements during Sacrament meeting he finished the last chapter of 1 Nephi and was anxious to continue reading it and learning. He has learned a lot about the Prophet Joseph Smith and if you ask him just about any question, he is able to easily respond with what happened during the prophet’s life. We are hoping that this week we can get a solid baptismal date with him and continue to help him progress towards this very important covenant.

Now for a funny story. So as I stated earlier, this week consisted of a lot of finding. Well to sum up just how hard we are trying to find more people I will tell you a quick story. So we were out working towards the top of our area where there is a little bit of farm land where people have their gardens. As we were walking we noticed an older lady down on her knees digging up potatoes. So, without hesitation we stopped and asked her if we could help. She was a little shocked to see us but asked why we would want to do that. We explained that we were representatives of Jesus Christ and that as his representatives we serve other just as he did. She agreed and we began to help her harvest potatoes for the next hour or so. We had some interesting conversations with her and she agreed to letting us come by again this week! I guess harvesting potatoes is the key to finding more people in Puno!

This past week was Zone Conference and interviews with President Herrera. It was nice to see some old companions and at the same time realize that I only have one more Zone Conference during my mission. Time sure is going super-fast and along with Zone Conference we also had Stake Conference. A member of the 70 was present during the conference and we had a special meeting Saturday evening for recent converts and investigators. It was a great meeting but toward the end the 70 asked that the missionaries with the most time in the mission stand and share their thoughts. After thinking for a second Elder Haws and I looked at each other and said “Well I guess that’s us then.” It’s honestly really weird to be one of the two old missionaries in the Zone, it feels like it was only yesterday when I was standing in front of everyone being welcomed as one of the newest missionaries!

In closing this week, I just want to share some thoughts I had during Stake Conference this week. As I sat and looked around the room I noticed the people I had the opportunity of teaching and helping get to the waters of baptism. There is no greater joy to see those whom you personally were able to help, growing and gaining a stronger testimony each and every day through the Church. The Gospel of Jesus Christ does so much more for us then simply respond to questions that so many people have. It changes us. Those who truly apply the teachings of the Savior each and every day of their lives will not only see a change in the way they act, but also a change in every other aspect of their lives. It is for that reason that the Savior needs to be the center and key part to our lives. I love you all and wish you all a great week!

Love,

Elder Fawcett