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