I am having the time of my life!!! (Pictures)

Hola,

It has been a great week here in Mexico.

I am glad to hear that you are all doing well and that you are receiving so many awesome blessings.  I am having the time of my life, working as hard as I can and loving the work.

Things have been going great with me and Elder Stauffer.  He is from Utah Valley, and is cool.  We have been working really well together. Everyone knows us around here as the "two white guys".  I don't care what the call us, I am just glad that they are talking about us, which opens them up to receive the gospel.

This week we had a scare.  We walked out of a lesson and the streets where empty and all the business's where closed.  It was really weird,  because in my 16 months here I have never seen Iztapalapa without people.  Then  President called us and told us to get in our house and call all the missionaries and tell them to do the same.  So we where in our house all day.  I couldn't relax because some elders wouldn't answer their phones.  In the end all was well it was just a scare of rumors that where being passed around in the media.   So everything is fine and will be fine.  There was really no reason to worry but it was an interesting experience.  

Because of that experience for two or three days we could only go to certain appointments and couldn't contact people, but this was a great opportunity to work with the ward in missionary work.  Now the ward is super excited and we have plans to bring over 50 non members to general conference between our ward and the other ward in our building.

Everything is super great.  I love you all and hope you have a great week.

Con Muchismo amor,

Elder Joe Fuell

Joe's District Teaching at a booth

Joe Teaching

Taking pictures

Getting a bite to eat

Hanging with the other Elders

Taking pictures before baptism

Elder Fuell with Elder Rios(glasses) and other missionaries

Baptism

On the way home after a long, long day!!! 

Lessons of life!!!

Hola,
It has been a great but busy week here in Mexico.
Elder Rios and I have been up to our ears in work. . .  but I guess that is a good thing ha ha.  We were both a little bummed to here that he has changes and is going to go to the zone Contreras, which is really far away with Elder Hubbard.  My new companion is Elder Stauffer, I know him a little bit but just in passing.  I hope he is ready to work because we are booked for almost the next two weeks!


Elder Fuell with some Elders in the Zone



When I look back at this week it seems like most of the time we where stopped in traffic, blah! We took advantage of the opportunity to contact people on the bus but they were all grumpy because of the traffic.  We did get some pretty funny responses, but a lot of people listened to us because they had nothing better to do and we got to referrals.

Oh!  This morning I found a taratula (big spider) in the kitchen, it was a baby, but it was still huge, but I know if there is a baby the mama is somewhere close.  I still haven't found anything but I will let you know if anything happens,  If I don't write next week you´ll know that the spider ate me :(  ja jaja

Elder Rios and I are always the ones teaching the lessons but sometimes we come out of the lesson realizing we were the ones being taught.  Theses are what we call lessons of life.  This week we found a member who had been in the hospital in a coma,  she needed a blood transfusion and sent her brother who was a non member to a church to ask for the blood.  No one offered any and no one went to visit her in the hospital and no one had given her a blessing.  It broke our hearts to see how this sister was suffering.  We gave her a blessing and talked to some members who went and visited her.

I learned a lot of things from this experience but more than anything else I learned that there is always someone who needs our help.  The Savior was always helping everyone and we need to follow his example and do the same.  I am glad to hear that you are all doing good and I hope that you have a great labor day.

Con Muchismo Amor,

Elder Joe Fuell

Absolutely Amazing week in Mexico!!

Hola,

It has been an absolutely amazing week here in Mexico.

I am glad that you are all back in school and enjoying yourselves in that aspect.  Happy B-day Dall!!!  It is crazy to think that you are sixteen and a junior in High School!!  My junior year I made a lot of big desicions. You probably will too.  Make good ones.

This week we had three baptisms, the family of Laurena.  It was quite the expierience because we thought we were only going to baptize Laurena but at the last minute her husband and child said that they wanted to be baptized too.  So we were scrambling around like chickens with our heads cut off because we weren't prepared for 3 baptisms just one baptism.  But I guess all's well that ends well.  It all ended up really nicely.  Oscar the dad was crying just about the whole time.

In every area I have had on my mission I have baptized at least one complete family, but I have never baptized the whole family on the same day before so that was a super awesome experience.

One of the Elders got the chicken pox so he was confined to his apartment all week long and couldn't leave so me and Elder Rios had to go buy him food and while we where shopping we found two of my first baptisms, Uriel and Judit.  They are doing really well and it was a year form the day that we baptized them that we found eachother in the store.  It was a really great expiericne to see them and talk to them again and it was great to see that they are still firm in the faith.

The dog of Sarah, one of our converts, always follows her to church and waits outside and howls while we sing, it reminds me of the book "because of Windixi" ha ha I thought I would share that with you because it always makes me laugh.

This last week I have been bombarded with calls from all the missionaries.  Word got out that I have worked in surgeries as a surg tech, so now every one is calling me about there headaches or how to give injections to their companion.  I tell them that I don't know a ton about medicine and that I can cut it off if its bothering them, but that's about it. ha ha

This is the last week of the cambio so I will have my preparation day on Monday next week.  You are all in my prayers especially uncle Dale.

Have an awesome week.

Con muchisimo amor,

Elder Fuell

Answers to your questions!!!

Hola,

It has been an awesome week here in Mexico.  It has been a week that has really strengthened my faith.  We had our zone training meeting on Tuesday and it went super well.  Everyone left super excited and since then we have been doing all that we can to keep up the excitement.

Me and my companion put goals to pray and pray and pray.  In everything we do to ask the help of the Lord, and I have seen the hand of the Lord in this week perhaps more than any other time in my entire life.

We had miracles in everything from contacts in the street or on the bus, to investigators telling us they want to get baptized, to helping people who have major doubts about the gospel.

The ward is super excited too and they are helping us a ton.  This last week we received a referral of a family of 4 and they are awesome and they have a smoothie stand and give us free smoothies!  I'm glad I get to meet such cool people on my mission.

OK family, answer to your questions:

1.    Do you miss eating cereal and what kind do you miss? Janaye

I miss captain crunch,  but now I eat oatmeal or cornflakes because I am a poor missionary ha ha

2.    What goodies do you miss? mom

I miss soft cookies, all the cookies here are hard

3.    How do you do your laundry? Dad

A lady in our ward does our laundry, but this has been the only ward where this has happened

4.    Do you have hot water? Dave

we have 30 of hot water before the power goes out and then we have cold water because we have an electric water heater

5.    Do you get to play the piano? Dave

Sometimes at church or while our investigators are being interviewed for baptism. but not as much as I would like

6.    Have you gotten more ties? Dal

No, I only have about seven ties.  I will buy one but then I will give it away the next week.  I only keep the gift ties that people or missionaries give me

7.    What is the hottest its been while you have been there and the scariest storm? Tom

its been almost 50 grados (Celsius, I don't know in Fahrenheit).  The weather is pretty calm, usually no big storms.

8.    Do you walk everywhere? Dad

We walk or take the metro to the offices or a bus to the other side of the zone, if it is to one of the other Churches we take a micro (micro buss-very uncomfortable, made for Mexicans not for Fuells) and when we go to mirasoles we take a cumbi which is a hippie van filled with sweaty people. but when we are in my area we walk because it is so small

9.    When you do entercambios (exchanges), do you stay the night at the other missionaries apartment? mom

yes, the intercambios last 24 hrs.  I like sleeping in my own bed, but intercambios are almost always really fun.

10. What is the best food you have eaten while you've been gone? Dad

my favorite foods are pozole, tacos de pastor, mole, torta tamales.  I haven't eaten anything that I didn't like

11. Are you allowed to drink soda--caffeine? Dal

We are not aloud to drink coke and that is the only caffeinated drink that I have seen in Mexico City

12. Who cuts your hair? Mom

We go to a hair cutting school, they cut our hair for free, but it takes an hour, you would think they are doing brain surgery or something like that ha ha.  I usually don't like how it looks so I have to make corrections with scissors in the bathroom when we get home.

13. What will you miss most about Mexico? Kate

The people, and the food, the colors

14. What do you miss most about Utah (home)? Kate

My family, spaghetti, the mountains.

15. What is your best thing to do on P-day? Janaye

I like to go to museums, write letters, watch church videos

16. What is your favorite plant in Mexico? Tom

there are these trees that have these really cool pink and orange spikey flowers they are pretty cool.  I like all of the plants that produce fruit

17. Do you get to call more for appointments or do you have to just go to the appointment? Dave

Nope we just go to the appointment and if they're not there we call them

18. Do you get the chance to go to Primary? Mom

I went to primary one time.  We shared our testimonies and taught them how to be missionaries, afterwards they all drew pictures for us.  I still have all the pics

19. Do you like your apartment? Dal

Oh yeah, we do have a problem with slugs and BIG cockroaches getting in but other than that it is one of the best places I have lived in.

20. What is your favorite primary hymn in Spanish? Mom

Probably "llevar al mundo la verdad" its my favorite, I always sing it with the little kids.

I love you all a ton

Con Muchisimo Amor,

Elder Joe Fuell

Another great week in Mexico!!

Hola,
It has been a really good week down here with a lot of success in the category of mission work.  There was a hurricane that came through, we don't get the winds because we are in the mountains but we got the rain all week long.  But it was really cool!!  This morning we went to the temple to buy some stuff in the distribution center and we have to take the elevated metro to get there.  I could not believe how clear the sky was!  I have never seen it so clear in my whole time hear; you could see forever.  It was pretty sweet.

This week was really busy because we had a lot of intercambios (exchanges with other missionaries). But it is always fun to go and work in another area, but I like my own bed.

We had the baptism of Alberto this week, the kid who contacted us.  It has been really cool to see him progress.  Right now he is taking institute, and mission preparation class.  He is awesome and loves to go with us to teach.  The baptism went great, no problems with members not showing up or baptismal font not filling up or the boiler not working, so it was one of the best baptisms in the mission ha ha.

Another really cool experience this week.  We contacted one of our neighbors and she accepted to meet with us (whoot whoot I was happy with that) and then when we ask her to pray to see if it is true she told us she believes it is true because the night before we contacted her she had a dream where she saw god in the distance and he said come to me.  She said she wanted to but she didn't know the way, and then she saw two people with ties dressed in all white who where there to help her get to god.  It was pretty crazy . . . crazy cool.  It reminded me of the vision of Lehi and then I thought about she is probably a decedent of Lehi.  It explains a lot.  Sometimes my companions have weird dreams too, but I don't know if they are real or if they are just pulling my leg to freak me out.

A picture of Dave, Dallin and Me that we sent to Joe

Grandma I hope that you are recuperating well from your surgery, I know total knees can be tough, but you are tougher. 
Kate keep at it with the job hunt,  I know that you will find something before school starts.  I am glad that you are all doing well.  Yeah mom, everything is super great.  Thanks for your letter and yeah the housing up at the U sounds great.  I trust your judgement.
Con mcuhismo amor
Elder Joe Fuell
p.s. Thanks for the pic papa

Picture of Elder Fuell



Joe with Elder Luna and Elder Marsh



Life is super good!!! (Pics)

Hola,

It was a great week here in Mexico!   It was very hard, but I learned a lot about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

This week there where a lot of problems in the zone, ranging from sicknesses to testimonies, so for most of the week, me and Elder Rios have been riding on the bus. And the times we had in our area weren't much better than that, but I leaned great lessons on hope, patience, and diligence and I know that we are going to see some awesome miracles this coming week.

This week we had an awesome opportunity to work with one of the senior missionaries in our mission. His name is Elder Olrigerre from Australia.  It was really an awesome experience.  He is one of my heroes!!He is old and he came out here with us and worked like a mad man, and when he taught with us, he taught with such power and testimony.  It was an awesome experience.  When I am old I want to go on a bunch of missions with my wife like he has.

We did have one really cool experience this week.  We went to the church to give a piano lesson and the person didn't show, so we where thinking of who we could go visit with and we both felt that we should go visit the familia Porras.  When we arrived we found the our investigator Marina crying because her daughter of 17 years just ran away to live with her boy friend. She said that she felt so bad but remembered us and the good feeling she had had when we visited.  So she pulled out the Book of Mormon and started to read.

She said she felt like what was written there on the page was written just for her in that moment and she says that she knows that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Her husband came in half way through the lesson and he said that this is what his family needs to be more unified.  They are super awesome! They have to get them married before we can baptize them, but they should be getting baptized sometime next month.

Elder Fuell with Elder Rios and others

The difference between a new shirt and one that is 15 months old

Dallin, that's cool you are working in the pharmacy!!  Hannah and I use to make those pictures on the computer and send them to each other.  Who is all working at the pharmacy now?  Still the same old crew?

Life is super good, I love you all and hope you have an awesome week.

Con Muchismo Amor,

Elder Joe Fuell

Elder Fuell with Elder Rios and a new covert

Elder Fuell with other Missionaires

 

As Joe was sending me the pics, I had a brief moment where we were able to chat and here is some of that conversation:

> On 8/7/12, Louie Fuell <louie@ghid.org> wrote:

 Me:   Is there anything else you need?  Mom and I are sending some more

 shirts....and after looking at the pics, you need them.    Did you send

 the tape back yet?

Joe:  I am still working on it, I will have the tape done by next week.

 Right now I am pretty good with everything, I cant really think of

 anything I need.  

Me:   How do you like the new mission president?  Whats he like?

 

Joe:  He is awesome.  I really like him a lot.  I have already learned a ton from him.  I need to go now. I love you guys have a great week.