Thursday, March 3, 2011

Last E-Mail 2-28-11

Dear family


So it is finally over ahhhhh hahaha! I’m so excited lol yet sad ha-ha but more excited. Thanks so much for the money I want to go eat some tacos cuz I am going to miss them ha-ha. So this week was good we have 5 people to baptize this Sunday so that will be good I will leave baptizing 5 and I’ll tell you all about them on Monday when I SEE YOU again.

I’m scared to come home because I speak half Spanish half English it is all just a jumbled mess in my head. I tried to pray in English hahahahahah ya not good! I’m probably just going to keep praying in Spanish lol. Mom on Friday just make sure you put in 150 dollars I’m not even going to take it out I don’t think but just in case there is an emergence while I’m traveling I’ll have it to be able to take it out ok. Wow mom it’s like finally really hitting me that I’m coming home. It has not hit me really hard till today. I’m coming home!

I just got dads letter and I guess he is right, I shouldn’t be scared but Mom and Dad I want to tell you guys thanks, thank you for pushing us to go on missions because this has changed my life. I have found my testimony, I have grown in so many ways, I have learned the gospel and love to share it with other people. I can honestly say I have my own testimony and that I know this is Gods church and I’m just so grateful my Heavenly Father and my earthly parents gave me the chance to be a representative of my Savior for 2 years and that I was able to help people realize the love of God for them. Thank you guys for all you have done for me.

I don’t have much else to say I’m going to go right now and see some people I baptized so I’m not writing to much but I love you all so much and am so excited to see you all in a week! Love you all see you on Monday!!!

Love,
Elder Fackler

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

E-mail 9-27-10

Hey family

So I had the most spiritual experience of my mission! On Tue. a family I baptized last year called me and told me they had been trying to get a hold of me because they were going to get sealed in the temple on Sat. So I got to go on Saturday to the temple and watch a family I baptized get sealed in the temple! Yup better than any baptism!!! It was so cool, we got there and the dad walked up and hugged me and all the family hugged me then we went in to the sealing room and sat down. They did the marriage and the mom and dad were crying then they brought in the 2 sons who are 17 and 20 and sealed them as a family forever! Then they let them all stand up and look at their family in the mirrors and they all hugged. It was the strongest I have felt the spirit on my mission! They just hugged as a family and started to cry then the whole room did and it was just so amazing. We all got to tell them congratulations and the dad hugged me and just started to cry and said “Thank you for knocking on my door and giving me an eternal family!” Ya I lost it, I started crying and just hugged him for a few min. Best experience of my life, it makes a baptism feel like nothing to see your converts get sealed in the temple!

I have been doing good, my comp is really good and I really like him. He is from Kansas and is just super cool, I think I might ask president to leave me here for 2 changes with him not just one. My zone was the best zone, we baptized the most in the mission… well my zone and another tied so we won! My zone gets to go to the temple as a reward. My zone completed its goal and me and my comp did too. I’m way happy I’m doing so good, I love it! I just have to stay humble so God will keep blessing me and my zone cuz we really are being so blessed by God.

I am pretty excited about this change, we took 8 people to church and have 10 that can get baptized this month so we should have a good month. I just want to keep it going, I want to baptize 1 a week for my last six months. I have been doing it so I just want to keep going and working hard. I want to be the best I can. I have baptized 12 in the last 12 weeks so I just want to keep it going and baptize one for every week I’m here till I finish.

I’m not sure what I want to do when I get home. I still want to be a pediatrician when I get home and play football but I don’t know if I want to go to Dixie or to SUU. I’ll have to see what I feel with fasting and praying when I get home. It will all workout, God will take care of me if I take care of him so I’ll figure it all out when I get home. That is about it for this week, I love you guys tons and hope all is well! I’ll write next week, love you all!

Love, Elder Fackler

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

E-mail 9-20-10

Dear family

Sorry I’m writing so late I had a very lovely day ha-ha!!! I got picked up by the border patrol ha-ha ya lol! Today we were waiting at the bus station for my companion and all the new people who were coming to the zone and the border patrol showed up. They asked us for copies of our visas and passports but we don’t have that stuff so we couldn’t show them we were legal…not good!!! There were two guys asking us for the papers and I was sitting down, they stated being rude SO……I stood up! All of a sudden there were 20 of them, ha-ha I scared them! So we didn’t have papers so they took us out to their police van. It was me and one other missionary and it was way funny. I just started joking with them I was like “Can we take pics this will be a cool story ha-ha!” and just started joking with them. By the time they all got back from finishing looking for more people they wanted to let us go cuz we were there friends but the boss said no. All the other missionaries got smuggled out so they wouldn’t get taken. Then they wanted to check other places so they took us with them to finish. So all day we were with the border patrol, crammed in their little police van and by the end they were our friends. They let us get out at stops and let me use the bathroom and joked with us. We helped them look for people and they bought us food!!! Finally after 7 hours of looking for people they took us to their office and the mission sent are papers and they let us go. But by the end all of them were telling us how cool we were and that we could visit and whatever we needed, they were there for us. They gave us hugs bye ha-ha! So ya at first I got picked up by the border patrol and finished the day helping them look for people. I kept telling them they had to pay us for our help. Cool story no??? We even taught them lesson one lol!

My new comps name is Elder Hull, he is from Kansas. He seems really cool and I really like him. I think we will get along good. My zone is doing good, we are going to complete our goals for the month. My zone is doing better and things are going good. Also this week we had a funny experience, we were knocking doors and we got in this lady’s house and she started saying that she had never had catholic missionaries visit before. Most of the time she doesn’t let people in cuz they are always like “o sister, o sister,” ha-ha. We started busting up laughing and my comp was like “sister we are not catholic,” and she got way embarrassed and was like “o crap.” so we taught her and stuff and she went to church and is way cool it was just funny she was making fun of us to are faces ha-ha.

this week was like the 4th of July here, we went up on our roof and watched fireworks and we ate cool food and had a little party! My comp was way in to it and made me laugh. It’s so cool Ross is going to have a boy is he happy? I’m excited for Madi, I hope she wins she is so funny!!! Darby’s hair looks good she looks allot different though ha-ha she grew up. I’m glad Bridger is feeling better and going again that’s got to be nice

We had another baptism this week. It’s a guy named Oscar, he is 27 he is so cool. He had been talking to the missionaries and going to church forever and we just taught him and he said he wanted to get baptized so we baptized him. He wanted me to do it but I let my comp do it since he was going home.

That is about it for this week, I don’t have too much time cuz the police took us ha-ha and I almost got deported lol!!! Ya I’m fine and it’s a funny story and I made new friends lol!!! I love you guys, I’ll talk to you next week. Hope all is well and thanks so much for your letter mom.

Love Elder Fackler

Thursday, September 16, 2010

One of those WOW E-Mails 9-13-10

Dear family

So I have to write tonight because my comp is going to go visit all of his converts from his mission tomorrow so we will not have time to write. But ya this is the last week we will be busy all Monday cuz this Saturday he is going and going home. Next Monday will be normal again thank heaven, I’m ready to have my p-day back and do what I want. It’s just hard cuz he is finishing his mission so we are doing all of the stuff he has to do, like go to sites he never saw and have finishing meetings and go visit people he baptized. The last 3 p-days have been nuts but next week it will be normal cuz I’m really sick of missing your letters and I want to write you when you right me oh well this is the last week.

As for my week it was good. A member took us to Carl’s Junior, it was way cool. It was the first time I have eaten it in a year and a half! I was so excited! I missed American hamburgers! I got a double bacon cheeseburger which was way good with fries and a milk shake!!! Ha-ha best milk shake of my life!!! How sad when the high light of my week is a hamburger from Carl’s Junior I have been gone a very long time haha!

This week I face planted in mud, ya terrible haha. We were walking in this part of town called Ranchos De San Martir and it had been raining all night so it was all mud. We were walking along and my front foot started to slip out and I started falling backwards but I tried to stay up. So trying to stay up I made myself go forward and when that happened…I face planted in mud!!! Ya I fell right on my stomach in the mud and I tried to put my hands out to catch me and they just slid out and ya I fell right on my face. My comp busted up laughing. Then I got up and was covered from my neck to my knees in mud. It was so bad so my comp started taking tons of pics and stuff. Then we had to walk home which was like a 20 min walk and had to pass everybody on the main road. Ya it was pretty cool, white shirt, tie and covered in mud lol so ya I ate mud this week!

Not too much has happened other than that we had 5 confirmations today so that was way good and we are going to baptize again this week. A guy named Oscar, he is way cool. He is a guy who came to church alone and he just walked in. He moved here from England and had been talking to the missionaries there and came here and saw the church and went in. So we have been teaching him and he is going to get baptized this Saturday which will be cool so ya we will have another baptism. It’s so cool to see the change in peoples life’s when they get baptized and be a part of it. I love feeling like I’m helping God’s children come back to him, I love to feel like I’m making a difference in people’s life’s and helping them and changing there life’s forever.

I have been really stressed. I feel like I have so much more I want to change about me and want to complete before I come home. I feel like I have such little time to do it so ya I’m kind of stressed I’m getting more grey hair haha! It’s just that I only have a few months left to change alot more stuff but sometimes it feels like there won’t be enough time. It’s just, I want to be my best convert from my mission! I want to change my life completely here and I have. I just feel like I still have got a long way to go to have the testimony I want. I feel like God needs more of me so I can equal up to what he has planned. But I don’t know what to change to be where God needs me, I have got to pray harder and fast more to get answers but it’s good. I just want to be all I can for my last 6 months and live the dream I have had since I was little about my mission.

But ya that is it for this week. I’ll print your letters off tomorrow. I love you all so much and hope all is well.

Love you,
Elder Fackler

E-Mail 9-9-10

Hey family,
How are you guys? I have to write early today because we are going to visit all of the people my companion baptized on his mission so we are getting ready to go do that so I’m writing early. This week was super good, we had 5 baptisms. A family of four whose names are Nelly the mom, Vanessa the 15 year old daughter, Diego the 11 year old son, and Yesinia the 8 year old daughter. They are such a cool family and are so strong in the church they rock. Then we baptized a girl named Yetzabell who is 20 that we have been teaching, so it was cool! 5 in one week not to bad. It was way funny, the water didn’t work in the font so me and my comp had to work for an hour to get it going. A sensor went out but God helped us and we figured it out and got it to fill ha-ha.

I’m getting a little scared 6 months left!!! Its going so fast (the second year ha-ha) Oh freak I’m getting scared, I love it now, I just feel like I’m learning so much and now that I feel comfortable with my Spanish it’s going really good. My Spanish has gotten way better the last few months so life is good.

Ya I felt TERRIBLE when you told me that LIE about Bridger’s wind pipe. I felt like the biggest jerk, worst big brother in the whole world ha-ha! Yup guilt, I hit my little brother to hard sometimes. Also freaking Madi kissed a boy! Yup got to come home and kill him!!! Even more cuz he is a jerk! Yup going to rip his head off in 6 months!!!

The pyramids were so, so cool. There are two huge ones and a bunch of little ones. It took us like 30 min just to walk up one. They were huge and I bought some cool stuff to bring home. I’ve got to start getting stuff for all of you guys now for when I come home so I can find stuff I really like. I was going to send pics today but my camera is dead and I don’t have the cables to charge it so I’ll have to send them all next week. It’s crazy my comp goes home in a week and a half ha-ha crazy. He has been way cool and I have learned alot from him for real. His name is Elder Magallon and he has helped me alot. He bore his testimony this week and tons of people were crying it was cool the spirit was way strong.

There is this family that is way cool in are ward, it is a sister that has 5 sons. Well her second son is way cool and the 15 year old girl Vanessa we baptized wanted him to baptize her. We went and asked him and he was like “I got to talk to the bishop first for something.” So we thought oh crap it’s going to be something big cuz he is 17. So Sunday he came up and was like “I talked to the bishop and he said it’s fine if I baptize her. I only stole 10 pesos from my mom.” We about died laughing, he felt so bad and unworthy because he took a dollar from his mom without asking. It was funny but how cool that something so little and he felt so bad he is such a good kid!

At our baptism we sang. It was so cool, we got a lady who plays a violin to play for us and two sisters in the ward to sing with us and it all came out so cool. The spirit was so strong and the whole room was crying. We sang and now that I am baptized from the kids hymn book. It was so cool cuz the two sisters sang the first part then me and my comp the second then all 4 of us at the same time it was way cool lol. The baptism was so special with the family of four. We had them all wait on the edges in the water to watch their family get baptized and at the end they were all together in the water and the spirit was way strong! It just went in my head that we just gave that family there salvation and helped them to become an eternal family!!! It was amazing, I love this!!!

I got to go we got to get going. I love you all so much I’ll write next week.

Love Elder Fackler

Monday, September 13, 2010

E-Mail 8-30-10

Hey family how are you guys doing? I’m doing good. I’m writing right now from the mission offices, we are here because tomorrow we are going to go to the big pyramids that are here. My companion is leaving to go home in two weeks so president said we could come in and go to them. So we have to write tonight, so my letter won’t be too long and next week I’ll write good and send pics ok.

My week was good we had 3 baptisms which was good. They were three girls named Anna Karin, Sofia, and Daniela. It was good, also we are going to baptize again this week and then we have 6 for the 12 of Sept. The work is really starting to get going which is way good. As for me I’m doing good. The kid we were in a trio with got a companion so it’s just me and my comp again which is nice so things are going really, really good for us.

Tuesday morning our doorbell rang and we answered the door to see president there ha-ha Ya fun! He came and worked with us all day on Tue. it was so cool. He went to our appointments with us and our meeting with us it was so cool! In the appointments he wins the confidence of people so fast and helps people feel comfortable so fast and he teaches so cool and simple. It helped me so much, I learned so much from him while he was with us. He was really happy with us, at the end of the day he told me in my interview, “Elder Fackler one thing I noticed about you is that you always teach with the spirit which is more important than anything else.” Ya it was way cool. So we worked a day with President Nancollas, best day ever!!! But I was way nervous when he showed up, but it was way good!

Mom I’m way tired and want to sleep. I’m sorry I’ll get your letters tomorrow in the night and read them and I’ll write you guys next week. Love you all and I’m doing great!

Love you guys!
Elder Fackler

Monday, August 23, 2010

E-Mail 8-16-10

Dear family

This week was pretty much crap! ha-ha Ya bad week! First of all I hurt a baby, I feel so bad it was a little kid in church and he came running over to us so I grabbed his arms to pick him up and carry him…and his arm came out of socket!!! YES came out! I feel terrible. So then I went to the sisters house to say sorry and took the kid a bag of candy and she told me he has always had that problem and it happens all the time. His arm just comes out of socket alot and don’t worry cuz she just takes him to the doctor and he puts it back in and it’s not a big deal! Ya I felt terrible, I still feel bad and she was joking and was like “some white shirts size 14 to 14 and a half would make up for it just joking” her son is getting ready to go on a mission. I’m not sure if it was joking cuz then they started talking about how white shirts here are crappy and really bad quality and all this stuff so if you and dad can and only if you can, could you just get like 2 or 3 of the CTR shirts and mail them and I’ll give them to them cuz I feel so freaking bad.

So also the person we were going to baptize this week didn’t get baptized. She is a 17 year old girl named Tania and we have been teaching her and everything was going way good. We had permission from her mom to baptize her and she loved church. It was all going perfect then her dad got back…he leaves for months for work and he got back the day of her interview. She started telling him everything that was going on and how happy she was to get baptized and he got mad and freaked out and said she couldn’t! We went over to talk to him and he started to come out and saw us and ran back in. I think I scared him, we asked for him and he wouldn’t come out and the wife came out and was just like “he said no and that he doesn’t want to talk to you guys.” She can’t get baptized till she is 18 in March, crap I hate that freaking guy!

Now for the good stuff, we had a meeting with Elder Johnson from the quorum of the 70. It was so cool, we learned so much. He showed us that it is impossible to have faith in things that are not real (such as the Virgin, Buddha and all that stuff.) There is a scripture that says “faith is believing in things which are not seen but are true” so he showed us you can’t have faith in stuff that is not real. Then he asked us “Who can show these people where salvation is? We started saying the members and prophets and all this stuff and he was just like, “Nope just you guys can. The members don’t have time and were not called to do it. The apostles have other stuff to do, and the prophet is way too busy. YOU are the only ones who can give them salvation!” Then he asked us “Do you realize that? and if so do you realize how big your responsibility is???” It was way cool!

I love you guys hope all is well and Darby gets better. I pray for you guys always love you!

Love Elder Fackler