Another Great Week!!

Hola,

It has been great down here in Mexico.  It has been warming up and feels like spring again ha ha.  It has been a really good week, we have been preparing our investigators for baptism and we will be have a baptism every week until the end of the transfer if everything goes to plan.  Elder Garcia went home on Friday, As much trouble as he was I miss him because we became good friends, he said if ever I want to drop by I am more than welcome at his house,  He cried when he left which was not something I expected from him, but sometimes people surprise you for the better.

 



l to r...Elder Perez, Garcia and Me



Elder Perez has been a great companion, he loves to work and teach and is still a little scared to contact people in the street but we are working through that ha ha.  The other day we were talking at lunch about the mission where his house is and I asked him if he knows Elder Makay Covington, he said he knew an Elder Covington and worked with him and his companion for four days before coming to the MTC in Mexico.  I know that it was the same Elder Covington because he said that he is really funny and has a twin brother who is going to some country in South America (Chile) ha ha.  Small world right! who would have guessed?

 

Another Great thing about Elder Perez is that he loves to cook, and I love it that he loves to cook. And he cooks great.  Last preparation day we went to a members house and he cooked this really great chicken with the hottest salsa I have had in my mission thus far, but it was really good even though his salsa made me cry.

 

This week we found an investigator named Juan Manuel.  He is really cool, he likes to go to the church and has been going for years in Oaxaca.  He doesn't like Mexico city because he said that everyone is always running around like a chicken with its head cut off, which is true for the most part.  



Joe at the Mexico City  Temple



He wants to get baptized, but he has long fingernails on his little finger which usually indicates that they are drug addicts.  I sure hope not because he is a really great investigator!! 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!  I love you.  It is great to hear that you are all doing well

 

Con Muchismo Amor,

Elder Joe Fuell

Joe in Mexico City

Learning humility......and patience

Hola,

Wow, what a week!

It seems to have went by really fast but when I look back on it, last week seems to have been forever ago.  So last Monday, me and Elder Garcia where gearing up for the new companion, cleaning the house and what not.  I was really nervous because I don't feel quite ready to train, and especially with Elder Garcia getting ready to leave also.  Tuesday we went to get him.  His name is Elder Perez, he is from Chiapas which is in the south of Mexico, his pueblo is on the border of Guatemala and Mexico.  He is really cool and has a desire to work hard and serve the Lord, what more could you ask for.

Trainers or as President Chavez says instructors (because the scriptures don't use the word trained, he says training is for animals) had meetings all this week, which was kind of boring at times but cool.  He talked about how we need to be receiving revelation all the time as missionaries.  We put it into practice here in Ixtla and BAM! success!!  The work has been really good, and we weren't able to teach a lot this week because of all the meetings but every lesson we had were some of the best lessons, and most spiritual experiences, that I have had on my mission.

 

Having two companions is difficult at times.  I just try to set a good example and give direction when needed.  Sometimes my companions fight with each other, they are worse than little girls, I wouldn't mind it so much if it was in the house, but it is in the street where everyone can hear and see, and we definitely don't have the spirit with us when they are fighting.  President Chavez said we should think through are problems and then look to the Lord for help,(remembering that he wont do it all for us). 

 

So my companions where being pretty lazy sleeping until 7:00 or 7:30 and usually I have a squirt bottle and I start squirting Elder Garcia in the face, but then he is grumpy all day and we don't have the spirit. (Per Louie and Brenda-He did not learn this at home)!!!! So at 6:30 I said lets go for Tamales and everyone seems to like that, is out of bed, and is a lot happier..

 

This week we went and married the Ayala's for the civil wedding.  It was a pretty cool experience.  They wanted me to be one of the witnesses. but I couldn't because I am not "Mexican"  The Ayalas were pretty upset about it, but its all good, I am leaning to be more humble . . .  and patient.

 

This week we found a really cool investigator, his name is Jose.  We started teaching him and he said that he knows it is true.  He has no doubts about Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon, but he has a problem. . . When he was 5 he fell into a well and now has a phobia of being submersed in water.  We are working with him and a psychiatrist in the ward to help him overcome his fears.  I know we can do it, but I would hate for his baptism to be a traumatic experience.

 

But yeah, everything is great!  I love being a missionary and sometimes the Lord tests us but these are the experience's where we can learn the most.  I love this work and this gospel. I love all of you too, and yes, I have the opportunity to play the piano for church every once and a while.

 

Con Muchismo Amor,

Elder Joe Fuell

La Semana de Milagros--The week of Miracles

Hola!

Wow! this week went by so fast! The days are going by so fast, and there is so much to talk about once again.  First we brought Pedro y Rosa to church with there family of three little kids!  Which is a miracle in and of itself.  The ward was so excited to have a family there, the bishop said that the missionaries hadn't brought a family to the church for a long time, I hope that means more referrals for us now that the ward knows we are working!

We had the baptism of Juan this Sunday.  The whole ward was there and it was awesome to have that kind of support. The baptismal service was a super spiritual experience.  His mom who is a recent convert got up and bore her testimony, how she thought that Juan would have been the last to join the church and listen to the missionaries but he was the first.  During the Baptismal service his dad started crying.  He said he could feel the love of God.

So this morning we passed by Juan's house and his dad was working moving dirt,  we offered to help him and he accepted.  He was glad for the help and afterwards we were talking a little bit and he said.  "Elder Fuell, I want you to baptize me in two weeks, can you do that?" I said of course.  what a miracle!

So, it turns out that the first presidency didn't clear my companion to go home six weeks early for school and that he could go home four weeks early.  So, that means he is going to be with me and my new companion for two more weeks.  My new companion is Elder _____, I don't know his name because I am going to be training.  I will find out who he is tomorrow when we meet him.  I dont feel ready to be training, because I am still learning, but I will do the best I can.

Another miracle this week!  Brother Ayala, from who we took the grim reaper things, didn't want to get baptized until he received his answer in a dream, because all of his sons had received answers in dreams that the church is true.  He reads the scriptures every night and prays, because he really does have a desire to know that the church is true.  We had done all that we could do and he was doing all that he could do and so I knew that it was in the Lords hands.  Tuesday afternoon I started my fast so that he could have his dream. Wednesday morning we went to his house and I was a little bummed, but I continued my fast until Wednesday afternoon.  Thursday we went to his house in the evening and he said that he had a dream and he is going to get baptized!!!!  I was so excited we ran to the church were we found his kids, his one son Qualtelmoc, who is a missionary started crying and I started crying with him!  it was awesome!!! 

but.. .

he is not married so we need to get him married which I found out was harder than trying to get him to get baptized!  So we had a lesson with three or four couples from the ward,  it was awesome and the spirit was super strong, and then sister Ayala said,  I have been waiting 41 years to get married, it is only a matter if you want to or not.  and then he went over to her and he asked her if she would marry him.  Of course she said yes.  41 years of marriage.  He told us he was afraid she was going to say no ha ha.  they will get married this Saturday!

that is crazy that the giants won again against the patriots.  and it is good to hear that you had a good trip Dad.

I love you all

Con Muchisimo Amor,

Elder Joe Fuell

 

Mom and Dad: Pray for me this week.  I have a feeling I will need some Divine help.

 

 

 

Joe and his Butcher friend





Joe, Elder Garcia and a recent convert and his family




Joe finishing playing monopoly...and winning he said....He always hated losing at monopoly



 



Joe and his Companion Elder Garcia





Joe doing his favorite thing---Eating



The Grim Reaper

Hola,

It was the best of weeks, it was the worst of weeks. It was a week of laughing, it was a week of weeping.  It was a week of sunshine, it was a week of shade (and rain, ha ha) It was just one of those weeks. I had a lot of amazing experiences this week.  but first . . .

Thank you Derek and Ashley for your package! Mom and Dad, our house has a faded blue door. two or three from the end of the street.  (I have no idea which way is west or east here).  Dad, have a safe trip, and Kate have fun at the dance!

Experiences:

So we stopped by one of our investigators, Hermano Ayala, (the one who fed us the rabbits) because my companion really needed to use the bathroom.  While we where there I started talking to him about what he was reading in the Book of Mormon.  He said he was reading how they shouldn't worship idols.  He said he had some idols in the basement that he worshiped, but now he doesn't want to, and he is afraid to remove them because of evil spirits.  We said we could take them from him bless the house so there wont be evil spirits.  I thought it was going to be a shrine of the virgin or San Judas or something like that, and I thought it would be in his room . . .  but he took us in his basement and opened up this door where he had a room for worshiping the Santa Muerte or "the holy death" which is a demon grim reaper type thing that always gives me the creeps.  He had a little alter in the room, and it was really scary.  I told my companion to go get it but he wouldn't, so I did.  afterwards we said a prayer and threw away all the statues in the trash.  The awesome thing was, that he was applying what he was learning in the Book of Mormon.  So we left him a passage in the book of Mormon about baptism.  and now he is going to get baptized the 25 of February.  Awesome.

 

Everywhere I go, between every appointment (even if the appointment is next door),  I try to contact at least one person in the street and knock on one door.  My companion thinks that it is not our responsibility to find the people it is the members responsibility, and that contacts in street or doors almost never lead to baptism.  I said "what about those people who are praying to find the truth!  We need to answer their prayers!" but every person that rejects us he gloats, saying it is not going to happen.  Well it happened!! Boo ya!  In fact in happened about a month ago and we didn't even know it.  We contacted a guy in the street his name is Miguel.  He said to pass for his house 8:00 the following night but for some reason I cant remember we were not able to make it.  So we passed for him another night, and he wasn't there.  And another night. and he wasn't there, and usually after I have tried to contact a person 2 or 3 times I stop because we have a ton of people we need to teach in a week.  Well, this week, we were walking by his house and our appointment fell through, so I knocked on his door.  I don't know how I still remembered his name.  He was really excited and invited us in.  He told us that he used to be an alcoholic but not anymore.  That things are really difficult in his life right now and he feels like he needs God.  He said before he left his house one night, he prayed for help.  He stepped out of his house and we contacted him.  He said when we talked to him in the street, he had the same feeling that he had when he gave up drinking.  We explained how it was the spirit.  He is really curious about what God wants him to do in this life, and we talked a little bit about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  As we were leaving he said " Can you teach me a little more about this baptism next week when we meet"  We are going to put a baptismal date this week.

I know this work is true.  Heavenly Father answers our prayers and helps us with our problems.  I just think it so cool, that the Lord allowed us to be the instrument in his hand that day.  My companion said now that we found Miguel we can stop contacting so much. but we cant,  I still need to find someone praying in there house, I have to catch them in the act.  I know that if I have faith we can see miracles.  I have seen so many already,  and I know that there are going to be more.  I love you all and hope you are doing well.

 

Con muchismo Amor,

Elder Joe Fuell

Dear Juan!!!!!

Hola,

wow, a great week in Mexico!! So much has happened, I don't know where to start . . . . ok I will start with your questions:  We received the rabbits from some members and we ate with them, not from Nacho the butcher, They raise rabbits on the roof of their house.  Everyone has pets on their roofs here.  How we killed them is we grabbed them by there feet and then smacked there heads and then they were dead.  Then we skinned them and ate them, but its all good I am no longer sick. 

 

We live on the calle 10 de Mayo, Mz 157 Lt in the colonia Ixtlahucan. the postal code is 09690 we live on the second floor with the big windows. (and its quite a challenge moving the beds through that little door).

Senior companion is all right.  I don't think it is much different. just more responsibility, but you know, its all good.

 

So last week my companion got his "Dear John" or as they say it in Mexico, "Dear Juan".  It was bad.  he is going to his house in 15 days and she is getting married in 16 days.  So he was really depressed and didn't want to work more than usual.  (I used this opportunity to buy his camera; it is really nice and comes with a battery charger) but he is over it now and we had some good lessons this week.

 

One of our investigators Angelica is the most hard hearted person I know, she is a really good person, but I have almost never seen her express any emotion.  Her husband who is a member is the most emotional person I know, every lesson we have he cries (My companion gets mad because I usually cry with him).  But we had a lesson this week about the Holy Ghost and how we can recognize it in our lives.  The spirit was so strong, and she, Angelica the investigator, started bawling.  It was awesome.  She says she is going to read the book of mormon, which is a huge step because before she said she wouldn't.

 

The dogs in this area are a lot more aggressive than my last area and always try to bite us. Well they succeeded with my companion, but I still haven't been bitten.  There is this one dog that always chases us, and we run, and it still chases us.  But the other day I said, I am not going to run from "pinto" (thats what we named the dog) today.  So it saw us, and it started running towards us and barking, and I started running towards it and screaming, and it got scared and ran away.  Elder Garcia said it was the funniest thing he had seen in his whole mission. and I didn't get bitten.

 

I forgot my camera this week, but I have some more pictures I will send to you this next Monday.  I love you all and am glad to hear all is going well.  Keep safe and read the Book of Mormon.  It can help you with any problem.

 

GRANDMAS: (Fuell and Frei)  I received your letters and packages! thank you so much.  I sent letters to you by mail, expressing my gratitude and love for you both.

 

Con Muchismo Amor,

Elder Joe Fuell

Searching for King Lamoni

Hola,

 

It has been a great week here.  Thanks for the talk of Elder Holland, it was inspiring and made me want to work harder.  There has been a lot of rain this week, which means we are always wet because we are not inside teaching lessons as much as I would like to be.  But we did lots of service this week.  We helped a person clean their taco stand.  Helped a person clean their truck. Helped another person clean their bathroom.  Lots of stuff ha ha. I'm still trying to find my "King Lamoni" but still no luck.

 

We had a lesson with one of our investigators the other night.  His sons are all members, one is a returned missionary, but the investigator still has doubts.  He told us he had a dream about two donkeys, and he was taking a shower and couldn't get clean because one of the donkeys wasn't tied to a tree.  In his dream he said he thought shower was like baptism, and the donkeys represented the church of Christ and all the others, because that was what he was reading about before he went to bed.  He believes I should be able to interpret his dream.  He calls me Jose (like Joseph of Egypt) because I am a foreigner who interprets his dreams, I don't think he knows that is my real name!! ha ha ha.

 

Speaking of dreams I had a dream that one of our investigators Juan put a baptismal date for the 26. But I kept it in the back of my mind until Sunday when we saw Juan at church.  He sat next to me and during one of the talks during sacrament meeting I said "How do you feel about the 26th for your baptism." he said, "ya, I have been thinking about that, what do I need to do to get baptized"  It was pretty wild.  my companion and I were both a little shocked, but it was cool.

 

I hope you are feeling better after your surgery dad.   I hope you all are doing well.

 

Con mucho Amor,

Elder Joe Fuell

Rabbit!!! yum yum

Hola,

I am glad to hear you all had a great new years.  Mine was very different this year, but great!!  For New Years day, we killed Rabbits, then we skinned them, then we cooked them, then we ate them . . . .  and then I was really sick . . . .  until Thursday, but I feel great now!  I have no idea what happened at midnight here.  Elder Luna said I could sleep through world war 3 and that was verified by Elder Garcia because he couldn't sleep because of all the fire works and guns and stuff.  When we went to church the next morning at eight, it looked like a bomb had been dropped on the place.  Garbage everywhere! And we didn't see anyone in our whole 15 minute walk to the church. It was really erie.

 

We moved into our new apartment, I love it,  Electric water heater, which means always hot water!! (there are no gas lines in Mexico city) and the people who live below us have a washing machine we can use and  a basketball hoop!! We don't have much time to play ball, but I taught my companion a thing or two this morning ha ha.

 

We have another holiday here in Mexico on the 6th of January.  This is when the reys magos, (3 wise men) come and leave gifts under the tree.  They also eat this cake called rosca, which has these little plastic baby Jesus´ and if you have a baby Jesus in your slice, you have to buy everyone tamales for the 2 of February.  I was lucky and never found baby Jesus in my cake, but Elder Garcia found one in every house that offered us rosca.

 

There are so many great new investigators, I don't know which to tell you about!  The work is really moving forward in this area! We placed 5 baptismal dates for the coming weeks!!  One of these is Ignacio (or Nacho) he is a butcher and always gives us free meat.  My companion said he was a less active member, but when I was talking to him he said that he wasn't baptized! He said he wanted to be so we put a date for the 19 of this month.  His friends are really pressuring him right now with the word of wisdom (drinking) but he is staying really strong, because he wants to be clean from all his sins and mistakes and have peace in his life.

 

Everything else is great!  I am learning so much.  I love this church, I know that it is true and can bless our lives.  I hope you all have a great week.

 

Con Muchismo Amor

Elder Joe Fuell