A foodie in Nicaragua

Yesterday we had a miracle baptism. My first! Of many, I hope. The date for this man had fallen through because of work. We got a call Saturday night, saying he wanted to be baptized in the morning! We pulled everything together, had the interview, and he was baptized about 12 hours after that phone call. It was a sweet miracle. This area is struggling and president sent us here to lift it. Nobody had baptized here in a while, and my companion was stressing. Everything always works out. And what matters is that we are working, and doing our best. The Lord always makes us the rest.

It is wonderful to see someone take the first step of baptism. It is so simple. The hard part is enduring to the end. Conversion is a lifelong process. We have to be diligent and use the Atonement each and every day.

The week has been full of many funny moments and many hard moments. One of the hardest things is remembering and applying what I know. Diligence brings about blessings for sure.

León, my area, is so dusty and hot this week. We had to go to Managua today, and it was so much cooler there. Which is crazy to me. We get so much dirt in the house, dust collects on my scriptures as I read them in the morning.

I love the people. We have some really wonderful members. There is one family that feeds us dinner every week and it is the best thing ever. Other than that we are never fed. I want to feed the missionaries every week when I get home. Because being a missionary is hard and not having to worry about dinner is kind of the greatest. 

 

Some of the cool things about Nicaragua are the frescoes.  Our lunch cita always gives us some.  The closest thing in the states is lemonade.  But it's so much better.  They make them with all kinds of fruit and sell them in plastic bags with straws.  Everything is in bags.  Refried beans come in bags. Oil, milk, you name it.  Also they have Pinot Linot (not sure how to spell it) which is a drink made our of corn and cacoa.  It sounds weird.  The best way to describe it is cornmeal and cocoa powder that you mix with water, ice, and sugar.  It sounds gross but it is way good! We also have drinks that are like strawberry flavored oat powder/ flour that you mix with milk.  Also sounds gross, but they are good.  I thought I wouldn't be  fan of the texture, but it's good.  I have forgotten what food exits other than rice and chicken.  That is what our lunch cita feeds us every day.  I don't mind having the same thing every day as much as I mind the 45 minute walk to her house every day.

So much to say, so little time. I love you all. Many prayers and much love.

-Hermana Fackrell

Week Two in Leon

In two words, wonderfully hard. Or something like that. I have never walked so much in my entire life. But we are working really hard. We had five investigators at church this week, which was a miracle actually because three of them were a family that we helped water their dirt one day and never even taught a lesson to (yet). (People water their dirt here.)

One fun thing about our house, other than that we shower outside in buckets, is that we sweep three times a day, and each time there is more dirt than you could think could ever find its way into a house.

My companion is amazing. We were number 2 in the zone for numbers, and it is all her, since I am still getting over my fear of talking to people in spanish. We talk to a lot of people, I just wonder how much more we could get done if we were not spending so much time walking from area to area within our area!

The thing that sticks out to me most from the week is that trials are a blessing. Life is hard. A mission is really hard. But God gives us trials so that we can learn and grow. For example, if I was able to speak Spanish fluently without putting in all the work, I would be missing out on so much (even though that would be really, really nice). Through trials we can deepen our trust in God, our faith, and we deepen our character. They may really not be fun in the moment, but atleast I am always grateful for them after the fact. There is always something to be learned from a trial.

I love you all. Never forget how important the Gospel is, and how much it will can bless us. I would not be here if I did not know from the bottom of my heart that this is true.

Prayers and love,
-Hermana Fackrell

 This is our "washing machine" all done by hand :)

First Week in Nicaragua

Wow. I have little time to write. Nicaragua is wonderful. I have a wonderful trainer. It still has not clicked in my mind that people do not speak English here. It is not as hard of an adjustment as I thought it would be though.

The people are wonderful. Everyone is willing to listen, but people say that of course they will come to church when they have no intent of ever doing it.

We had two baptisms scheduled for this week when I got here. Last week we found someone, I invited him to be baptized, he is really serious and is just golden. We rarely find people like him though. I am really excited. 

Nicaragua is great. My companion is amazing. I just need to be brave and open my mouth and talk to people in Spanish. I feel like my Spanish is a lot worse than it probably is. There are some members that try to talk to me and I have no idea what they are saying because I do not know how to talk about normal things like shoes or leather. But that is okay. I more or less understand things. Eventually the words will develop more meaning. 

This is a wonderful but hard experience. My area is gigantic, we walk all day. We have some recent converts that live about a 45 minute walk away. But I am really happy and I love it here, and am excited for all the good we are going to do. 

The Church is true, it is a huge blessing and changes lives. The Book of Mormon is incredible.

Seven weeks in the MTC is a LONG time!

Hola amigos y familia,

It is incredible what you can learn in such a short amount of time. The gift of tongues is so real. 

I am loving my mission so far. Things are going to change once I leave the MTC, and that will be a good thing. I am grateful for the experiences and challenges I have had so far. If the MTC had a hall of fame, my district would be on it for sure. Our branch president said he had never seen a district go through so many changes in all his years at the MTC. And that was before all the schedule goofs and the classroom changes and the last development. I won't go into all the oddities and irregular changes that have happened during these past six weeks, because that would take a while. But now we are an all-hermana district. The elders got transferred to another branch. So that's new and weird. 

We got our flight plans last night. We head to Nicaragua on the first of Feb. We only have nine days left! It's crazy. I am so excited. There are so many things I am learning and doing, and I am excited to continue to grow. I'll have to send pictures next week, since that will be my last p-day in the MTC. 

Everything is too perfectly coordinated and organized to work if the church was not true. The way everything falls into place and works out is miraculous. It is wonderful to be a missionary and see the gospel work in people's life. It is wonderful to be able to feel the spirit that is here. If you think how the spirit is invited when you invite missionaries into your home, just think how crazy it is to be around over a thousand missionaries every day. But I am ready to head to the field, because that is why I am here on a mission. I have learned what I need to learn, and am lucky enough to get an extra week to practice conjugating. I am excited to be out and helping people realize how much the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ will bless their lives. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. He is aware of us, He loves us, and He is always there for us. I would not want to be anywhere else right now, because I know this is the perfect thing for me to be doing. It feels like nothing I have ever done has been as important as what I am doing right now. This is kind of the most important work ever, and it is wonderful that Heavenly Father trusts us enough to be missionaries. 

I love you all,

-Hermana Fackrell

The Gift of Tongues

Hola familia y amigos,

On Monday we will be starting our sixth week in the MTC. It is just crazy. This has been a good experience. I feel like it is time for me to head to Nicaragua, but we don't leave until the 1st. I know that when I get to the field, that is when I'll learn to actually speak and teach. I will keep learning in the MTC, but when I leave is when I'll learn really fast. It will be a struggle, but it will be good. 

We had a wonderful experience teaching yesterday. Our investigator Jose has been reading and praying, and has developed a testimony. He shared an experience with prayer, and was crying and I just about cried too. He said how prayer was such a gift. It really is. We take these things for granted. It is wonderful to see someone change as they come closer to Christ. The Lord prepares people. We teach them the principles of the gospel, and help them understand what they need to do, but they need to go and learn for themselves. The spirit is the teacher. We just help them know what they need to do to grow closer to their Savior. And the difference it makes in their life is incredible. With this investigator, we started teaching him on our second week. It is crazy that they trust a couple of 19 year old girls with a person, when they barely know the language. It is also crazy even on that first lesson with him, we could sit for 30 minutes and speak with him and understand him and teach him, without a word on English being said. The gift of tongues is real. Our schedules got changed with the new year and we weren't able to teach him anymore. And then there were mix ups and more changes and new investigators. (Our district has had some unusual changes and stuff.) This week we got to teach Jose again, after not seeing him for weeks. Our last lesson with him he had agreed to be baptized, but couldn't accept our date without speaking to his wife. But then we were not able to teach him, until yesterday. He had been reading and praying and he agreed to be baptized. This is a real person that has been blessed by the gospel. This is something that you have to see with your eyes. Words cannot explain adequately how his countenance has changed and how much he has progressed. Reading and praying diligently is what made all the difference. Even after baptism it is vital to read and pray diligently. Even those who already have the blessing of the gospel in their life can be blessed from an increase in diligence. My purpose as a missionary is to invite others to come unto Christ, members and non-members alike. I have my work cut out, but I know that as I am diligent the Lord will put people in my path that I can bless. 

The restored Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families and individuals. The difference it makes is incredible. We are so blessed. I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve and hopefully be able to bless some lives. This is  a crazy opportunity, it is crazy to think that simple me can actually make a difference. But that is how powerful the Gospel is. It will change lives, and I can help people find that hope.

I am sending my love. I hope we all can be a little more diligent with reading from the Book of Mormon. It really will make a difference and bring blessings that cannot come any other way. 

-Hermana Fackrell

I love the temple

Hola!

Time flies by so fast. The spirit felt here is amazing. We take for granted what a blessing it is to have the gospel in our lives. The gift of the Holy Ghost is priceless. It is wonderful to be preparing to go out and share what we have with others. It will bless their lives, and it is so important. This is salvation, after all. Being able to pray and have that connection with a loving Heavenly Father is so incredible. He loves us SO MUCH. 

The temple is such a blessing. It is a form of missionary work that I am very much looking forward to doing when I return from this brief period of service. We get to go as a zone today and I have been eagerly awaiting it, since this is the first time since I have been in the MTC.

What a blessing the gospel is! It is so perfectly simple. We have faith in Christ, and faith that through the atonement, we can be forgiven and be able to live with Him again. We are baptized, and that rinses us clean. We receive the wonderful gift of the Holy Ghost. And then we continue to strive to follow the example of Jesus Christ and keep the commandments. We make mistakes, so we have the atonement, and when we repent we are washed clean from those mistakes. When we take the sacrament each week, that rinses us perfectly clean, just like baptism. Wash, rinse, repeat. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about Jesus Christ. All of the other things are great, but Jesus Christ is the center. He is our Savior. He loves us so much. The purpose of being a missionary is to invite others to come unto Christ. We can all do that. We can all afford to be closer to Christ. It is a continual process of progressing, and there is little else that is more important. 

I love you all. La Iglesia is verdadera. 

-Hermana Fackrell

The MTC is the greatest place!

December 24, 2015
The MTC is the greatest place!

I absolutely love it here at the MTC. It is such an amazing experience to be here. The spirit is so strong. I absolutely love my district, we are pretty tight. It is crazy how we all feel so close to one another. I will definitely miss them. There are two hermanas and one elder going to Nicaragua with me. There is one elder and one sister from our original district going to Costa Rica San Jose West. And one elder going to Kentucky. I couldn't have asked for a better MTC family.

We have taught five lessons in Spanish so far, which is crazy. The gift of tongues is real. But you aren't going to be fluent after a single week. There are times when I know exactly how to answer their question in English. But in Spanish? La lucha is real. 

There is so much. I am so blessed. Yo testifico que Jesucristo es nuestro Salvador. El libro de Mormon es verdadero. La iglesia es verdadera. La Expacion es muy importante. Si leerá El Libro de Mormon y orará, ustedes sentirá el amor de Dios. 

Christmas is is all about the greatest gift that has ever and will ever be given. The gift of Jesus Christ. Through Him we are able to receive exaltation. It is the only way. We need Him. He loves us, and knows us, and we knew Him. 

I love you all!

Feliz Navidad!

Hermana Fackrell

Here is my mailing address at the MTC:
Sister Autumn Lydia Fackrell
FEB01  NIC-MANN
2005 N 900 E Unit  91
Provo UT 84602

You can also write   through DearElder.com.  Select Provo MTC as the mission and use the info in the above address.  Letters received by dearelder.com will be printed and delivered to missionaries that same day.  It is very cool!