Week 30

I feel like I'm all messed up numbering these emails. But I've got some crazy information!

So the area got split. Like we knew. But, like we didn't expect, I got Fairfield Spanish East! Which is technically where I was before, but we never worked on the East side too far. So I've got like 10 former investigators to work off (compared to like 100 from before) and about 10 members. Essentially, I'm opening an area. not entirely, but like 80%opening up an area. I will also be training. Elder Lopez is leaving to Roehner Park, coming into Spanish Central is Elder Garrity (A stud missionary) and he will also be training. So things are getting shaken up here!

SO another thing. Lupe G. messaged me on Facebook saying she did baptisms for the dead! I have honestly never met anyone as cool as she is. I will be there when she gets endowed for sure!

Ok now for the craziest story I might have ever sent...

So picture that you're Elder Camper. He was serving in Navato 4 months ago, and is AP now. When he was serving in Navato, he me a girl named Brenda D. He went on Facebook and found two, didn't know which one he talked to, and added both. Go back about 3 weeks- Elder Camper went to Del Taco in Fairfield after exchanges here with our ZL's. The lady helping him said "I think you added me on Facebook." He replied "Uh, I'm pretty sure I didn't." She then said "No, look, you're Elder Camper, you're right here on my Facebook." Starting to make sense, he replied "Oh I see, yeah I must have added you." Seeing that he is a missionary she said "I'm starting to think it's not a coincidence that you're here right now."

So long story short, she's Spanish and going to the Singles Branch. But, as coincidence would have it, her family is also super interested. Elder Lopez and I rode with the Single's Elders to their house to teach the family. They came to church and have a baptismal date! So I hope that all made sense. It's a miracle!

Also, we had a baptism for the Sisters' investigadora. I spoke on the Holy Ghost, and Brother West said that I looked like a professor. Maybe I should teach when I grow up.

Also, the guy next to me smells like Marijuana.

But that's it! I love you! Sorry that was a long letter. I'll let you know abou my greenie next week!!! Love you!

Elder Foster

Week 28

Here we are, starting the last week of the transfer! Pumping it up and getting ready to split it! I'm hoping I get the area Fairfield Central. I also want to be on bike!

So as far as news this week

Maria De Jesus got confirmed yesterday! I did the confirmation. She's so great! She should be moving out of the apartment she's living in (chaotic, hard to feel the spirit, messy, smelly [but it's not her, she does her best to make it a great place to live, it's her sister]) and into a new one with her different sister. Also, our investogator Hector came to church. He was wearing a suit and tie, and pretty much everyone though that he was a member visiting, not an investigator. He's changing! He'll be slow, but he'll get baptized in the future.

We also had a stake "Blue Ribbon Fair" activity that they do every year. Quite a few Latinos showed up, and we were contacting like crazy! Didn't even get the time to eat.

Remember Brother West, who gave that concert a while back? We will be going out with him literally every single day for the next few weeks. So we'll be pumping up member present lessons!

Elder Lopez is also teaching me to play soccer on P Days. I'm pretty much going to come backsuper hispanic. Also, when Hondouras beat Mexico the other day people were really ticked off and drunk and wouldn't talk to us. I just don't understand why people would drink beer instead of Tamarindo. Tamarindo is great!

Well that's about it for this week! We're working hard and hoping to find lots of people this week! Love you all!!!

Elder Foster

Week 27

This week was a crazy week. To start off, I have been teaching a person in Arizona and a person in Mexico on Facebook. It's pretty good. as far as the ipads, it's sweet. For dinner messages I've been sharing Mormon Messages and challenging people to give us referrals on Facebook. My favorite to use is "Un Cambio De Corazon" Or "A Change of Heart."

But the craziest of crazy- here's what happened this week... We had a baptism!!!!!!!

Wednesday at 7:45PM Maria De Jesus told us she was going to have to start working and that she wasn't going to be able to make her baptismal date. Satan was frustrating our plans!!! And so we told her "Marichuy, you can wait 2 more months until you get baptized, and procrastinate having the blessings, or you can get baptized tonight." So she picked the right answer, we filled up the font and baptized her! I'll mail a picture home. It's on Elder Lopez's camera. It was a miracle because the font takes 2 hours to fill up, but in 30 minutes it was filled more than it should have been. We got her baptized, and I will be confirming her next Sunday! So we had a baptism this week!

I feel like there was more this week, but that was honestly the biggest thing.

Oh!!! I decided that I am a true Spanish missionary. I went on English exchanges and a member took us to Buffallo Wild Wings, with all the sports on the TVs and stuff, and I couldn't take my eyes away from the soccer game! I know I'm in America, but I feel like a Hispanic!!!!!!!!!

This work is great. I've felt your prayers!!! We have found a lot of cool people this week. We picked up two as investigators and are just flooded with potentials. I love Fairfield. We're picking it up here!

Love you all!

Elder Foster

 

Week 26

To start off, I will say that our mission in the most obedient mission on the face off the earth, and I will tell you why, with a journal entry that I wrote on LDS.org from MY BRAND NEW IPAD!!!!!

"Today we went to Santa Rosa for a mini zone conference. The work of salvation was hastened! They told us it was a conference for teaching skills, but really it was a trick! They brought in iPads for us as missionaries! President Donaldson (SLC Missionary Department) was also there. We are they first mission that has iPads! They were piloting the iPad program in other missions, but we are the first mission where every single missionary has an iPad! The first in the world! Because we are the most obedient mission in the world. I have no doubt. We can also teach any single person that want on Facebook! Which means that there is no where in the world that is closed to missionary work. Which means that Matthew 24:14 is coming true!
"14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14)"
And then the end shall come. Powerful.
L. Tom Perry also said that the broadcast on the 23rd of June was "as important as the First Vision, and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon." That means that this time is so important. I was asked by The Lord to serve in February so that I could participate in the baptism of Lupe Garza. I was called to serve in this mission so that I could be part of the first wave of online missionary work, where we can teach the whole world and have iPads. What a blessing to be chosen for this mission at this time. I have no doubt that The Lord is preparing a marvelous work. It's coming forth among the children of men! The time is now."

 

Did you hear that? The broadcast on the 23rd that announced that we would be using Facebook and such, is AS IMPORTANT AS THE FIRST VISION AND COMING FORTH OF THE BOOK OF MORMON!!!!! Said by an apostle of the Lord.

That is the big news. D&C 88:73 The hastening of the work! We are witnessing it now!

We also dropped 3 investigators this week... So we need to find more! We need prayers here in Fairfield!

Thank you for all the support! Love you!

Elder Foster

Week 25

So it's here! 6 months ago I was set apart as a missionary. It doesn't even seem that long!

So we'll start of with the bad news. Maria De Jesus didn't get baptized, but it was because she's been in the hospital all week for a kidney infection. She just barely got out, and she will be getting baptized the last saturday of this transfer. We visited her 3 times in the hospital, and let me say how much I hate hospitals. I hate the way they smell, I hate the rooms, I  hate how everyone has needles in their arms and how there's always just a feeling that for some reason, it's a bout to be a 28 Days Later situation. But other than that, she's great.

Also, remmeber the story about that temple worker? Well, he is the brother of our Branch Mission Leader's wife, and they are the siblings to three other people. One was mission president in Hondouras, but I don't know anything else about him. Their other brother is Carlos H. Amado, of the First Quorom of the 70!!!!!!! So that's super sick. Now imagine this 70, and then picture a guy that's the exact opposite. That's their other brother. We went to go visit his son, who is a less active, and encoutered this man. I'm pretty sure he's preparting the way for the Antichrist to come. So this is a super spiritual family, and then the one black sheep.

This was a miracle that we saw yesterday, this is from my letter to President Alba: "WE did see a miracle last night though. We were going to drop our investigator Hector, because he hadn't been progressing, wasn't willing to read, come to church, or stop drinking. He had never once prayed with us, or on his own, making up many excuses. When we knocked on his door, he opened it up with a big smile, his Book of Mormon and Bible. He had changed! He read the first 17 chapters of first Nefi, and when we were talking about it, he told us he felt like he should pray. He prayed right there on his porch, and told us when he was done how great he felt. We can see the atonement working in his life, so wewill continue teaching him!!!"

We do need prayers to find more people though. Ascool as our investigators are, we need more to teach, and after tracting at least every day for an hour this last week, we didn't find anyone. Prayers would be great!

That's it for this week! I hope you all are well! You're in my prayers!!!

Elder Foster

Week 24

Do you remember that episode of Even Stevens where Louis is in love with that attractive cheerleading coach? He decides to become a mascot to impress here, but one day he goes into her office and she's shaving her unibrow and it just throws him off and he can't think about anything elder but the unibrow, but he still becomes a great mascot? I feel like that's kind of like missionary work.

Anyway, the baptism never happened. There was a youth dance, and wouldn't you know it, Satan tempted more pepole toget married and now there's a wedding this coming saturday!!!! We are going to see if we can do thebaptism in the Rio Vista River here. Beause it's ridiculous! I should probably repent for being frustrated. But she passed the interview, and she's good. So we'll see what happend with her.

I don't know what happened to our cholo Ortega! I feel like he disappeared off the face of the Earth. It's not just like he's not answering the door, his phone is off and the lights are never on in his house, and I never hear his roosters crow. I have no idea where he is! But we'll find him.

We are teaching the dad of a member here. He's 87 and a Paisano. He's pretty hard to teach because all he likes to do is talk about his life in Mexico, which is pretty much talking about all the fights he got into in Elementary school and it's just weird but he's really cool. We really want him to get baptized.

We're teaching a giant group of middle aged women on a certain street. 3 of them aged 30-40. I feel like most people I end up teaching are women, I don't really know why, it just happens. When Elder Hansen came to Napa, all of our investigators were women. I have no idea why! Here it's like 3/4 are women. They are just more receptive, or maybe they're not out working when we tract before lunch. Either way, that street was super awesome. Half were Mexican Testigos de Jehova, but the half that weren't Testigos were really receptive. So hopefully in a year that street will be 50/50!!! We'll see.

We're kind of running out of places to find Fairfield isn't necesarily a Spanish Hot Spot (for saying that, I'll get sent to Fort Bragg), we have to really search for places. A lot of the people in the branch are older and not willing to do missionary work, but we'll break them into it.

This week was a little slower. A lot of finding, contacting, and tracting. We did 3 family home evenings, so that was fun!

Pray that we'll find some solid families!!!

Love you and miss you!

Elder Foster

Week 23?

Somewhere I messed up on my numbers, but here is the really week 23!

Transfer information first- The Tolenas Spanish Branch is staying the exact same! The Hermanas and us are both staying the exact same, which is super awesome. I'm so stoked.

About the baptism- We couldn't have it. Some people decided it would be a good idea to get married and have the reception on a night in order to stop the eternal progression of our investigator! Who would do such a thing? And then Satan continued his work by creating a youth dance this coming Saturday! So we're are seriously thinking of going 31 AD style and taking her to a river to be baptized. It would be easier than having to reserve the silly stake center!

On the bright side, we taught 20 lessons this week! I don't mean to be a number crucher, but it feels really good!

We found a really cool lady this last week as well. We just dropped a bunch of investigators, so our teaching pool was pretty low, and we had pretty much exhausted our formers and decided to tract for an hour. We found a lady that had met with the missionaries a little before (no teaching record though) and she was sweet! Her name is Candy (I didn't know that was a Spanish name, but we'll take it!). We taught her the Restoration, and she believes a lot of it. She's a Bible Junkie and has a hard time accepting the Book of Mormon, but she doesn't feel like there's anything bad in it. Her story is crazy though, she just feels the need to accept Christ and to center her home on him. She told us her daughter, who is 15, moved out and is living with her boyfriend. That's pretty crazy stuff, but she's so awesome and I'm sure she'll be baptized.

I also went on English exchanges this week which was fun. We put our bikes in the back of a member's home, because the neighborhood is pretty bad and he lets them do that. His son had just gotten back from BYUI and was waiting for his call (He got it the next day, Independence Missouri speaking Spanish!). We went and did work, and before we left we were visitng him for a little. His less-active daughter who is 17 came out and asked if we were about to leave, and I told her "Yeah I think we are, unless you need anything?" And she said "yeah, could I just talk to you guys for a little?" Needless to say we accepted and she told us to give her 5 minutes and so after that we went upstairs with her and her brother and we taught her. It was so cool! Such a miracle for their area. She is also super into Operation Ivy and Rancid, so hopefully I get to visit with her again on exchanges!

I think that's about it for this week. The Spanish is good for the most part, I was used to Michoacan Spanish is Napa, and people here in Fairfield are from all over, so sometimes it's been hard to understand, but for the most part it's not really a problem anymore. Right now it's vocabulary that I need more than anything else.

A guy that works in the temple shared his testimony yesterday about prophets. He is temple security, and told us he escorted Thomas S Monson into the visitor center. A little girl, 9 years old and a convert, asked our member if she could shake Thomas S Monson's hand. He said he would check, and we he told President Monson, He straightened up, fixed his tie and jacket, and said with a grin "This is the best part of my job!" He proceeded to visit with the girl, and after a few moments she asked him if he would sign her Book of Mormon. He told her no, and she looked sad. He then clarified, this is paraphrasing of course and translated from the Spanish testimony "I'm not a celebrity, and my signature will not increase the value of this book. But I will give you something even more valuable than any signature on the face of the Earth" He then bore his testimony of the Book of Mormon, kissed her on the forehead, and prayed. It was the coolest! I felt like I was there while he was describing this event. Imagine hearing Thomas S. Monson pray.

That's it for this week! Love you all!

Elder Foster