I can't believe another week has rolled by so fast. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying life. Things are going really well here in Charentsavan! Elder Steglich and I had another great week. I've got a lot to say in this email so I'll get straight to it! haha
I have some big news... Silva was baptized this last Saturday!!! haha. It was so great. Elder Steglich baptized her and it was such a great little service. I attached some pictures at the end of the email so I hope it goes through. I've always been so amazed by what great faith Silva has. She bore her testimony after she was baptized and she did such an amazing job. She already has such a strong and powerful testimony. Its so easy to see how prepared she has been. She has accepted everything Elder Steglich and I have taught her with unwavering faith and without any complaints. She just accepts the things we say because she knows we are representatives of Christ and that makes the work so much easier when the investigator has such a willing and open heart. I'm not sure if I've already told you about how we came about to teach Silva but I'm going to tell you again. One morning, after our studies, Elder Steglich and I went to this little bookstore here in Charentsavan to buy some pens and while we were there one of the members from the branch here came in with Silva. On our way out we stopped and shook the members hand and introduced ourselves to Silva and then went on our way cause we had a meeting right after that. Apparently, when we walked out the door Silva turned to the member and said she needed to meet with us and start learning about our church. Just from meeting her quickly she already knew we were representatives of Christ. It just reminds me of D&C 29:7, the elect hear His voice and come. Silva truly is one of His elect. She's shown that through her faith and willingness to follow His word. I'm so thankful for the opportunity I've had to help teach her. I think she has taught us far more than we have taught her haha. I'm so excited for her. She is going to change and affect many lives here in Charentsavan. She has already started doing missionary work and sharing the gospel with those around her! haha.
The rest of the work is going really well too. We are spending a little more time trying to find because of the baptisms we've had but we both feel like we are going to find some really good investigators this next week. So keep your fingers crossed! haha. As for Tadevos, Lusine, and Tigran, they are all doing so well! We met with them a lot this last week and they are really progressing. They can't wait to be baptized! Lusine shared the gospel with one of her neighbors this last week. She told them about temples and how her and Tadevos and Tigran are going to go to Kiev as soon as they can and be sealed as a family for eternity. How great is that!!!! haha. We were both way happy when she was telling us about it. And then Lusine wasn't able to come to church yesterday but she called and asked if it was allowed for us to bring the sacrament to her last night so that she could still partake. Haha I'm pretty sure that has never happened in Armenia haha. They are so amazing! I can't wait to work with them some more this week.
Other than that Allah is our only other investigator that is really progressing. She is doing really well also. We focused a lot on the Book of Mormon with her this last week and get her into it. She has started reading so we were way happy about that! She is way excited to be baptized too. haha.
That's about as far as it goes for work right now though.
Yesterday was the craziest day of my mission so far. Yesterday was Vardevar here in Armenia. Its basically water day and its madness. Kids just walk around with buckets of water looking to get people soaked. Its way rough because being white and American we had a huge target on our foreheads haha. People just stand on their balconies and at their windows and just dump buckets of water on people as they walk by below. We were safe on the way to church yesterday because we had to push Branch President. Some kids tried to get us wet but he started yelling at them and telling them to go away. The problem was after church. We were walking down this path back to our place and all of a sudden this pack of just like 12 Armenian kids came around the corner. All armed and ready haha. One of them just yelled "The Americans!" haha. We both just looked at each other and sprinted away. They chased us for a while but we got away thankfully haha. So, we continued our journey home and we were almost there and then out of no where wave of water came out of no where and just splashed us haha. Some kid got us from the 2 floor of a building. I was so mad! haha. And so we started walking again, kinda down in the dumps after getting a little wet. And when we got to our building there were like 5 girls with water bottles standing there. I was like you have got to be kidding me. In the process of sprinting past them I got clipped and my right arm got drenched. We got them back though. Elder Smith's mom had sent him water balloons so we filled them up in our apartment and just nailed them from our window. They had no idea what hit them haha. The worst of it was last night though. Of course all of our meetings fell through, so we didn't have any choice but to walk around and try to talk to people, meanwhile avoiding the crazy little kids. We thought we made it to this safe spot and we were talking to a Grandpa and out of no where we got nailed in the backs. Somebody had gotten us from their car as they drove by haha. This is the best part of the whole day though. Check this out. So we were walking along and we came upon this pack of 4 or 5 kids. We were like oh crap. There was that moment of hesitation where we were trying to figure out what to do or if they were even going to try to get us. And then starting running at us haha. Elder Steglich sprinted forward and I, of course, went to run back the way I came. So, Elder Steglich was home free and I was stuck with all these kids converging on me. I thought I was a goner for sure. I kept trying to juke them out but it was just not working out haha. And then all of a sudden a car started to come down the street, headed in the direction I needed to go. And I was on the right side of the street and the kids were too. So I waited until the car was barely passed me and I took off to get around on the other side of the car. I made it and sprinted alongside the car until I had made it to Elder Steglich. It was the perfect getaway. haha. It seriously was most epic thing of my life haha. So, all in all, it was a crazy day haha. I'm sure all of Charentsavan got a good laugh at seeing the Americans sprinted from packs of little kids all day haha. I hope you were all able to get a picture of what Vardevar is haha.
Other than that, it has been just another week. Things are going really well here. I love being a missionary. There is nothing better than this great work and I am so happy to be a part of it. Thank you all for your support and love. You all bring me so much strength and it truly means a lot! I love you all and hope you all have great weeks! Make sure you treat Dad and Rach extra great! haha. I can't wait to hear from you all next week!
Love,
Elder Fairclough
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| Elder Steglich, Silva, and Elder Fairclough |
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| Silva, Elder Steglich, and Elder Fairclough |
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