As an add-on for this weeks letter

The young men's president of our ward has asked the 16-17 year olds about what would be some concerns that they had about serving a mission. 

Now for those who don't know, serving a mission is not an obligation.  It is a choice that these 19 year old young men make and 21 year old if you are a female.  Missions are paid for by those going on the mission, or by parents, or sometimes by others contributing to help the youth go. 

The young men's president decided to ask us parents who have missionaries on missions to write their responses to the concerns of the 16-17 year olds.  So here is what Joe wrote back:

Not knowing the language if you get sent foreign – it comes, you´re on the lords errand

Being on my own- you are never on your own, you always have your companion and the holy ghost

Leaving family- they are always with you in heart and spirit

Weird/know-it-all companions – There are weird/know it all people everywhere, get used to it

No freedom to do what or go where I want. – That is a lie, you get to do a bunch of stuff you want, it is a mission not prison

Changes at home while I am away – there will be changes at home if you stay

No friends when I return- whatever! All your friends will probably leave on missions and you make a ton of new friends on the mission

EVERY single thing is spiritual – Mosiah chapter 2 last verse. read it

Homesickness - wears off after 3 months

Two years is a long time -  It will be two years later with or without you.  It is like a Popsicle. You can eat it and its gone, or you can not eat it, and it melts and its gone.   Either way it goes, so you might as well take advantage of it.

It’s not where I wanted to go / where will I go. -  There is no such thing as a bad mission.

It’s expensive – there is no price on salvation for OTHERS, the price of souls is great in the sight of God

Leaving the girl- If she is the one she will wait

Losing out on school- You will be better at your school when you get back  if you go.

The commitment – be a man, that is a dumb excuse

Will I fail- it is better to try and fail than to fail to try

My diet –You can find good food all over the world.

Shyness/fear of speaking, lessons, being in front of people- God gives us weakness so we can be strong.  If you are shy the mission is an awesome opportunity to overcome that

Lack of confidence (what if I don’t know what to do?) – Follow the spirit, your leaders, and preach my gospels, the scriptures.

Medications I need to have – talk to brother Sykes(Pharmacist)

Losing faith- You are more likely to loose faith out of the mission than on the mission, because you do the things that will build your faith every day

Worthiness - being sent home early for not clearing things up properly.- clean things up and get back out.  If that is your fear before you go,than clear things up properly before and that wont matter.

General Conference Was Fantastic!!!

Hola,

 

Wow, it has been a great week here in Mexico.  We have been working way hard and conference was awesome!  Today for P-day we went down to the Zocolo ( downtown D.F.) and we found an IHOP.  We forgot our cameras, but you should have seen how much we were smiling as we ate our American Pancakes ha ha. 

 

So we found a bunch of cool families this week.  We have been finding a ton of people and here are a couple of happenings with some of them;  Eduardo and his family are really cool.  One day we just felt like we should knock on his door,  He was super cool.  He told us that was weird that we just felt like knocking on his door because him and his family just felt like joining a religion recently but are not sure which one to join.  He is in a band and sings.  We are looking forward to a jam session in the future ha ha.

 

We also found Jesus and Vici who are really cool.  They are Jehovah's witness, usually the Jehovah's witness never listen to us, but they did and so did almost all of their family.  They are super cool, we gave a lesson about the plan of salvation the lesson was super powerful.  And he says that he has no doubts and that the spirit has convinced him.  Trouble is he works on Sunday, but his family should be coming to church.

 

We just changed day light savings time yesterday (thank goodness) we live next to a bunch of roosters and they would start crowing at 4 in the morning . . .  I am still getting used to it.

 

So Elder Sweetin and I had this awesome idea, and we got the permission from President Chavez to hold a football (soccer) tournament.  It should be pretty big as we have already invited 5 wards not to mention all the investigators that come out.  We are going to be having it on the 21st of April.

 

Conference was awesome!  It is like the Superbowl.  The sad thing is the church where we went to watch it, which is are ward building, is 30 minutes from our area in a microbus.  And riding on a microbus down avenida Tlahuac is a once in a life time experience. Its like the Indiana Jones ride at Disney land without seat belts and half of the time you have to stand because all the seats are taken.  We had to go down everyday!!  It was way fun ha ha.

 

All of the talks where awesome!  I loved Elder Anderson´s, Elder Erying,  and Elder Holland's talks.  They where all great!!  I really liked Elder Bendnar´s from priesthood sesion.  Dall and Dave, I sure hope you pulled something from that talk like I did.

 

Our Church is just off of Avenida Tlahuac which on calle payasos, I believe it is in colonia nopales.  If you go down perefieico which was a border with quetzal you will hit Tlahuac.  The name of the barrio is Mirasoles, in Estaca Iztapalapa.  I forgot our address I will give it to you all next week.  I love you and am glad to hear you are all doing well.

 

Con muchisimo Amor,

Elder Joe Fuell 

Didn't feel a thing!!

Hola,

It has been quite the week here in Mexico!  So I guess you heard about the earthquake?  Yeah that's a funny story, we were on a bus riding back to our areas after changes, and we didn't even feel anything!  After we got off we saw one of our investigators and he was all asking us if we had felt that earthquake.  And all week people were asking us "did you feel the earthquake" and we had to explain how we didn't.  Everyone said it was as strong as the one in 1985 that tore down all the houses.  But that one was an up and down earthquake, this was a side to side earthquake.   I guess it was pretty strong though because we went to meet with some investigators and we saw big cracks and stuff running up their walls, and we didn't even feel it.

I love my new area and my new companion Elder Sweetin.  He is from Las Vegas and he is really cool. We have been able to do a ton of work together.  We had more lessons taught to investigators this week than either of us have had in our mission.  It was crazy. and right now we feel a little dead. but it is fun.

My district is super cool and super small.  Only 4 missionaries, two companionships.  It is really cool.  I am pretty close to Quetzal again, it is in my zone, and We went and played futbol with Elder Luna and other missionaries this morning.  It was a lot of fun.

I am so excited for general conference.  All of our investigators are pretty excited too, to go and hear a Prophet.  We have a lot of great investigators here.  I owe a lot of the credit to Elder Sweetin and Elder Stringem who were here before me, they worked hard.  We found 12 new investigators this week.  One I really like is a Jehovas Witness, who usually dont listen to us but this guy was really cool.  It has been awesome!  The weathers good, the ward is good, the companions good,  What more could you ask for?

Con Muchismo Amor,

Elder Joe Fuell

Trasferred! I'm going to miss the area Ixtla!!

Hola,

it has been a great week  here in Mexico, so much to talk about.  A lot happened this week.  Best of all we had the baptism of Lilia and she was so excited.  We went and visited her on Tuesday and she said that that she had prayed about the baptism, and she felt a love of her Savior like she had never felt before in her life.  She also said that she knew that this is what she needs to do.  It was pretty cool.  The baptism was great.  Baptisms always stress me out because I want it to be perfect and there is always some little thing that goes wrong that really bugs me. But its all good.  

 

We also made brownies on Monday! They were delicious and my investigators loved them.  We got a lot of referrals this week and  the Bishop said that his gospel principles class is more full than it has ever been.

 

Dal? and Dave? and Kate? at the same dance?  Oh boy, sounds like a party!!!  Congrats Dave on becoming a teacher, remember "with great power comes great responsibility" -(Spider man ha ha) 

That's way cool that you are having night games Janaye like we used to.  When I get back I will play with you guys too!

 

It was weird, I had totally forgotten about March Madness and then Thursday morning we were walking to an appointment. and I thought, MARCH MADNESS! its kind of a bummer that we cant all watch it together this year but, its all good. We can do it in 2014 ha ha.

 

Oh big news.  I am changing areas and really am super bummed about that! This area is great.  Usually the trainers have two transfers with the new companion but the Mission President asked me to be the district leader in Mirasoles.  It is in the delegación Iztapalapa still, but I don't know how it is.  I don't feel ready to be leader of a district and I didn't sleep real well during the night, just thinking about it.  But I will do my best to help the other missionaries with whom I serve as well as my companion and investigators.

 

My new companion is going to be Elder Sweeting from Las Vegas.  I know him, he is pretty cool.  I am kind of nervous because I have never had a companion from the united states in the mission field.  I think its funny, my first couple weeks here I would have done anything to have an North American companion and now I am nervous to have one. but its going to be cool, I am going to learn a lot and am grateful for this opportunity to serve.

I have pics but I cant send them on this computer, so I will send them next week.

I love you all and hope you have another great week.

Con Muchismo Amor,

Elder Joe Fuell

Sore feet and holy shirts!




(translation)-Pharmacy of God

 


Rainy day!

 Hola,
It has been a good week!  A little tough because my companion Elder Perez has been sick, and he is still not getting better.  But the work is moving along nicely!
Yes. I got your valentines last Monday night!  Thank you very much.  I love all of you.  I am glad to hear that you had a good birthday Dave!  Dall  work hard in track!  Katie work hard on those delicious pizzas ha ha!
So, this week my feet just started bleeding and bleeding, it was horrible and I was in a lot of pain walking around all day!  I thought it was because something to do with all of my blisters or something like that.  But I showed my companion one night after working and he said that I had little bugs in my shoes that where eating my feet!!  Not the top of my feet, only the bottom, we talked to the members who live below us and they told me to rub them with oil every night to kill the bugs and put this cream stuff in my shoes! Not fun.  but now my feet are healing up nicely.
This week we had a lot of investigators in the church which was awesome! and we received a referral of a family and we are going to visit them tomorrow.  I am way excited.  One of the investigators we have is Lilia she is Christian, the kind that clap there hands and shout "Hallelujah" her sister is a member in Tijuana, and when her sister came down to visit her in December she brought her to the church.  She didn't like the church at all because she said it was very boring.
Well.  We had a great lesson with her a couple of weeks ago,  and we promised her that if she came to church with us again she would feel the spirit very strongly and enjoy it more.  She was very reluctant but she accepted.  We were supper stressed trying to make that church experience the most wonderful she had had, we put her with the ladies in the ward who are always supper happy and things like that.  And at the end she said she liked it, and that she was going to do her part to see if the church is true.
So this week we asked her if she would be baptized.  She said that she had no doubt in her mind or her heart that the church was true, that she wanted to be baptized.  That as she read the book of mormon and prayed she felt the love of god more in her life and every time she goes to church she likes it more and more.  We are going to have her baptism this Saturday.  The whole ward is pretty excited for that because she is a neat lady.
If you could send a couple (one or two) white shirts,  I have really big holes in just about all of them.  I will send you pics next week of my shirts. And floss threaders would be nice as well. but everything is great here.I love you all and will write you next week!
Con Muchismo Amor,
Elder Fuell

Being a missionary is Awesome!!!

Hola!

Wow! I am so happy right now!  Thank you for your letters! and all the great news!  Justin!!!  I am so excited for you!!  That is so awesome!!!  You will be a great missionary.  I know lots of people there so write me and tell me which areas you are in and I can send you referrals of all the Spanish people I know, (which is not a ton, but I know a couple)!! So cool!!!

 



Elder Fuell being happy writing a letter to family and friends!



And youth conference.  Wow! that is so cool,  I wish I could show you how happy I am!  Oh I am going to send you a picture of me right now! ha ha!  That  youth conference was one of the best I had,  we had all of us priests in one room, which was supper fun, and the testimony meeting was so strong,  and all of us priests were crying, especially when another one of the priests would get up to share their testimony and we went to bed that night and we were all saying " I love you man" to each other, lots of hugs.  It was awesome.  I still love them all, and now they are all on missions and I hope that one day we can all meet again like the sons of Mosiah.  That would be sweet!

Katie you got a Job!!  Cooking Pizza!! how awesome is that!  I also liked the sweater you had in the pictures that dad sent.  Dad and Dall, nice dunks!  I really liked the pics, to see everyone again its great!

It has been great here! 



Elder Fuell walking by a pig



So this Tuesday we were walking to a lesson, and a car pulled up next to us a person named Margarita, got out and said "Elders I want you to baptize me".  I thought things like that only happen in the movies, and even in the movies it is pretty rare.  So we baptized her last Thursday.  It was a great baptism.  The ward is really gathering around us because of all the baptisms and we have had some really good referrals that we are teaching that are so cool! They are perfect investigators.

 

We had an announcement from the president that we are going to have a new mission president in July, his name is Roberto Vasquez or Velasquez or something like that, they will announce it in the church news today I think.  He is from Puebla.

 

Sister Ayala was still really hesitant with the baptism.  She had been to the temple open house and said she wants to go there and get married but not get baptized, but the other day she had a really bad headache and her son suggested that we could give her a blessing.  She accepted, we blessed her she went to bed and the next day she woke up feeling great and said "I want to be baptized" so we will be baptizing her next week, and I will be coming back to Ixtla a year from now to see them go through the temple!!!

 

Josepha went to Puebla and wont be back until next week.  but I think she must be fine if she is going on such an extensive vacation.

 

Everything else here is great!  Sorry to hear about uncle Ben, but its great to know that he is reunited with his wife.

 

Being a missionary is awesome!!  I love you all!  I am glad to hear everything is going so well at home.

Con Muchimso Amor,

Elder Joe Fuell

I can't stop smiling :)

Hola,

Wow, it has been one of the greatest weeks of my mission, and one the greatest of my life.  There wasn't anything that huge that happened now that I look back on it, just those everyday miracles that make me happy to be a missionary.

Ayala Baptism

We had the baptism of hermano Ayala, he has changed so much since the day I first met him.  He was the first person I met when I came to this new area and at the time he wasn't an investigator and wasn't interested in being an investigator.  Now he is excited to do all that he can to go to the temple and be married with his wife for eternity.  First we need to baptize his wife but I have a feeling that we will be baptizing her within the coming weeks.  Last night we visited with him and he was telling us how he was trying to be so good and not cuss ha ha.

We found a lot of new investigators this week.  I always love teaching people for the first time it is great to get to know them and show them how the gospel can help them in their lives.

I have been so happy, because we are working, I cant stop smiling, (not that I was frowning before) but that the work here is just so awesome!  Elder Perez and I have been trying to teach with lots of energy and enthusiasm and I think the people can feel it.  We received six referrals from the ward this week which is awesome because it shows that the ward trusts us.  when I look back on it I cant think of a bad thing that happened this week.

We had an experience with one of our investigators.  Her name is Josefa.  She is an old lady who has been an investigator for a really long time, she said she feels like God doesn't love her because He doesn't answer her prayers.  We had this lesson with her this week, and I don't remember exactly what happened or what we said, or rather what the spirit said to her, but she began to cry.  She told us that she believes that we have the power of God because she can feel it when we come in her home.  She asked if we could give her a blessing because she has a lot of pain in her foot and this could help her come to church.  We asked if we could fast with her and give her a blessing the next day.

The next day we gave her a blessing, it was a simple, but we all felt the spirit really strongly.  She said that she felt really emotional and with tears of joy she said "I know my heavenly father loves me".  It was really cool, what a blessing it is to know these simple truths.

Everything is great here.  We are looking forward to another great week in Ixtla.

Dall- what is your recipe for pizza dough.  Elder Campbell?  I will keep my eyes open for him.

I love you all.  Your in my thoughts and prayers.

Con muchismo Amor,

A favorite quote of Joe's from Nacho Libre:   They think I do not know a buttload of crap about the Gospel, but I do!

Elder Joe Fuell