.jpg) |
| Elder Fairclough's Bed |
.jpg) |
| The large icicles outside their apartment |
 |
| Elder Fairclough's study area...with valentine's day hearts from mom |
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Pictures from letter on 2-20-2012
February 20, 2012
Hey everyone!
It was great to hear from you all and hear that you are all doing so great! This last week was another great one here in Armenia. It was definitely a busy week, which made it go by really fast. But I had a
lot of really great experiences this last week that I'm excited to share with you. So first, Charentsavan. I went back to Charentsavan after district meeting with Elder Morris. To answer your question mom, Elder Cook actually got transferred this last transfer and is now training in a different area. But it was so much fun to go back to my training area and see so many old friends. Everybody was asking if I
was back to stay, which made it pretty disappointing when I had to tell them no haha. But Elder Morris was kind enough to let me chose some of the members that we went and visited with. We were able to
meet with Silva and with Larisa. It was SO good to see them and to see that they are still strong and coming to church. It was funny cause it honestly felt like I had never left but at the same time it was really interesting being there cause this time I actually understood what was being said and could really respond to them haha. It was such a good feeling. Branch President was pretty sick and so we went to his house to talk about the branch and so that I could see him and that was really great too. Armenian people are super funny when they get sick. First of all, they think all sicknesses come from "getting cold". There is actually a word for it but that is what it literally translates to. But if ever you aren't feeling well, that is what they diagnose it as haha. But we were sitting there and talking with each other and I looked over on his desk and there was some drinking alcohol. I just thought in my head that, "why does he have that?!" And then he unknowingly answered my question. He started like rubbing it all over his face and neck and up his nose haha. It was so weird. I wanted to tell him to stop rubbing alcohol on his body haha. But as Elder Morris and I were leaving, he turned to me and was just like, "that is the Word of Wisdom at it's finest" haha. I guess that is what it is supposed to be used for but I would never in a million years consider rubbing that on my body. Gotta love Armenians haha. Also, I'm not sure if you remember a picture that I sent home a while ago when I was back in Charentsavan. But it was of me and these two little kids. Well apparently one of the little boys, Haik, has been calling the elders in Charentsavan Elder Fairclough for the past 4 months haha. I was so surprised cause normally Armenians can't pronounce Fairclough, let alone remember it haha. But we went and saw them and he was so happy. He spent the whole lesson trying to play with his toys with me haha. Made it a little hard to follow the lesson but it was pretty funny. I had Elder Morris take a picture of me and him with his camera and he said he'd forward me the picture next week. So I'll send it on home next week. But overall, it was really great to be able to go back to Charentsavan and see everyone. I also had to go down to a city called Artashat and do another baptismal interview for a little kid. This time it was a little boy named Gevorg and he is about 9 years old. He was such a funny little
kid. A little crazy and hyper, but I'm not sure what else to expect from a 9 year old kid haha. I just pictured him as Eddie and talked to him the same way I would with Eddie. It was a really cool experience though. For part of the interview the Sister missionaries who taught him were in the room and that is when he was really hyper and not focusing very well. But when I had them all leave so that I could pray about it I felt like I should have the little kid come back in and that I should talk to just him. As I sat down with just him, it was a completely different feel. He sat there perfectly quiet and we just talked about the Holy Ghost and listening to the Branch President and being a good example for the other little kids. And then at the end I asked him to go outside of the room so that I could pray again, and he just looked at me and asked if he could stay and pray with me. So, we prayed together haha. Before he was being resilient to kneel down and pray but this time he got down on his knees before I did haha. It was really cool to try to picture him as a future Priesthood holder. He is going to be baptized this Friday and Elder Rackham and I are hoping to make our way down there. If we do, I'll be sure to send some pictures! As for our investigators, we didn't have a whole lot of time to get
meetings in with our investigators but we were able to make a lot of progress with Aram. Out of the blue this last week he called us and said he wanted to meet, which usually we have to pursue him pretty hard. But he has been calling us all week and has been showing a lot more interest than he had been. I'm not sure what the change was but I am really thankful for it. He came to church yesterday and was able to stay for all of our meetings. I will be sure to let you all know how he comes along this next week. Other than that, right now we are in the stages of finding new investigators. I feel really good about this next week though and am ready and excited to get to work with it! I'll
be sure to let you know how this next week turns out! Lastly, we were able to go to a training meeting for all the new missionaries this last week and they had the trainers come as well. It was really great to be in a small group and receive some counsel from President and Sister Carter, as well as the assistants. I was able to learn a lot of things that I think are really going to help Elder Rackham and I get the work going in this area. I wanted to share one of the things that was said that really stuck out to me. Elder Steglich was actually teaching something and he was talking about the love that Heavenly Father has for each of us, He also has for every single Armenian. Which is really simple and seems obvious, but as I thought more and more about it, it became really profound. I just thought about how blessed I have been in my life. I am so thankful to have this church in my life and for such a wonderful family. Because of these huge blessings in my life, I've been able to feel God's love for me. I know that God and Jesus Christ love me because I have felt their love in my life and am reminded of it on a daily basis. But they love every one of these Armenians with the same love that he has for me. They want these people to enjoy the same blessings that I have enjoyed and that is why I am here. There are a lot of things I can't do, but I can promise anyone that God exists and that He loves us. As we went out on the street after the meeting, I found that I was talking to people with a totally different perspective. Like I said, it was really simple, but I found a lot of direction and guidance with it.
Well, it's about that time. I hope you are all doing well and know how very much I love you all. Have a great week and I can't wait to hear from you next week!
Love,
Elder Fairclough
It was great to hear from you all and hear that you are all doing so great! This last week was another great one here in Armenia. It was definitely a busy week, which made it go by really fast. But I had a
lot of really great experiences this last week that I'm excited to share with you. So first, Charentsavan. I went back to Charentsavan after district meeting with Elder Morris. To answer your question mom, Elder Cook actually got transferred this last transfer and is now training in a different area. But it was so much fun to go back to my training area and see so many old friends. Everybody was asking if I
was back to stay, which made it pretty disappointing when I had to tell them no haha. But Elder Morris was kind enough to let me chose some of the members that we went and visited with. We were able to
meet with Silva and with Larisa. It was SO good to see them and to see that they are still strong and coming to church. It was funny cause it honestly felt like I had never left but at the same time it was really interesting being there cause this time I actually understood what was being said and could really respond to them haha. It was such a good feeling. Branch President was pretty sick and so we went to his house to talk about the branch and so that I could see him and that was really great too. Armenian people are super funny when they get sick. First of all, they think all sicknesses come from "getting cold". There is actually a word for it but that is what it literally translates to. But if ever you aren't feeling well, that is what they diagnose it as haha. But we were sitting there and talking with each other and I looked over on his desk and there was some drinking alcohol. I just thought in my head that, "why does he have that?!" And then he unknowingly answered my question. He started like rubbing it all over his face and neck and up his nose haha. It was so weird. I wanted to tell him to stop rubbing alcohol on his body haha. But as Elder Morris and I were leaving, he turned to me and was just like, "that is the Word of Wisdom at it's finest" haha. I guess that is what it is supposed to be used for but I would never in a million years consider rubbing that on my body. Gotta love Armenians haha. Also, I'm not sure if you remember a picture that I sent home a while ago when I was back in Charentsavan. But it was of me and these two little kids. Well apparently one of the little boys, Haik, has been calling the elders in Charentsavan Elder Fairclough for the past 4 months haha. I was so surprised cause normally Armenians can't pronounce Fairclough, let alone remember it haha. But we went and saw them and he was so happy. He spent the whole lesson trying to play with his toys with me haha. Made it a little hard to follow the lesson but it was pretty funny. I had Elder Morris take a picture of me and him with his camera and he said he'd forward me the picture next week. So I'll send it on home next week. But overall, it was really great to be able to go back to Charentsavan and see everyone. I also had to go down to a city called Artashat and do another baptismal interview for a little kid. This time it was a little boy named Gevorg and he is about 9 years old. He was such a funny little
kid. A little crazy and hyper, but I'm not sure what else to expect from a 9 year old kid haha. I just pictured him as Eddie and talked to him the same way I would with Eddie. It was a really cool experience though. For part of the interview the Sister missionaries who taught him were in the room and that is when he was really hyper and not focusing very well. But when I had them all leave so that I could pray about it I felt like I should have the little kid come back in and that I should talk to just him. As I sat down with just him, it was a completely different feel. He sat there perfectly quiet and we just talked about the Holy Ghost and listening to the Branch President and being a good example for the other little kids. And then at the end I asked him to go outside of the room so that I could pray again, and he just looked at me and asked if he could stay and pray with me. So, we prayed together haha. Before he was being resilient to kneel down and pray but this time he got down on his knees before I did haha. It was really cool to try to picture him as a future Priesthood holder. He is going to be baptized this Friday and Elder Rackham and I are hoping to make our way down there. If we do, I'll be sure to send some pictures! As for our investigators, we didn't have a whole lot of time to get
meetings in with our investigators but we were able to make a lot of progress with Aram. Out of the blue this last week he called us and said he wanted to meet, which usually we have to pursue him pretty hard. But he has been calling us all week and has been showing a lot more interest than he had been. I'm not sure what the change was but I am really thankful for it. He came to church yesterday and was able to stay for all of our meetings. I will be sure to let you all know how he comes along this next week. Other than that, right now we are in the stages of finding new investigators. I feel really good about this next week though and am ready and excited to get to work with it! I'll
be sure to let you know how this next week turns out! Lastly, we were able to go to a training meeting for all the new missionaries this last week and they had the trainers come as well. It was really great to be in a small group and receive some counsel from President and Sister Carter, as well as the assistants. I was able to learn a lot of things that I think are really going to help Elder Rackham and I get the work going in this area. I wanted to share one of the things that was said that really stuck out to me. Elder Steglich was actually teaching something and he was talking about the love that Heavenly Father has for each of us, He also has for every single Armenian. Which is really simple and seems obvious, but as I thought more and more about it, it became really profound. I just thought about how blessed I have been in my life. I am so thankful to have this church in my life and for such a wonderful family. Because of these huge blessings in my life, I've been able to feel God's love for me. I know that God and Jesus Christ love me because I have felt their love in my life and am reminded of it on a daily basis. But they love every one of these Armenians with the same love that he has for me. They want these people to enjoy the same blessings that I have enjoyed and that is why I am here. There are a lot of things I can't do, but I can promise anyone that God exists and that He loves us. As we went out on the street after the meeting, I found that I was talking to people with a totally different perspective. Like I said, it was really simple, but I found a lot of direction and guidance with it.
Well, it's about that time. I hope you are all doing well and know how very much I love you all. Have a great week and I can't wait to hear from you next week!
Love,
Elder Fairclough
February 13, 2012
Hey everyone!
How are you all doing this fine week? As always, it was great to sit down and read all of your emails and see that you are all doing well. I really feel like I was just sitting at this computer emailing you
all. I can hardly believe that it has been another week. Time flies when you're having fun! Everything is going great here in Armenia though!
I'll start out by telling you all a bit about the work this last week. We were able to meet with the man from Russia (Arshon is his name), his wife (Arpine), and her father (David) this last week. It went
really well. Arpine had a billion questions, which made it a little difficult to teach her haha, but the questions that she had were really good. Funny story with that. We were getting to know them a little bit and they were looking at our pictures and I was explaining our family and what not. And they were ask a ton of random questions. They started asking me questions like if we own our house and how much dad makes and I was like I have no idea actually haha. And they were like how do you not know that, they're your family aren't they. And I had to explain that parents don't usually share those types of things with their kids, which they didn't really understand cause here they know pretty much everything about their kids and parents. But here is where the funny part comes in. She asked me what dad does and I've never had to tell anyone that here. Because Armenian is such an old language they don't have a lot of the more modernized words so they just use the Russian words, which are sometimes very similar to the English word. So sometimes you can just throw an English word out there and just hope that the Russian word is similar and then they'll understand. Very risky business though and most the time it doesn't work haha. But I through designer out there and Arpine was like, "oh yeah, that is so cool. I am a designer too." And then I realized that she she was talking about like a clothes designer haha. I quickly corrected her on that one and made sure they understood that my dad
isn't a clothes designer haha. Good times. But Arpine and Arshon came to church yesterday and stayed the whole time! Also, we are working with a lady named Greta. She is what we call an "eternal
investigator", which means she is someone who is interested but never does everything they need to, just some of things, so they get dropped for a while and then they start investigating again a little later and then the same thing happens. Kind of sad. But she called and told a set of sisters that she wanted to get baptized and turns out that she lives in our area. So, we've been working with her for a little bit and it seemed like she'd make steps of progress and then steps back. The big struggle with her has been getting her to come to church. Cause she is reading and praying. But for some reason she hasn't been
coming. So, we've been working with her on the things that she needs to do in order to be baptized. And I'm not quite sure what made the difference but she finally came to church yesterday! We were so glad to see her there. She stayed the whole time and participated. To be totally honest I'm not sure what the difference was but we are really thankful that she came! haha. Aram is doing okay. He has kind of
started to plateau a little bit. He has been getting really busy with school and hasn't had a lot of time to meet with us or anything like that. We are still trying to work with him but not sure for how much longer. Hopefully something turns around this next week. If not, then we might need to stop teaching him for now. So, we'll see how it all goes this next week. I really do love being a missionary and doing
this work. It really is a blessing to be able to share the gospel. At times it can be really difficult, but it is always worth it. Everything is going really well with Elder Rackham. He is such a good missionary. He works really hard and is doing great. It is really interesting training cause I remember how I was feeling at that time and how foreign everything seemed but now it all just seems so normal to me. I also remember how frustrating it was with the language sometimes, but as I look back on my training that isn't what I think of. All I remember really from my training is how happy I was and all the good experiences. I've been relating these things to Elder Rackham in hopes that he isn't getting frustrating with the language. So, hopefully it's helping. It really helped me to realize that as long as we are doing our best and keeping a good attitude about things, to the best that we can, that when we look back we won't see the frustration or shortcomings, rather we'll see the happiness and the good memories. A very comforting thought. But it has also been really great to see how much he is improving on a weekly and even daily basis. It's helping me to keep an eye open for the progress that I myself am making as well. Overall, training is a really great experience so far! The weather has been really crazy here this last week. It snowed a couple feet earlier on in the week and was pretty cold. The weather has heated up a little bit, but not much and there is still a ton of snow. We were able to go do some service for a member out in a village and we shoveled snow for him and for this other old lady. As I was shoveling I realized that I've never really had to shovel snow before haha. Which made me realize that this is the most snow that I have ever seen or lived in. But it was really good to get out and help some
of our members and get some energy out haha. So, really exciting news. I'M GOING BACK TO CHAR THIS WEEK. Haha hopefully you caught my excitement. I'm going there on an exchange, so
I'll only be there for two days but I'm really looking forward to going back and seeing everyone. I'm especially excited because I can actually talk and understand now haha. But be prepared for a full
report on how that goes next week! haha. Well, I love you all so much and am so grateful for all of your support. You're all the best! Know that you're in my prayers daily. Happy Valentines day!
Love,
Elder Fairclough
How are you all doing this fine week? As always, it was great to sit down and read all of your emails and see that you are all doing well. I really feel like I was just sitting at this computer emailing you
all. I can hardly believe that it has been another week. Time flies when you're having fun! Everything is going great here in Armenia though!
I'll start out by telling you all a bit about the work this last week. We were able to meet with the man from Russia (Arshon is his name), his wife (Arpine), and her father (David) this last week. It went
really well. Arpine had a billion questions, which made it a little difficult to teach her haha, but the questions that she had were really good. Funny story with that. We were getting to know them a little bit and they were looking at our pictures and I was explaining our family and what not. And they were ask a ton of random questions. They started asking me questions like if we own our house and how much dad makes and I was like I have no idea actually haha. And they were like how do you not know that, they're your family aren't they. And I had to explain that parents don't usually share those types of things with their kids, which they didn't really understand cause here they know pretty much everything about their kids and parents. But here is where the funny part comes in. She asked me what dad does and I've never had to tell anyone that here. Because Armenian is such an old language they don't have a lot of the more modernized words so they just use the Russian words, which are sometimes very similar to the English word. So sometimes you can just throw an English word out there and just hope that the Russian word is similar and then they'll understand. Very risky business though and most the time it doesn't work haha. But I through designer out there and Arpine was like, "oh yeah, that is so cool. I am a designer too." And then I realized that she she was talking about like a clothes designer haha. I quickly corrected her on that one and made sure they understood that my dad
isn't a clothes designer haha. Good times. But Arpine and Arshon came to church yesterday and stayed the whole time! Also, we are working with a lady named Greta. She is what we call an "eternal
investigator", which means she is someone who is interested but never does everything they need to, just some of things, so they get dropped for a while and then they start investigating again a little later and then the same thing happens. Kind of sad. But she called and told a set of sisters that she wanted to get baptized and turns out that she lives in our area. So, we've been working with her for a little bit and it seemed like she'd make steps of progress and then steps back. The big struggle with her has been getting her to come to church. Cause she is reading and praying. But for some reason she hasn't been
coming. So, we've been working with her on the things that she needs to do in order to be baptized. And I'm not quite sure what made the difference but she finally came to church yesterday! We were so glad to see her there. She stayed the whole time and participated. To be totally honest I'm not sure what the difference was but we are really thankful that she came! haha. Aram is doing okay. He has kind of
started to plateau a little bit. He has been getting really busy with school and hasn't had a lot of time to meet with us or anything like that. We are still trying to work with him but not sure for how much longer. Hopefully something turns around this next week. If not, then we might need to stop teaching him for now. So, we'll see how it all goes this next week. I really do love being a missionary and doing
this work. It really is a blessing to be able to share the gospel. At times it can be really difficult, but it is always worth it. Everything is going really well with Elder Rackham. He is such a good missionary. He works really hard and is doing great. It is really interesting training cause I remember how I was feeling at that time and how foreign everything seemed but now it all just seems so normal to me. I also remember how frustrating it was with the language sometimes, but as I look back on my training that isn't what I think of. All I remember really from my training is how happy I was and all the good experiences. I've been relating these things to Elder Rackham in hopes that he isn't getting frustrating with the language. So, hopefully it's helping. It really helped me to realize that as long as we are doing our best and keeping a good attitude about things, to the best that we can, that when we look back we won't see the frustration or shortcomings, rather we'll see the happiness and the good memories. A very comforting thought. But it has also been really great to see how much he is improving on a weekly and even daily basis. It's helping me to keep an eye open for the progress that I myself am making as well. Overall, training is a really great experience so far! The weather has been really crazy here this last week. It snowed a couple feet earlier on in the week and was pretty cold. The weather has heated up a little bit, but not much and there is still a ton of snow. We were able to go do some service for a member out in a village and we shoveled snow for him and for this other old lady. As I was shoveling I realized that I've never really had to shovel snow before haha. Which made me realize that this is the most snow that I have ever seen or lived in. But it was really good to get out and help some
of our members and get some energy out haha. So, really exciting news. I'M GOING BACK TO CHAR THIS WEEK. Haha hopefully you caught my excitement. I'm going there on an exchange, so
I'll only be there for two days but I'm really looking forward to going back and seeing everyone. I'm especially excited because I can actually talk and understand now haha. But be prepared for a full
report on how that goes next week! haha. Well, I love you all so much and am so grateful for all of your support. You're all the best! Know that you're in my prayers daily. Happy Valentines day!
Love,
Elder Fairclough
February 6, 2012
Hey everyone!
Like I say every week, it was great to hear from you all and to see that you are all doing well. No complaints here either! This last week was full of some ups and downs but the week ended on a very good up so we'll just go ahead and say that the whole week was really good haha. But Elder Rackham and I are having a good time together and are working hard. Here's something pretty funny. He told his family last week that I was from Georgia and they all wrote him back asking him how it is like being with someone from another country and to just stay patient and realize that people from other countries do things a little differently... Apparently, they thought I was from the country of Georgia. Sadly, I'm sure the advice still applies. Either way he is prepared now haha. As for the work, all is well. This last week was kind of rough for meeting with our investigators. None of them could meet which put us
out on the street which wasn't too effective. It was actually really good cause we were able to see what we need to do with some of our investigators and see which investigators we need to let go of for now. So, right now we are focusing on finding the elect haha. We had a really cool experience yesterday after church though. We were walking back home and I was walking kind of fast and then all of a sudden realized that Elder Rackham wasn't beside me anymore. So I turn around and see that he is talking to these two men. The first thing one one of them said to me was that he wanted to meet with our president cause he wants to be sealed with his wife. I was like who are you haha. But turns out he is a member from Russia and is now living down here with his wife and her parents. And he was with his wife's dad. So, we took them back to our Branch President and sat down and met with them and
apparently he is a member but his wife isn't and her father isn't either. We ended up meeting with the both of them and picked up the father and hopefully we will pick up his wife this next week! It
really was an answer to my prayers. I feel like this last week was a prove up week for Elder Rackham and I and I'm just glad that Elder Rackham was paying more attention at the time than I was! It gets
cooler though. After meeting with them I asked the one guy where in Russia he was from and he said Samara. I told him that my best friend's brother was serving up there not too long ago and I told him
his name was Elder Bolt and he said that he recognized him. Small world huh? I'll definitely let you all know how meeting with the rest of their family goes. Hopefully well! Also, yesterday was fast and testimony meeting in our branch. It is always so great to hear the testimonies of the people here and how they came to know that this is true. It is funny how much it is like America too. A little kid, probably 7 years old, got up yesterday and talked about the adulterer who was thrown at Jesus's feet and how he forgave her. I was so surprised that he knew that story and that of all the ones to share he decided to share that one haha. Gotta love the random stories. A guy we invited to church came!...but he was drunk haha. He made things a little interesting. Hopefully we can help him work that out. This last week we also went down to Artashat for a baptismal interview. I had to conduct it and it was for a little 8 year old girl. She was so smart for being 8 years old! I was so amazed. It was a really interesting experience. I ended up giving her one of those ctr rings that you sent me mom and she loved it. The sisters in that branch called me last night and told me that she went around church yesterday showing everyone her ring haha. So good work mom. Other than that, everthing else is going great! The weather has gotten pretty cold here. Everyone keeps telling me that in about a month things should start heating up though so I'm looking forward to that. Right now it is just snowy out until the middle of the day and then it all turns to slush, which always makes these interesting haha. I've been wearing my boots though so I haven't fallen in a while. Now that I've said that, I'm sure I'll fall by the end of the day haha. But I'm staying warm and layering up! I think that is about it for this last week. I love you all and am so thankful for your support and for all that you all do for me. I couldn't ask for a greater family! I hope you all have a great week and I can't wait to hear from you next week!
Love,
Elder Fairclough
Like I say every week, it was great to hear from you all and to see that you are all doing well. No complaints here either! This last week was full of some ups and downs but the week ended on a very good up so we'll just go ahead and say that the whole week was really good haha. But Elder Rackham and I are having a good time together and are working hard. Here's something pretty funny. He told his family last week that I was from Georgia and they all wrote him back asking him how it is like being with someone from another country and to just stay patient and realize that people from other countries do things a little differently... Apparently, they thought I was from the country of Georgia. Sadly, I'm sure the advice still applies. Either way he is prepared now haha. As for the work, all is well. This last week was kind of rough for meeting with our investigators. None of them could meet which put us
out on the street which wasn't too effective. It was actually really good cause we were able to see what we need to do with some of our investigators and see which investigators we need to let go of for now. So, right now we are focusing on finding the elect haha. We had a really cool experience yesterday after church though. We were walking back home and I was walking kind of fast and then all of a sudden realized that Elder Rackham wasn't beside me anymore. So I turn around and see that he is talking to these two men. The first thing one one of them said to me was that he wanted to meet with our president cause he wants to be sealed with his wife. I was like who are you haha. But turns out he is a member from Russia and is now living down here with his wife and her parents. And he was with his wife's dad. So, we took them back to our Branch President and sat down and met with them and
apparently he is a member but his wife isn't and her father isn't either. We ended up meeting with the both of them and picked up the father and hopefully we will pick up his wife this next week! It
really was an answer to my prayers. I feel like this last week was a prove up week for Elder Rackham and I and I'm just glad that Elder Rackham was paying more attention at the time than I was! It gets
cooler though. After meeting with them I asked the one guy where in Russia he was from and he said Samara. I told him that my best friend's brother was serving up there not too long ago and I told him
his name was Elder Bolt and he said that he recognized him. Small world huh? I'll definitely let you all know how meeting with the rest of their family goes. Hopefully well! Also, yesterday was fast and testimony meeting in our branch. It is always so great to hear the testimonies of the people here and how they came to know that this is true. It is funny how much it is like America too. A little kid, probably 7 years old, got up yesterday and talked about the adulterer who was thrown at Jesus's feet and how he forgave her. I was so surprised that he knew that story and that of all the ones to share he decided to share that one haha. Gotta love the random stories. A guy we invited to church came!...but he was drunk haha. He made things a little interesting. Hopefully we can help him work that out. This last week we also went down to Artashat for a baptismal interview. I had to conduct it and it was for a little 8 year old girl. She was so smart for being 8 years old! I was so amazed. It was a really interesting experience. I ended up giving her one of those ctr rings that you sent me mom and she loved it. The sisters in that branch called me last night and told me that she went around church yesterday showing everyone her ring haha. So good work mom. Other than that, everthing else is going great! The weather has gotten pretty cold here. Everyone keeps telling me that in about a month things should start heating up though so I'm looking forward to that. Right now it is just snowy out until the middle of the day and then it all turns to slush, which always makes these interesting haha. I've been wearing my boots though so I haven't fallen in a while. Now that I've said that, I'm sure I'll fall by the end of the day haha. But I'm staying warm and layering up! I think that is about it for this last week. I love you all and am so thankful for your support and for all that you all do for me. I couldn't ask for a greater family! I hope you all have a great week and I can't wait to hear from you next week!
Love,
Elder Fairclough
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Pictures!
 |
| Elder Seegmiller & Elder Fairclough after a "ridiculous" haircut |
 |
| Elder Fairclough & Elder Rackham at the Genocide Memorial |
 |
| Elder Seegmiller, Elder Steglich & Elder Fairclough |
 |
| Wearing Christmas Pajamas sent from Mom |
.jpg) |
| Cooking Christmas breakfast |
.jpg) |
| Ready to go to church Christmas Day |
 |
| Eating a big-mac |
January 31, 2012
Hey everyone! How are you all doing this fine day? It was great to get your emails and see that you are all doing well and are happy. Things are going great here as well! It has been a pretty busy week, full of lots of changes but it has been great. So, my new companion's name is Elder Rackham and he is from Brigham City, Utah. He is a great missionary and fresh out the MTC. On Thursday I went to the mission office where we had a "meet your mentor" meeting. It was really cool cause Elder Steglich was the one that announced who I was training. I still remember that first day and meeting him, so it was really cool to have the roles reversed. It has been a really interesting experience for me so far training. First of all, it has helped me to see how far I have come these past 8 months. I had completely
forgotten how lost and confused I was when I first got here haha. Not just with the language, but also with the everyday things of missionary work. Sometimes I have to catch myself and realize that I have to explain some things and what they mean, cause I'm just so used to doing it. It has also been a very humbling experience for me so far as well. It has helped me to find the joy in the little things of missionary work again. The first day we were street contacting and his guy called us over and so we went over and talked to him. Long story short we wended up getting his phone number and giving him a pamphlet with our number on it and he ended up saying he wanted to come to church. I didn't think anything of it as we walked away, but Elder Rackham just turned to me and said, "That was SO cool!" Haha I stopped and was like yeah you're right, that was really cool. Plus, new missionaries always bring a lot of energy from the MTC so it has been really great to get that MTC excitement all over again. So overall, it has been really great training and serving with Elder Rackham so far. The work is going pretty well here also. This last week we were able to take Aram to a baptism which was really great. Elder Steglich and his companion baptized two Iranian guys this last week so the baptism was in English, which was perfect for Aram. The Spirit was really strong and he felt it. After the baptism Aram told us that him getting baptized isn't a question, it's just a matter of time. So, we'll see how things progress with him this next week. Also, this last week we were at the church meeting with a member and out of no where this guy comes in a pulls up a chair haha. His name is Haik and he is a
nonmember. Apparently he came and just wanted to know more about our church. It was really cool though cause the member we were meeting with was totally cool with our meeting being interrupted and just started teaching with us and sharing her testimony. And by the end of the meeting we had a new investigator with a baptismal date haha. Other than that we have a few investigators that are kind of in the newer stages but I'm not sure how much longer we are going to work with a lot of the investigators we have. We are going to focus on finding this next week and getting the investigators that we do have to progress. But I'm excited for this next week and to see how things develop. I'll let you know how it all comes along this next week! I'm so glad that you all found so much joy in the story that Elder Seegmiller shared last week haha. I totally was just staring blankly at the wall as I was eating a bowl of cereal, so I was a pretty easy target. But no worries, I got him back pretty good. So, I found out that I was training in Erebuni on Monday, thus meaning that he was leaving. But President Carter told me that Elder Seegmiller would get his transfer call on Tuesday. He was freaking out cause he had no clue where he was going. It's always nervewracking when you're waiting for a transfer call. And while we were studying Tuesday morning we got a call from another missionary saying that President Carter was doing transfer calls that morning during our studies. And so Elder Seegmiller started freaking out cause he thought President Carter was going to call any second. This is where it gets good. We have a special ringtone for President Carter so that we know when he is calling. And so when he wasn't looking I went to the ringtones and clicked on the ringtone that we have assigned for when President Carter calls. I wish I would have gotten this all on video hahaha. He jumped up and ran out of the room and then started pacing back and forth all the while just telling me to answer it. I was trying so hard not to laugh it didn't last long haha. To say the least, he was not very happy which made it that much more funny to me haha. Good times with Elder Seegmiller.
I think that is about it for this week. I'm attaching some pictures from the past month or two so I hope they all reach you! Let me know if they don't. I just want to leave my testimony with you all about the power of prayer and the love that our Heavenly Father has for each of us. I know with all my heart that we have a loving Heavenly Father and that he hears our every prayer. He is always watching over us and is always there waiting for us to come to Him. I think that is so amazing and something that I take for granted far more than I should. I'm thankful for the experiences that I have had with prayer and for
the opportunity that I have to testify to others and promise them that God will hear and answer their prayers, just like he did mine. I know that this church is true and am eternally grateful for the blessings
that it has brought to me in my life. I am especially thankful for this opportunity that I have to serve. Thank you all for your support and love and care! It truly means a lot and I appreciate it so much.
Have a great week and know that I love you all!
Love,
Elder Fairclough
forgotten how lost and confused I was when I first got here haha. Not just with the language, but also with the everyday things of missionary work. Sometimes I have to catch myself and realize that I have to explain some things and what they mean, cause I'm just so used to doing it. It has also been a very humbling experience for me so far as well. It has helped me to find the joy in the little things of missionary work again. The first day we were street contacting and his guy called us over and so we went over and talked to him. Long story short we wended up getting his phone number and giving him a pamphlet with our number on it and he ended up saying he wanted to come to church. I didn't think anything of it as we walked away, but Elder Rackham just turned to me and said, "That was SO cool!" Haha I stopped and was like yeah you're right, that was really cool. Plus, new missionaries always bring a lot of energy from the MTC so it has been really great to get that MTC excitement all over again. So overall, it has been really great training and serving with Elder Rackham so far. The work is going pretty well here also. This last week we were able to take Aram to a baptism which was really great. Elder Steglich and his companion baptized two Iranian guys this last week so the baptism was in English, which was perfect for Aram. The Spirit was really strong and he felt it. After the baptism Aram told us that him getting baptized isn't a question, it's just a matter of time. So, we'll see how things progress with him this next week. Also, this last week we were at the church meeting with a member and out of no where this guy comes in a pulls up a chair haha. His name is Haik and he is a
nonmember. Apparently he came and just wanted to know more about our church. It was really cool though cause the member we were meeting with was totally cool with our meeting being interrupted and just started teaching with us and sharing her testimony. And by the end of the meeting we had a new investigator with a baptismal date haha. Other than that we have a few investigators that are kind of in the newer stages but I'm not sure how much longer we are going to work with a lot of the investigators we have. We are going to focus on finding this next week and getting the investigators that we do have to progress. But I'm excited for this next week and to see how things develop. I'll let you know how it all comes along this next week! I'm so glad that you all found so much joy in the story that Elder Seegmiller shared last week haha. I totally was just staring blankly at the wall as I was eating a bowl of cereal, so I was a pretty easy target. But no worries, I got him back pretty good. So, I found out that I was training in Erebuni on Monday, thus meaning that he was leaving. But President Carter told me that Elder Seegmiller would get his transfer call on Tuesday. He was freaking out cause he had no clue where he was going. It's always nervewracking when you're waiting for a transfer call. And while we were studying Tuesday morning we got a call from another missionary saying that President Carter was doing transfer calls that morning during our studies. And so Elder Seegmiller started freaking out cause he thought President Carter was going to call any second. This is where it gets good. We have a special ringtone for President Carter so that we know when he is calling. And so when he wasn't looking I went to the ringtones and clicked on the ringtone that we have assigned for when President Carter calls. I wish I would have gotten this all on video hahaha. He jumped up and ran out of the room and then started pacing back and forth all the while just telling me to answer it. I was trying so hard not to laugh it didn't last long haha. To say the least, he was not very happy which made it that much more funny to me haha. Good times with Elder Seegmiller.
I think that is about it for this week. I'm attaching some pictures from the past month or two so I hope they all reach you! Let me know if they don't. I just want to leave my testimony with you all about the power of prayer and the love that our Heavenly Father has for each of us. I know with all my heart that we have a loving Heavenly Father and that he hears our every prayer. He is always watching over us and is always there waiting for us to come to Him. I think that is so amazing and something that I take for granted far more than I should. I'm thankful for the experiences that I have had with prayer and for
the opportunity that I have to testify to others and promise them that God will hear and answer their prayers, just like he did mine. I know that this church is true and am eternally grateful for the blessings
that it has brought to me in my life. I am especially thankful for this opportunity that I have to serve. Thank you all for your support and love and care! It truly means a lot and I appreciate it so much.
Have a great week and know that I love you all!
Love,
Elder Fairclough
January 23, 2012
Hey everyone!
How are you all doing this week? It was great to read all of your emails and see that you are all happy! I'm also you all got a very good laugh at imagining me cleaning for 4 hours last Monday haha. Our
place wasn't very dirty but we did all the little stuff like scub the bathroom tiles and what not so it did take a while. But now we have a squeeky clean house. As for this week, everything is going really great! I actually have some exciting news. I got a call from President Carter this morning and he told me that I'm going to be training one of the new missionaries that gets here in a few days! I'm going to be staying here in Erebuni as a District Leader and that is about all I know so far. There are two elders and one sister coming and Elder Cook, my last companion, is going to be the other Elder trainer. We
have an information meeting tonight so I'll know a little bit more about it all after tonight. I'm sad that Elder Seegmiller and I won't be serving together anymore. He is such an amazing missionary and he
has really come to be one of my closest friends. We'll keep in touch though. But I am really excited to be a trainer. It will be tough but with the help of the Lord it will all work out well. I'll let you all know who my "kid" is next week and I'll send you a picture as well! Other than that, all is going well here in Erebuni. Elder Seegmiller and I had a good week and were able to find a new investigator off of
the street. His name is Gurgen and he actually came to church yesterday. Unfortunately, he lives in the other Elder's area so we are going to have to hand him over to them. Funny story with that though. I gave the other Elders his name and number the other day and told them to give him a call and set up a meeting with him and all that good stuff. And they called me last night and were super confused. They said they called Gurgen and explained who they were and that they weren't the Elders that he had met with earlier in the week. They introduced themselves to our investigator Gurgen at church yesterday
(there is us and another companionship in our branch), and the Elder that was talking to him said that he was the one with the glasses that he met at church. And apparently the guy was like that is cool but I didn't come to church today, actually I haven't left my house today. Haha they didn't know what was going on. But Elder Seegmiller and I write down the names of all the people that we talk to on the street and if they give us their phone numbers then we write that down next to their name. But I guess we talked to more than one Gurgen last week and got both of their numbers and I gave them the wrong one... Haha oops. Oh well. Just too many Gurgens out there. But things are going well with all of our investigators. Slowly but surely some of them are coming along. We are hoping that Aram can continue to make progress. We have a baptismal date set for him for February so we'll have to
wait and see. He is doing really well though! We have a senior couple in our branch now as well and it is really cool to have them there. They are from Cache Valley and are in charge of the institute and seminary classes here in Armenia. I've done a little translating for them the past two weeks. It is really weird going from Armenian to English. I've also realized the difference between the way Armenians say things and the way we say things. Like the Armenians speaking were giving examples that made absolutely NO sense in English. Haha it was interesting to say the least. President Carter wants us to involve them in meetings with our investigators and have us translate for them. It really is great having their experience here in our meetings. We were able to have them come along for one of our meetings with Aram this last week, so the meeting was in English, but they helped out a lot. I'm looking forward to having them participate with our other investigators as well. I'll let you know how that all goes!
It was starting to warm up here until about the middle of the week last week and then it got really cold haha. Like I was getting to the point where I no longer had to wear a coat anymore and it was really nice. But then we woke up one morning and there was a good bit of snow out. So now I'm back to long johns and bundling up haha. It is good though. We stay warm and are healthy so no worries there. I'm just ready for the summer weather to get here! haha So, this is actually a really cool story. Two p-days ago Elder Seegmiller and I went with our investigator Aram to his University to play basketball. It was only the second time that I have really played here in Armenia and I was super pumped haha. It was an indoor gym but it looked like a gym from the 60's that hasn't ever been refurbished haha. But hey, a gym is a gym and there was a net and the goal was actually 10 foot so no complaints. But we had to call and get permission from President Carter cause I honestly wasn't sure if we are allowed to enter universities here in Armenia. He gave us the go ahead and said to try to pick up some investigators in the process. So, we went and it ended up just being us three playing. It was super funny though. I'll send the picture, but Aram was wearing some John Stockton shorts and a tank top and I was trying so hard not to laugh. It felt so good to shoot a basketball again haha. Long story short, one of the instructors walked in and watched us play for a bit. We told him who we are and where we are from and he seemed actually interested. He asked for a Book of Mormon and we were able to give him a Joy to the World dvd as well. Then at the end he invited us back to help train some of the guys there at the University and told us all the days and times and what not. And that night we reported this all
back to President Carter and he told us to go back once a week and play and try to use it as a missionary tool. Haha I was not expecting that. Never would have thought that I could use basketball as a finding tool but maybe it will work out. We aren't allowed to proselyte on campus but we are allowed to invite them to meet with us so we'll see if we can get anything to come of it. I'll let you know how it comes along and if it works!
So this next part is from Elder Seegmiller haha. It's a story from this past week and he told it to his family much better than I could so I had him send it on over to me haha. Funny story real quick though, I found out that Elder Fariclough does not like cockroaches! So there I was in the spare room justa puttin my tie on when I decided I wanted to throw something at Elder Fariclough. You know how that feeling is, when sometimes you just gotta do something unexpected just to keep things interesting. Well it was one of those moments so I started looking for something I could throw that wouldn't impale him but would still leave a mark. Like the sun bursting through the clouds on a rainy day, there it was! An actual size rubber cockroach! It was perfect, all I needed to do now was hit him right in the face! So I creaked the door open a bit and it was the perfect set up! I had a broad side of Elder Fairclough as he was sitting on the couch eating cornflakes staring blankly at the wall in front of him. Without making a sound I wound up, and chucked the little roach in his direction... I missed. Whizzed right by without him even noticing. Discouraged and sorely distraught I decided to be a good missionary and get back into my routine. As I fought through the emotions of complete failure I continued to tie my tie when all of a sudden I heard a blood curdling scream from the other room! I run out to find Elder Faiclough on the opposite side of the room with a look of horror on his face staring at the rubber cockroach by the couch! I asked him what the matter was and he explained how that huge cockroach had fallen on his arm from the ceiling and scared the living daylights out of him! Being the kind, loving, understanding companion that I am, through a storm of laughter I showed him that the cockroach is only rubber. Anyways I thought you might appreciate this story, Elder Fairclough is such a good sport, he laughed when it happened and wants me to send this story to him so he can send it to his family.
Hello Elder Faircloughs family, since I had to send this to Elder Fairclough I decided I wanted to say some more stuff about your son and brother Edler Fairclough real quick. I had to spice the story up a
bit to make my story sound interesting I wasn’t really trying to hurt him haha. He is such a great example to me, he truly is a natural leader and I have learned so much from him. I’m so excited for him that he gets to train a new missionary, they couldn’t have picked a better trainer, he is amazing at the language! I'm sure you already know he is amazing just as a missionary alone but I don’t know how much he has told you as far as the language goes because he is a really humble guy but he speaks perfectly. He doesn’t speak unless he knows how to say what he is trying to express and if he doesn’t know how to say it he thinks of another way to get the point across. I have often told my family that if he went to my high school we would have been best friends. I’m sure a lot of people say that about him because he such a great man! He is always telling me about his family and how great all of you are! Anyways I’m going to miss being companions with him but I gotta go now we are going to go get some burgers!
What a good guy! I'm going to miss serving with him. I know that we are going to be great friends for the rest of our lives. Like he said, if we had gone to the same high school we would have hung out in the same group and everything. He is an amazing missionary and I have learned a great deal from him. Well, like he said, we are going to go get some burgers! I hope you all have a great week and know how much I love you all!
Love,
Elder Fairclough
How are you all doing this week? It was great to read all of your emails and see that you are all happy! I'm also you all got a very good laugh at imagining me cleaning for 4 hours last Monday haha. Our
place wasn't very dirty but we did all the little stuff like scub the bathroom tiles and what not so it did take a while. But now we have a squeeky clean house. As for this week, everything is going really great! I actually have some exciting news. I got a call from President Carter this morning and he told me that I'm going to be training one of the new missionaries that gets here in a few days! I'm going to be staying here in Erebuni as a District Leader and that is about all I know so far. There are two elders and one sister coming and Elder Cook, my last companion, is going to be the other Elder trainer. We
have an information meeting tonight so I'll know a little bit more about it all after tonight. I'm sad that Elder Seegmiller and I won't be serving together anymore. He is such an amazing missionary and he
has really come to be one of my closest friends. We'll keep in touch though. But I am really excited to be a trainer. It will be tough but with the help of the Lord it will all work out well. I'll let you all know who my "kid" is next week and I'll send you a picture as well! Other than that, all is going well here in Erebuni. Elder Seegmiller and I had a good week and were able to find a new investigator off of
the street. His name is Gurgen and he actually came to church yesterday. Unfortunately, he lives in the other Elder's area so we are going to have to hand him over to them. Funny story with that though. I gave the other Elders his name and number the other day and told them to give him a call and set up a meeting with him and all that good stuff. And they called me last night and were super confused. They said they called Gurgen and explained who they were and that they weren't the Elders that he had met with earlier in the week. They introduced themselves to our investigator Gurgen at church yesterday
(there is us and another companionship in our branch), and the Elder that was talking to him said that he was the one with the glasses that he met at church. And apparently the guy was like that is cool but I didn't come to church today, actually I haven't left my house today. Haha they didn't know what was going on. But Elder Seegmiller and I write down the names of all the people that we talk to on the street and if they give us their phone numbers then we write that down next to their name. But I guess we talked to more than one Gurgen last week and got both of their numbers and I gave them the wrong one... Haha oops. Oh well. Just too many Gurgens out there. But things are going well with all of our investigators. Slowly but surely some of them are coming along. We are hoping that Aram can continue to make progress. We have a baptismal date set for him for February so we'll have to
wait and see. He is doing really well though! We have a senior couple in our branch now as well and it is really cool to have them there. They are from Cache Valley and are in charge of the institute and seminary classes here in Armenia. I've done a little translating for them the past two weeks. It is really weird going from Armenian to English. I've also realized the difference between the way Armenians say things and the way we say things. Like the Armenians speaking were giving examples that made absolutely NO sense in English. Haha it was interesting to say the least. President Carter wants us to involve them in meetings with our investigators and have us translate for them. It really is great having their experience here in our meetings. We were able to have them come along for one of our meetings with Aram this last week, so the meeting was in English, but they helped out a lot. I'm looking forward to having them participate with our other investigators as well. I'll let you know how that all goes!
It was starting to warm up here until about the middle of the week last week and then it got really cold haha. Like I was getting to the point where I no longer had to wear a coat anymore and it was really nice. But then we woke up one morning and there was a good bit of snow out. So now I'm back to long johns and bundling up haha. It is good though. We stay warm and are healthy so no worries there. I'm just ready for the summer weather to get here! haha So, this is actually a really cool story. Two p-days ago Elder Seegmiller and I went with our investigator Aram to his University to play basketball. It was only the second time that I have really played here in Armenia and I was super pumped haha. It was an indoor gym but it looked like a gym from the 60's that hasn't ever been refurbished haha. But hey, a gym is a gym and there was a net and the goal was actually 10 foot so no complaints. But we had to call and get permission from President Carter cause I honestly wasn't sure if we are allowed to enter universities here in Armenia. He gave us the go ahead and said to try to pick up some investigators in the process. So, we went and it ended up just being us three playing. It was super funny though. I'll send the picture, but Aram was wearing some John Stockton shorts and a tank top and I was trying so hard not to laugh. It felt so good to shoot a basketball again haha. Long story short, one of the instructors walked in and watched us play for a bit. We told him who we are and where we are from and he seemed actually interested. He asked for a Book of Mormon and we were able to give him a Joy to the World dvd as well. Then at the end he invited us back to help train some of the guys there at the University and told us all the days and times and what not. And that night we reported this all
back to President Carter and he told us to go back once a week and play and try to use it as a missionary tool. Haha I was not expecting that. Never would have thought that I could use basketball as a finding tool but maybe it will work out. We aren't allowed to proselyte on campus but we are allowed to invite them to meet with us so we'll see if we can get anything to come of it. I'll let you know how it comes along and if it works!
So this next part is from Elder Seegmiller haha. It's a story from this past week and he told it to his family much better than I could so I had him send it on over to me haha. Funny story real quick though, I found out that Elder Fariclough does not like cockroaches! So there I was in the spare room justa puttin my tie on when I decided I wanted to throw something at Elder Fariclough. You know how that feeling is, when sometimes you just gotta do something unexpected just to keep things interesting. Well it was one of those moments so I started looking for something I could throw that wouldn't impale him but would still leave a mark. Like the sun bursting through the clouds on a rainy day, there it was! An actual size rubber cockroach! It was perfect, all I needed to do now was hit him right in the face! So I creaked the door open a bit and it was the perfect set up! I had a broad side of Elder Fairclough as he was sitting on the couch eating cornflakes staring blankly at the wall in front of him. Without making a sound I wound up, and chucked the little roach in his direction... I missed. Whizzed right by without him even noticing. Discouraged and sorely distraught I decided to be a good missionary and get back into my routine. As I fought through the emotions of complete failure I continued to tie my tie when all of a sudden I heard a blood curdling scream from the other room! I run out to find Elder Faiclough on the opposite side of the room with a look of horror on his face staring at the rubber cockroach by the couch! I asked him what the matter was and he explained how that huge cockroach had fallen on his arm from the ceiling and scared the living daylights out of him! Being the kind, loving, understanding companion that I am, through a storm of laughter I showed him that the cockroach is only rubber. Anyways I thought you might appreciate this story, Elder Fairclough is such a good sport, he laughed when it happened and wants me to send this story to him so he can send it to his family.
Hello Elder Faircloughs family, since I had to send this to Elder Fairclough I decided I wanted to say some more stuff about your son and brother Edler Fairclough real quick. I had to spice the story up a
bit to make my story sound interesting I wasn’t really trying to hurt him haha. He is such a great example to me, he truly is a natural leader and I have learned so much from him. I’m so excited for him that he gets to train a new missionary, they couldn’t have picked a better trainer, he is amazing at the language! I'm sure you already know he is amazing just as a missionary alone but I don’t know how much he has told you as far as the language goes because he is a really humble guy but he speaks perfectly. He doesn’t speak unless he knows how to say what he is trying to express and if he doesn’t know how to say it he thinks of another way to get the point across. I have often told my family that if he went to my high school we would have been best friends. I’m sure a lot of people say that about him because he such a great man! He is always telling me about his family and how great all of you are! Anyways I’m going to miss being companions with him but I gotta go now we are going to go get some burgers!
What a good guy! I'm going to miss serving with him. I know that we are going to be great friends for the rest of our lives. Like he said, if we had gone to the same high school we would have hung out in the same group and everything. He is an amazing missionary and I have learned a great deal from him. Well, like he said, we are going to go get some burgers! I hope you all have a great week and know how much I love you all!
Love,
Elder Fairclough
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)