May 14, 2012

Hey everyone!

How are you all doing? It was so good to see you all yesterday! Man,
I've missed you all! I couldn't believe how big Claire and Bexley have
gotten. They are the cutest little girls ever! Mom and dad, you two
seem like you're in heaven haha. It made me so happy to see that all
of you are happy. Family is what it is all about and I am so thankful
for the closeness of our family. I love you all so much and am so
thankful for your support!
I know I already explained a bit about the work here when we skyped
but I'll go ahead and give another little overview of the week. Things
are going really well here in Armenia. We've been able to pick up some
new investigators this last week and the work is rolling along. We
re-picked up Aram as an investigator this last week, which we weren't
planning on doing but we felt like we needed to give him a call. He
told us he wants to be baptized and that he is ready to make the
changes to do so. We talked a lot about the things he needs to do to
be ready, and getting to church every week was definitely a focus of
that conversation. He got to Sacrament meeting 10 minutes after the
Sacrament had gotten done getting passed and he leaned over to me and
asked if the Sacrament was over and I told him yeah, that it had just
finished. And then he leaned over to me and said, "Quick, reload the
Sacrament." hahaha. What a good guy. But we are seeing good progress
with him so we'll see where it goes.
Elder Peterson and I were thinking that we were going to have to drop
Angin this last week cause she hasn't been able to come to church
because of her health. But we were going to kind of end things off and
we went to meet with her and her sister, Marieta, just happened to be
there. We were able to talk a bit with her and she ended up being
interested. Talk about a blessing from the Lord. We've been able to
meet with her a few times and she seems like a great lady.
Our other investigators are doing well. We are continuing to focus on
the things that will help them to progress towards baptism; daily
prayer, daily scripture study, and weekly church attendance. Three
things that investigators and members need to do in order to build and
maintain a strong testimony of the gospel. Some of our investigators
are lacking one or two so we are doing our best to help them all see
the importance of these three things. But I want to share my testimony
that doing those three things really do strengthen our testimonies and
give us the strength that we need in order to handle the daily things
that Satan throws at us. If we do those things then we will remain on
the Lord's side and have His help.
This last week I thought a lot about where I am at right now and the
changes that I want to make. As I thought about these things, I
started to write down the things I want to be and the changes I want
to make (one of the many things that I learned from Elder Cook when we
were companions). I then wrote down the things I need to do in order
to become those things. I've learned throughout my mission the
importance of the principle of change. We are always changing, whether
for good or for worse and I want to make it a point of always moving
forward in the right direction. So, I've set some really good goals
that I'm excited to work on this next week and in the next little bit
to come. I read a quote recently that I really like that said, "You
prepare 19 years to serve your mission, 2 years doing it, and an
eternity reflecting upon it." I want to make sure that I give
everything I have and to make the most of these two years that I have
to serve here because I know I'm not going to get another chance like
this. I want to make sure that when I reflect on these two years that
I can remember all the things I learned and how much I grew and I
especially don't want to have any regrets.
I already explained this during skype but I wanted to write about it
again cause it left a big impact on me. Our branch president's dad
died this last week and we were able to go to his funeral. It was such
a new experience for me. At the time of death they don't celebrate a
life well lived, rather they mourn the loss and only think about that.
It was a lot of crying and screaming, especially from those that
weren't members, which was everyone but our branch president and his
brother. It made me appreciate the Plan of Salvation that much more.
I'm thankful for the perspective that it brings and the comfort that
we can feel in times of sorrow and pain. Yesterday when I bore my
testimony in Armenian, I spoke about families and how much I love each
of you and how thankful I am for the opportunity to live with you all
again after this life. As I said before, family is what it is all
about and it is an honor and privilege to share eternal truths with
these wonderful people. Truths that have brought me more happiness
than I can even describe.
Well, I love you all and am so grateful that I was able to see and
speak with you! I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Fairclough