BEST DAY EVER!!!

Finishers Wanted 

Stick to your task 'til it sticks to you;
Beginners are many, but enders are few.
Honor, power, place and praise
Will always come to the one who stays.

Stick to your task 'till it sticks to you;
Bend at it, sweat at it, smile at it too;
For out of the bend and the sweat and the smile
Will come life's victories after a while.

- Author Unknown

730 Days, 24 Months, 17 Cycles, 14 Companions, 10 Areas, 2 Years, and My One Life - Changed Forever!

Well Fam,

What a rideeeeeeeee.

Lets see, I'm 20, I have crazy tan lines that'll take days to fix, I haven't worn normal clothes for 2 years, and I'm absolutely and completely happy, and absolutely and completely convinced that these 2 years have been so much more than I could have ever hoped for. Really it has been a time of such big spiritual growth. Ive learned so much, seen so much, and have felt so much as well. 

The mission has really left me marked, and I never will be quite the same as I ever was before. I'm very much still me, I still have the same old sense of humor that I had before (still love your jokes Mom so, don't worry I'll still laugh), I still love the guitar, I still love soccer, but at the same time I am so very different.

Like the caterpillar from a Bugs Life!!!! I'm still me but now (insert Dad's voice here) 'I'm a BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY' (try to read that and not think about Dad saying it - Hahahahahahahaha) 

What I'm trying to get at is that really the mission has left an imprint on my soul that I'll never be able to remove. I will never be able to deny the reality of the Atonement of Christ, of His sacrifice for us. I will never be able to deny the power of change, that people really can change, but that change isn't becoming something we're not, rather fulfilling all that we should become. I will never be able to deny the divinity of Christ, of our Father in Heaven, and the church that they have established here on the earth, even the restored church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I know that they have revealed many things, and will yet reveal many things. I will never be able to deny the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and the teachings that are found within its pages. I will never be able to deny that our family, Mom, Dad, Lauren, Nat and I, will be together forever.

And honestly, nothing could make me happier in this life than knowing these things. 

It's hard for me to think about what I ever could have done to be found deserving of all these blessings - To simply belong to our family, to belong to this church, and, for one week more, belong to this mission.

I cant wait to see you guys in a week. I love you all, and in a week I'll tell you all about the stories I have, and I'll show you all pictures of the last baptism Elder Stewart and I will have this Saturday :)

Hasta pronto familia,

For one last time,

Elder Fardos

See You In Two!!

Well,

WE DID ITTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!

We opened the area, with ZERO investigators, went to work AND MY SON HAD HIS FIRST BAPTISM!!  CAN I GET A WHOOP WHOOP!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was amazing. That was just amazing! 

I'll tell you guys more about it all in two weeks! LOL

AND GUESSS WHATTTTT?!! I almost cried this week because we were eating with a member and they told me something AMAZING. Remember the people we baptized in La Sierra??? One of the sisters is the Primary President, and the other is a counselor in the Relief Society!!!!!!!! THEY'RE ACTIVE AND KILLING ITTTTTT!!!

That's the best news a missionary can get and I got so emotional - that was such a blessing.

And the other day, as I'm walking home in the evening, and I hear someone yell 'FARDOS!' So I stop and turn around and IT WAS HUGO'S MOM!!!!!!!!! From Centro!!!!!! She just decided to spend the day in Cuauhtemoc!!!!!! Also amazing!  And just made my day!!

The mission is coming to a close and I've just seen sooo many miracles!!

I love you tons!

And I'll see you in two!! 😋

Nicki

We Are In September!! That's Not Okay!! 3 Weeks!!

September 3,2018

Fam!

OKAYYYYYY WE'RE IN SEPTEMBER AND THAT'S NOT OKAY!

Like, what happened to the time?

It's all good :D We're out here on the mission grind, we're seeing miracles and we're gonna have a baptism this week!!!! Elder Stewart is gonna do the ordinance!!! I'll totally send pics next week!!! Estamos super animados!!!! Something else super exciting... but that is sooooooo bittersweet to me is that we have another baptism SEGURO for the 29th of September - 5 days after I get home..... Maybe I'll extend the mission just a week ;P 

Naaaww, just kidding Mom! Don't worry! Hahahahahaha! But I'm totally still counting her as one of my converts :) She's an amazing little girl.

BUT WOW what a week!!!! TIME IS FLYYYIIINNNGGGGGGGGGG. I dont even know what to write anymore soooo here are a few fotos and I'll see you guys in a few weeks!! LOTS OF LOVEEEEEE!!

Till next week,

Nicki

AND THE COOLEST CROSS ROAD IN THE MISSION!!!! 

(piña is code word for cute girl and mango is code word for cute boy sooooooooo it's dope)

August 27, 2018

We finally know how to get around the area, so now I've got a few pics to share. And we're really good at stepping out and going on adventures out here, so that's fun :D

But yea, sooooo what's totally dope is the crazy fat miracle we saw this week.

One of the Zone Leaders here was in my area a while ago, and we did divisiones so he could show me where some old converts of his lived. So we went, and we went with one of his converts and it's a 35 year old lady and her lil girl of 9 years. What happened is that when the missioneros baptized her, it was just them. After he left, the new missioners just weren't visiting her, and a couple months ago one of her sons came back to live with her. He's ten and has gone to church all this time, but the missioneros never followed up so he never got baptized. BASICALLY he's just ready!! It's amazing. Then that SAME DAY a sister called us and told us about him and how the missionaries hadn't gone and all that. So we were gonna find him sea como sea!!!

Pero si :D so my kid, Elder Stewart, is gonna get to baptize :) fotos to come! :D

Everything else is great :D just enjoying the last couple weeks!!!!

and I'm totally buying recuerdos now because now I only have a couple weeks left!!! Any who, enjoy some pics!

Till next week,

Nicki

The Final Transfer!!

Hello Family!

Well, it happened, Elder Riley and I both had changes and it's time to begin my final cycle! Riley's headed to my old home, Chihuahua, and I'm headed out to Cuauhtemoc! It's pretty close to la Junta, so I'm stoked!!  I've never been in the zone before, and I'm opening the area (AGAIN!!! 2 times in 2 ciclos!) so I'm not gonna lie, I think time is gonna fly by... and that worries me like straight up worries me!

 Our friend Jaime from the Revo (Delicias!!) 

and

A Nacho Libre bike (yea, it's a thing, totally legit and there's a lot of em out here)

And I'm training!!! Again!!! Another gringo - Elder Stewart from Idaho! He seems pretty cool and I think we'll get along well. He started his training in Arizona while he was waiting on his visa, so I'll just be finishing his training... and then in six weeks I'll be home and he'll be ready for the rest of his mission in Mexico.

I don't know how I should feel, hahahaha, the truth is that I'm happy that I'm going to come home and see all of you, but I know that I'm going to leave a big piece of my heart here. Regardless, I'm going to work hard in the time that I have left and give it everything I've got until the very end, and maybe work a little more!

Sooooo yea, we're opening the area and we're gonna see who the Lord has prepared to receive His message... If we can't find someone ready to teach, we'll see who the Lord directs us to serve or help... I'm happy either way. :)

But yea, this is going to be great. Honestly, I'm stoked to be in my last 6 weeks. Not really sure what to say anymore, and I'm pretty sure most my letters and updates are getting pretty lame now a days, and honestly these next six weeks are just gonna be flying by sooo yea we'll see how it goes - I just don't want to loose too much time sitting in a Ciber when the clock is ticking on my time here :P

But yea, I love you guys!!!! I hope youre well!!!!!!!! 

Till next time!!!

Nicki

The Last Full Month of the Mission and a Happy Anniversary Shoutout to Lauren & Julian!!

Okay Fam,

Well, I'm starting the last week of the cycle in the last full month of the mission, and in a week, I'll be starting the final cycle of my mission.

Wait, WHAAAAT? So yea, I'll see you guys next month... I'm trying not to think about just HOW WEIRD that is...

Y muchas felicidades a Julez y Lo!!!! ya cumplieron 2 años de casados!!! que increible!!! ojala que mi boda (si es que me caso un dia ;P) sera tan chida como la suya!!! la verdad es que me encanta que ustedes esten juntos y que sean una parte de mi vida. Les amo y les deseo un año increible, y les voy a comprar algo mexicano para ustedes, va? :D

But yea, Okay, on with the week!!! ANA AND MARIO GOT BAPTIZED! And Wow, low key, it was one of my favorite baptism services I've been a part of in all these 2 years I've been here. It was amazing! So Elder Riley baptized the niño, Mario, and I baptized Ana! Mario got baptized first, and you could tell how excited the kids were just from how their excitement was busting out of them! I was standing in the doorway with Ana, and she was jumping up and down a lil, just like any girl does when they're excited and was saying 'I cant believe that I'm finally going to be baptized!!!' And we watched her brother get baptized, then it was our turn to enter the water... and normally, the misionary enters the water and waits for the person to come in after them. Ana was so excited that she just booked it in and was waiting for me!!  And when I went to actually baptize her she was so excited that she like jumped backwards Hahahahaha! Honestly, it was just an amazing experience and it was such a great service!!!

At the end, the Mission Leader that was conducting the baptism asked if someone would volunteer to say the closing prayer, and Ana shot her hand up and gave a great prayer :) Mario and Ana are some incredible kids and they're going to do great things in this world. I wish that I could've been so great at such a young age! 

But yea, that's kinda all that was incredible this week :) I'll throw in a BUNCH of pics because we took quite a few! :D

So here you go!

Until next week!

Nicki

It's a Double Update... Almost to the Final Cycle!!

July 23

Hey Fam!! 

Well, it's been a really busy week but it's been great honestly. Idk If I told you guys last week but we are in charge of two area, because they took out the sisters missionaries from the other ward, the ward that shares the church with us. Their area is huge and ours is far.. so its been crazy getting to and from all the places we need to be, but it's been amazing! This week weve seen a lot of miracles, and seeing miracles is always amazing.

To start, well, we started teaching two lil kids from the other area, they have been learning from a LOT of missionaries for a LONG time. So, we went with em to see whats up. Turns out that they couldn't get baptized because their grandma, although a member, is inacctive, and President doesnt want them to get baptized and then not be able to go to church. So we visited, talked with the kids, and they were kinda down sayin 'our Grandma is never gonna go, we'll never get baptized, etc.' ESPECIALLY because she recently had foot surgery. So we talked to them about prayer - and we invited them to say a prayer, asking for Heavenly Father's help so that her Grandma would go to church. One of the little girls said the prayer, and then we went to talk with the Grandma together. The little girl asked if she'd go to church with them, and she said 'of course'!  We were all just like woah, really???? 

And she totally showed up!!!! That's the best part!!!! So their prayers were answered and it won't be long before those lil kids are gonna be able to get baptized!!! 

And what else.. Well, I talked last Sunday, right? And something cool was that this Sunday, both speakers referenced my talk :) that made me feel good! :)

I'll be talking in the other ward next week, so that'll be fun!

Andddddddd, well, yea we're out here doing it!!

Thats kinda it, we gotta run! But i hope your guys are well :) I'm good, I'm happy, healthy, and working hard!!!

Que esten bien! Les amo a Todos!!!!

Nicki

A sweet message from Elder Riley's Mom who shared an excerpt from her missionary's update:

"My comp and I are doing really well. He's such a great example for me and I hope I'm with him till he dies (which means he ends his mission and he only has 1 more cycle after this one so it's possible). He gave a greattttt talk this past week which was one of the top 5 I've ever heard in my life. He's really been a great friend and a great strength to me."

July 30

Hey Fam!

Everything is good here, it's been a crazy adventure being in charge of 2 areas. It can be rather difficult to keep both of um up and running, to say the least. In one area, there's a lot of investigators, and in the other, a lot of less active members - and both require a bit of work on our part to keep them progressing. SOOOOOO it's a lot, but it's super good!

Sunday's have been fun as well, because now we get to be in both wards, and this week was a special missionary work Sunday, so Elder Riley and I both spoke (it was really good :)) He talked of the life of Christ, and I talked about faith, using an example of John 9, specifically. (I wont use this one as a part of my homecoming talk so I can share it hahahahaha) But basically it's about how Christ healing the blind man was different than when Christ healed others. With other people, Christ had healed with his words, and that was it. No ceremony or formality, nothing else mattered, he spoke and people were healed. With this guy, there was a lot more to it, he used spit and dirt, put mud on his eyes and told him to wash himself in a pool of water and then he'd be able to see. 

A noticeable difference between this story and others is that in other situations, the sick had come to Christ looking for help, therefore already showing their faith. Christ even commented to the women who was healed when touching his clothes, that she was healed because of her faith.  But in this story, it was Christ who came across this blind man, so Christ took the time to give him the opportunity to show his faith to Christ.

It's kind of a cool little story :D

Ummm due mas - well, if all goes well, we should have a baptism this week! That'll be fun. They're two little kids, and they're just awesome! I mentioned them last week, they live with their Abuela who is a member, and they are so excited to be baptized. They've been waiting a long time for this opportunity.  Pictures to come :D

Elder Riley, the Area Mission Leader, and I sang Brightly Beams Our Fathers Mercy in Sacrament Meeting, and it actually went alright :D so that was cool!

Buttttttttttttt yea that's kinda it, SO we'll get more next week :D

I hope you guys are well, I love you all!!!

Hasta pronto!

Nicki

This is Mario, his lil bro Diego, y Ana :)

Elder Johansen came to our zone meeting and stayed with Riley and me so that was way fun!

y the zone!

10 Weeks Left!

Helllooooo!!

WELL, it was another good week here. Everyone was talking about France winning the World Cup! Hahaha I guess I'm OK with that, I really like that team so I'm excited for them!!! It's cool that they could win... That's awesome for them! I bet Zizou could be looking to coach them soon :D

But yea, this week was good! I gave a talk yesterday, and that went REALLY well :) Low key gonna use part of it in my homecoming talk soooooo it's another one you're gonna have to wait for :) 

But it went really well, and, I may have cried a little :) While I'll save the talk for later, I will tell you I talked about 4 really important people that helped me get out to the mission, spiritually speaking, so I want to throw a special shout out to Bishop Steve Alston, Brother Willis, Lauren, and Cody Hancock :) Just so you know, the ward here in Delicias Mexico knows about em! :) So tell them I love them and that I say Hi and thank you for me! :) 

But yea, the coolest thing that happened this week was with a lady weve been talking with lately. She's been trying to find a job, so Elder Riley and I shared with her a scripture from the Bible, when Christ says that God knows all of our necessities, but if we look to the Kingdom of God, everything else will be added. So, we promised her a job, and she kept doing all that she needed to do, and Friday, she told us that she got a job with good hours, good pay, and she doesnt work Sundays!!! So that was just incredible honestly. It's a good feeling watching people recieve miracles in their lives! :)

What else, well, we're 10 weeks out today, so next week we hit the one digit week mark! 9 left, so that's nuts. 

And finally, we saw a chicken used in cock fights and that thing was SCARY.  So I took a pic with it! Ha! Elder Riley got it RIGHT before it started chasing me. I'll try to send that pic too!  Haha :D

I love you guys!!! I hope youre well, I'm happy, healthy, and working hard with mijo.

que esten bien todos!

hasta pronto,

Nicki

Photo Update! Nick's Itinerary Arrived Today!!

It’s official!! We received Nick’s itinerary for his travel home!! Monday, September 24th, we will get to hug on our happy missionary!! ❤️

Nick didn't have an update today, but shared a quick note of cheerful encouragement. He is happy, he is healthy, he loves his companion and the people in Delicias, he is working hard and appreciating seeing the miracles in peoples lives as they become closer to Christ.  The biggest challenge they face is the geography and limited resources... it's a humble area and people are so spread out, everything is so far away including church, and bus fair can be kind of pricy.  Other then that, everything is good and he promises lots of stories with lots of details when he returns home in 3 months!!  Haha!  

Nick had the chance to pick up a shovel and help a sister out with some yard work.  He said it made him feel right at home, and realized he missed the whole yard work thing.

Till next time!