Felicidades Elder Fardos!!

Family!

Well, it finally happened, I'm officially 19 and no longer super crazy young in the mission!! Hahahaha! It's super weird to think about, because I still feel so young you know? But having my birthday this week was awesome and actually, a family that I was teaching in Girasoles invited me to their house so that we could celebrate a little bit! It was super awesome to see them again, and eat a cake on my birthday!

But yea, everything is really good out here in Chihuahua.  Although, there were a few crazy things happened!  To start, today, as we were walking to the Ciber, it started to rain, and I mean rain like a lot a lot... flooding the streets with like hail and everything! That was a super nice little gift! Hahaha!  And also yesterday I got super sick after church, so I spent the afternoon in the fetal position.. that was fun!  But today I feel really good so that's a good thing!

But seriously, this was a good week!  The Zone is doing well, and we're about to finish up the month of May -- it's almost June!  I can't believe that we're gonna be halfway through the year of 2017 ALREADY!! Because I definitely remember passing Christmas here in Chihuahua and it feels like just a minute ago. I dont know, time is flying and it's just super crazy!

This week we talked about how there are times in life that we recieve like a lot of challenges, like a bunch a bunch, and it doesnt seem to make sense because we're doing everything right.  And so I was doing some studying and it made me think of the refiners fire.

If you know how people make swords, you take a piece of metal and you heat it like crazy and then you hammer it and then cool it and then heat it, rinse and repeat - a LOT! And maybe sometimes we feel like the piece of metal.  Like we were all happy beforehand just being normal like that, and then we start getting heated up and beat up and we get confused as to why that would be happening. But it's because we dont have the same vision that the maker has. We aren't able to see the end goal of being a super awesome sword or a stronger piece of steel. And that's how it is with us and God sometimes. We feel like we'd be better off just being a piece of metal and we don't want the challenges even thought the challenges are the things that are gonna shape us into something so much more!

I just think that's a cool thing and I like it a lot!

But yea, everything is going really good here in Chihuahua.  I hope that things are awesome over there in the states!

Till next time! Have a good week, I love you guys!

Nick

Catching Up on 3 Weeks in Chuviscar!!

May 8th:

Hey, I don't have much time because we are about to meet up with some missionaries that are gonna be going home soon, and they are some awesome missionaries!!  So, real quick, I hope to come back to the Cyber and explain everything this afternoon... but, real quick... We had a baptism!!  I had changes!!!  My new companion is my Zone Leader from Girasoles... and well, I'm a Zone Leader now too!!  Whaaaaattt?!  So, yea, that's it for now, I'll catch you up on the details as soon as I get a chance!!

Later on May 8th...

Hi family! 

This week was literally crazy!! Holy cow! To start, we had a baptism - the hermana that Elder Marx found that one day we arrived after she prayed for guidance. It was a super cool baptism, super calm, and everything went super well!  And this week was just straight up a good week, a really good way to finish up the cycle. Honestly, this cycle I had with Elder Marx was amazing and I'm super excited to keep watching him and the area progress... because, yea, we totally had changes this week, and they were not what either of us expected! 

Elder Marx would be completing 3 cycles in Girasoles and I would be finishing my first. Sunday night we received a phone call from Presidente, and well Elder Marx answered the phone because we knew it would be for him, and Presidente asked to talk with me! So, Elder Marx hands the phone over and literally, we like saluted each other. :)  I took the phone and Presidente said 'Elder Fardos , I'm calling to tell you that you have changes.' And so immediately I thought that maybe I'd be a Dad (training a brand new missionary) or who knows what in the mission. Then he told me I'd be moving out of the area, so I realized I probably wouldn't be a trainer.  And then he told me that I'd be a Zone Leader, and I started to freak out a little bit. It's super cool because I'll be staying in the same zone, and so I'll be able to watch my area and District progress still, while also focusing on all the other missioneries and areas. I'm really hoping that we're gonna see a lot of success in this cycle, and the future ones to come!

And my comp is named Elder Chan - He's from the Ciudad de Mexico tambien! He was my Zone Leader right before this cycle and so we already got along really good. I'm super excited to have the chance to be his companion and learn from him. He's a really good missionary.

And well with all that has happened, what this experience really showed me is that God qualifies the called and doesn't necessarily call the qualified! Because I still have so much to learn!! Right now I'm working on being more valiant. I'm trying to always think how I'd behave if Jesus Christ was standing right next to me. In general, I'm trying to approach everything like in the Primary song, If the Savior Stood Beside Me :) 

1. If the Savior stood beside me, would I do the things I do? Would I think of His commandments, and try harder to be true? Would I follow His example? Would I live more righteously if I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me?

2. If the Savior stood beside me, would I say the things I say? Would my words be true and kind if He was never far away? Would I try to share the gospel? Would I speak more rev’rently if I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me?

3. He is always near me, though I do not see Him there, And because He loves me dearly, I am in His watchful care. So I’ll be the kind of person that I know I’d like to be if I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me.

Because there's always good things to be doing, really good things, and pretty easy to be busy about them, but at the same time, often times, there are better things to be doing, maybe not as fun or easy, maybe not as pleasant, maybe even down right uncomfortable - but better, right?

Like that talk by Dallin H. Oaks, the one we all know, 'Good, Better, Best'.

Dallin H Oaks 'Good, Better, Best' Link

I'm still in the process of learning, and I'm still trying to learn how to have the courage or bravery to always choose the best, and help and invite others to do the same tambien. It's something that I personally think I lack, and it's something rather important, so for that reason, I'm really working on it.

And well this week has gone in an absolute flash and the details are a bit of a blur, so, I guess this is kinda it! 

I love you guys!!! Have an amazing week and I can't wait to SKYPE you guys this week!!!

Till next time,

Nick :D

May 14th:  Mothers Day SKYPE!

May 22nd:

Well, this is the week, I'll be 19!  And, it's weird to think, but my birthday reminds me, I've almost hit a year since I received my mission call! I'm pretty sure that I got it May 31, and so, yea, we're almost there!!  I know the reason for the long wait between my call and report date... and it wasn't what I expected but it's super clear, I had to wait for President Montoya. And he only came two changes before me.  I will have more on that to share with you in about 18 months, but I absolutely know I needed to serve with him.  

This week was super good! Our zone had a baptism, and that was super cool to be a part of.  We also did divisions and I went to Girasoles, and that was way cool -- especially because we ate with a family that loved me and that I loved, the family Navarro!! :D Their son is on a mission and the mom swears that I look just like him so she is always super happy to see me and she was like my mission mom for like 6 weeks! :) Super awesome! 

But yea, this week we had some trainings to give and it was good! But aside from training and everything we're doing and learning, towards the end of the week, something really stuck out to me... looking at the Zone, and getting to know each and every one of the missionaries on a more personal level, with the new perspective of seeing how the Districts are unique but all work together toward a common goal. I started to reflect about all the times I would work with Dad on a car or a project on the property, and I can see now, there was a lesson in it. Working with Dad, I realized that approaching what ever project we had, we had a goal, right? For example, rotate the tires, or put on a sway bar, or whatever it was in that moment. And a lot of times, Dad, the person who had the bigger vision, or actually new what he was doing, would tell me to go get a specific tool, one that was a certain size, and necessary at a certain time for a specific purpose in the whole process of whatever we're trying to accomplish. And once the goal is accomplished, we almost always benefit from the effort and energy we spend.  And what I realized this week was the we're the same way out here as missionaries with our Heavenly Father.  It's like each of us, as missionaries, are tools for Him, instruments in His hands, and we are needed in a very specific time for a very specific purpose, and there are some missionaries that are really good in one thing or another, or in a lot of things. The point is, He uses each missionary in a certain area at a certain time for something specific that only they can do!  It's something super cool to see as it's happening here in the Zone of Chuviscar. It's nice to see the Lord put faith in these missionaries, me included, so that we can progress, so that we can be blessed. It super awesome!  

And well that's kinda it :D but yea, I hope you guys have a good week and that you guys continue to be awesome!

I love you guys!!!

Nick

Mistaken for a Latino and Muchas Mas Miracles in Mexico!!

Hola Familia!

Well, as we entered the ciber we encountered an old man speaking pretty rough English on the phone with a lady that obviously couldn't speak Spanish, and the man was asking for help with a certain webpage. The cool thing is that I offered to help and I was able to translate the information so that the man and the lady could understand each other! It was pretty cool if I do say so myself! :)

I can't believe it's already May!! Pretty crazy to think I'm almost 19!!! I'm super excited to finally not be so crazy young, Haha! But, yea it'll be good :) I'm looking forward to this full year away from home!!! It's so weird to think that you guys won't see me in person at all while I'm 19... but, Hey it's all good!!!! And yea Mom, you mentioned Elder Beeson, He's super cool!! I hope that I'll be seeing more of him in these final weeks of his mission, and after the mission too. :) 

So, this week was super good! Still full of miracles! For example, we finished a lesson with a less active family, because we are teaching their kid, and as we were walking back in the main road, we were talking about how it would be great to have a member family that could possible visit them with us, and literally as we were talking and walking, a car pulled up.  It was a member family from our ward, they offered us a ride and we agreed, super happily, and they asked us how it was going... We told them that we just finished talking with this family, and it turns out that the Moms are super good friends, and the dad of the member family was the home teacher of this other family!! They were super excited to hear we were chatting with this family, and were super happy to agree to visit them with us one night!

And then another night, we were out of money and wondering what we were going to eat... so we were talking and I said a silent prayer and then we found a family in our barrio selling tamales. They called us over and so kindly gave us some to take home and eat. It has become pretty obvious to me that God is looking out for us in a huge way!

Also, this week we totally ate milanesa and it wasn't the same as Abu's, but, wow, it reminded me of eating at home -- so good!!!  It was awesome!

Also, I experienced something rather interesting this week, and I don't know what even happened, but something definitely changed. I felt the sincere desire to be obedient out of love. Like instead of it being an effort or a struggle to be super obedient, I started to just be obedient because I genuinely want to have the Spirit with me so that the people we're talking to can feel it. It's like my perspective changed, even thought the actions of obedience have stayed the same, and thus far, it's been making such a difference in the mission life!

And Dad, I got mistaken for a latino like at least 15 times this week!! One man that was speaking English even asked if I understood what he was saying... and upon saying 'yes', complimented my English and he asked where I studied it!! Hahaha!! It was pretty awesome!

And Mom, I understand you've connected with Hermano Luis Sandoval!  He is like the coolest, happiest dude I've ever met in my life! Haha!  He and his wife are getting sealed May 27th and they have a little girl that is 3 and she's the sweetest, I mean literally, she never sad! They're so stinking nice!  We have been spending time with them on Sunday afternoons. They're honestly amazing people!

But yea, every this is going super well out here in Girasoles, and I'm looking forward to spending some more time here! We only have one more week in this cycle, so fingers crossed, I hope I'm gonna be sticking around here a while longer.

Thanks for everything!!! Until next week, I love you guys a BUNCHHHH!!

Nick

Not Everything That Counts Can Be Counted, And Not Everything That Can Be Counted Counts

Fam!!

This week was pretty awesome! To start, we had divisions and training with Elder Beeson and, well, it was super awesome to work with him and get to know him better. A lot of the leaders in the mission are senior missionaries who will be going home in the next few changes.  So it's cool to get a little seat time and training with such good missionaries.

We continued to see miracles this week.  One of the best parts about the mission is the frequency and recognition of miracles -- it's super cool to be honest!

For instance, one if our investigators we encouraged to pray about the church and the gospel message and everything, and we promised if he would do it, he would receive an answer.  And HE DID!!  His answer was the coolest thing in the world! He literally had a dream that not only answered his prayer but taught him things we hadn't even shared yet! :O  It's way cool to be a part of the conversion of people like him -- and moments like these really strengthen my testimony of this gospel! :) It's something super special.

AND SPEAKING OF MIRACLES this was the best, but you'll have to stay with me for a minute to get to it... Okay, so I also had splits with Elder Josse this week, (the same Elder Josse from my group at the CCM and the one that I lived with for my first cycle in Cerro Grande II). We ended up going on splits and well, we were in downtown Chihuahua, and we needed to take the bus to get back to our area in Girasoles.  So, Chihuahua is kind of set up like a big horseshoe... And inside the U of the horseshoe is a mountain called Cerro Grande -- and you can't cross it, you have to go around it. Girasoles is in one arm of the horseshoe, and my old area Cerro Grande was in the other.  So, we get on the bus... but didn't realize that we boarded the bus one road too soon, so instead of going toward Girasoles, we started heading in another direction.  We decided to wait to see if it would turn around or something, and pretty soon the roads started looking REALLY familiar.  We were back in Cerro Grande!!  Both of us, on the one day we were together on splits, we were both back where we were born (the area we started our mission)!  And so we road a little further, and eventually we were the only ones on the bus and the driver told us they were gonna stop to fix something.  So the bus stopped and we got off and right there we just so happen to find Elder Ramirez and Rodas, sitting in the shade!!  You know, the two missionaries I lived with for my last cycle in Cerro Grande!!!  So we had a little reunion and talked a bit, and Elder Ramirez and Rodas said they'd call us a taxi, but before they did, we realized we were standing just one street away from Adrian, the last baptism I had in Cerro Grande, and the first contact that Elder Josse had in Cerro Grande!!  So, we dropped in to visit him and he was home!! Usually he would be in classes during that time, so we were all super excited and it was an awesome experience!!  And all of us almost cried!!  And, well, Josse took a picture and I already sent him a reminder to email it to me, so maybe I'll have it to share next week!! :) But seriously, the sheer number of miracles that lined up so that could happen were REDICULOUSSSSSSSSSS! Moral of the story, God loves us, and works in really strange way sometimes to give us a better experience than we could imagine -- even though it seemed like it could be a reallyyyy questionable experience at the start!!

Oh, and then if that weren't cool enough, the taxi that picked us up just happened to remember me from ONE time I rode in his taxi when I was serving in Cerro Grande!!  And so we talked a bunch and the trip that normally costs 130 pesos, more or less, cost us 80 and let us reconnect with old friends and make a new one! God is perfect and He never makes mistakes!!  ;)

So, yea, definitely, this week has been awesome. We've been out here really working hard, and we've seen so many blessings, so many miracles here in Mexico. And I'm so grateful for it! :)

One final thought... we went to eat with a super awesome member and he had an awesome quote on his fridge in English :)

'Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.'

Sometimes it's nice to just be reminded that. :)

__________

And now a sweet excerpt from Nick's personal email update to his father:

Each month we make covers for our agendas... 

This is what I will use this next cycle! :) I found these words in a Liahona:   

"I wouldn't be the man I am today if it was not for the righteous influence of my older sister"

Originally, I wanted to find 'if it was not for my family' or something, but the bottom line is - it's always been Lauren that has showed us how to be better, she's really helped our family, no? Yes!

__________

I am grateful for each one of you! :) 
I love you very much!
Nick

No Trouble, But Getting Into a Little Hot Water!! Haha!!

Wow this week was awesommeeee yet again!! Haha! 

Well, to start, we had two baptisms as a District! One from our area and another from the Hermanas!! It was super awesome! :) But the first baptism, that of the Hermanas, was a little bit crazy, and a rather unique experience... We started to fill the font at like 11:00 because the baptism was scheduled at 4:00 Saturday afternoon.  So, it takes a while to fill and we wanted to be sure the font was full and the water was as comfortable a temperature as possible -- so we put it on hot and we left it (because the water never gets like hot hot if you know what I mean, usually barely warm at best). But yea, we went to eat and we came back and it was almost full, but seriously SUPER HOT -- like cook a human being HOT!! So we were with the Zone Leaders, and they we were a little worried about what we should do, and we suggested (almost joking) throwing in ice, but the Zone Leaders went with it!! We put together all our money, and bought 100 KILOS of ice (more than 200 lbs)!! I can honestly tell you I never thought that I'd ever have to throw ice into a baptismal font in the mission.. it was honestly one of the funniest, but high pressure moments ever! Hahaha!! But hermana Olga was baptized and she loved it and everything was super awesome! :) And then, Sunday afternoon we baptized Miguel Angel, the son of a recent convert! I did the ordinance, and it was super cool! :) He was so excited to get baptized and afterwards everyone asked him how he felt and all he could say was 'felize'! :) It was super adorable!! Hahaha! 

Also this week we went to Central as a Zone and we put on the Easter video of the church and we went around talking to people and passing out cards... It was a really cool experience and we met so many cool people!!  People from literally all over the world! Hahaha. It was super awesome. 

I learned a lot this week, again! But the one thing I learned that stuck out most to me was finally an example of what I've been trying to explain to myself for the past 6months! It has to do with answers to prayers. Something I've learned is that God always answers our prayers, but sometimes we need to humble ourselves to receive or rather perceive the answer. For example, when we pray, we often have requests right?... Like, we can plead 'Heavenly Father, I'm thirsty, please help me out here'... and we ask, expecting, or thinking,  about lets say a bottle of coke. And because we have an idea of how our prayer can be answered or how we'd like it to be answered, we can become preoccupied.  In this case by the thought of coke, and we can miss the glass of water that was sitting in front of us.

We need to make sure that we are humble enough, and willing enough, to receive His answer, what ever it is, and be grateful for the answers God gives us.  Because He always gives us answers, if that makes sense.

And also, worth mentioning,  Elder Marx and I are awesome. We realize that we each have strengths and gifts, and we've learned to trust each other with like 100 percent and so we have been working really really well. I think that we're gonna be seeing a lot of success here in these upcoming weeks! :) I'm super excited to be here and working with this District and my companion. We be killing it!! :)

Well until next week! Stay awesome, stay wonderful, I loveyou guys a bunchhhhh!! :) 

Nick

From Worry to Wonderful!! One of the BEST Weeks of the Mission!!

Woowwwww! Okay, real quick, this week has been, I think, the best week of the mission!

Not gonna lie, at first I was a little worried about being in a new area with my first gringo Elder and as District Leader.  But after this week holy cow!!

Okay well to start, ever since I arrived here in Girasoles and saw our investigators I realized we were just teaching individuals, none of us had families in lessons. So, I invited the District to start to pray and ask for families to teach, so that we could continue to change more lives, together.  After a week and half of praying and inviting and contacting a BUNCH of people, we didn't have any families -- until we left the home of one investigator... we here 'HEY BROTHERSSS!!!' in English!  We turned around and meet a man, Freddie, from Utah!  He grew up in the church, is currently less active, married to a Latina, with two sons of 9 and 14 years old. And, we proceeded to go to their house and start to teach them!  After the lesson elder Marx and I just about cried -- Holyyy Cow! We have so much hope and faith for this family!! The only thing is that they were busy this weekend hosting family from Utah, and so they weren't able to make it to church. So we randomly decided to visit them, just in case they were there. We stopped by, and they were there with ALL their family!  And it turns out, all their family is taking lessons too!!  The grandparents have a grandson on a mission in Argentina!! So we chatted, shared a good moment, and we ended up giving the grandparents a pass-along card with our names and the area on it so that they could show the missionaries that are teaching them back home. They asked us for it and they were all so excited to see missionaries here!! Hahahaha! It was awesome!!!

And then, we were headed to another lesson, and we were a little bit early, but we figured its all good, lets just go with it. So as we were walking, Elder Marx said, 'Hey, we should visit this other family'. At first, I thought 'but Dude we have this less...' and something told me naw, we should go. So we went. And yet again the family we were hoping to visit wasn't there, but the sister of the family was there with her other brother!! And it just so happens she told us that she was praying for spiritual guidance in her life just a few days ago!

AND FINALLY we were leaving an appointment, in an area super far from our house. Like 2 buses, 45 to an hour, far from the house. And the last bus leaves at like 8:45 o 9. We wrapped up our appointment at like 8:30 and as we were walking to the main road we saw the bus pass. The last bus!  And well, we had two options, we could sit around and wait or to get walking, and so we started walking. And we tried to call the members, but it was Thursday night and there's Relief Society and Mutual, so literally, no member was home. So we kept walking, and I said a super specific prayer, 'Heavenly Father, please bless us with a ride'. And like not even 5 minutes later a car pulled up next to us. 'Elderes! Vamos!'

And well, as I talked with this guy, turns out he's a member whose been less active for like 6 years. We started talking spiritually and I told him that I prayed for a ride like 5 minutes before he stopped for us, and he told us that he saw us, and something told him to stop and give us a ride home.  I'm way grateful he listened to the Holy Ghost!!!!

But Wow, yea, there's a lot of lessons in each of these stories, but Holy Cow! This week was full of stories and miracles just like this, I dont know, it made me reallyyyy grateful for so many things.

And well, the two gringos are killing it out here in Mexico!

And the district is pretty awesome! We Workkkkk!! :D

And welll thats kinda what happened this week!!!

So, till next time!!!

Nick

I Guess We Just Need to be Obedient, Have Faith, and Go For It !!

Hola Familia!

Well, yea, so this was my first week here in Girasoles as District Leader!! Our area is so big! Literally every day we have to take the bus to get to everywhere we need to go in our area!! But it's really cool, and a lot of fun. The area is awesome and we're already teaching a lot of people. The District is super awesome and we're all working reall hard!! 

My District is 2 Hermanas and us two Elders, and well everyone's super cool! Elder Marx and I get along good although he speaks hardly any Spanish, and the sisters, Hermana Garcia and Hermana De Avila are super rad too. Hermana Di Avila studied in BYU Hawaii so she speaks perfect English, which is very cool every once in a while!

This week was super busy and super awesome. We had a baptism and Wow this guy, Hermano Hipolito, is the most rad dude ever! HE'S 87 AND WALKS TO THE CHURCH EVERY SUNDAY!... and we take the bus!  Like this guy is such an inspiration, holy cow!  And he already has a huge testimony -- he said multiple times that even if we never show up to his house ever again, he's gonna keep going to church and keep on reading the Book of Mormon and sayinng his prayers and everything. And when he was baptized he said super happily that he's now a part of the family of God, and just Wow, I was super stoked to see that guy get baptized. Honestly, I can't describe how much of an inspiration he is for me!

And well, we have a lot of good people in the works right now. Hopefully we'll keep on teaching more and more, and if things continue the way they are, hopefully we'll have about 4 baptisms this month. We're really working hard and trying our best out here! :) 

Well, Conference was this weekend!! I had the option to watch it in Spanish and in English, and although it would have been great either way, I wanted to hear the voices of the Apostles, so I chose to watch it in English. :) and well, it's easier to understand! Hahaha! But yea, there were a lot of really good points and I hope that everyone was able to feel the same spirit that we felt from conference. I forgot my notebook at the house but I remember the emphasis on family, and that we're a family here on the Earth, and that when it really comes down to it, we need to do the small and simple things in order to have the testimony and the blessings that we need in this life, at this time right now.

One of the speakers I liked talked about the Holy Ghost, and how we need to act on the first prompting, and how we just need to go with it. And then He'll give us more promptings.

And then we see miracles.

I guess we just need to be obedient, have faith, and go for it. There are a lot of times I feel amazingly inadaquet here in the mission, but I always receive a lot of inspiration in the promises of God and also His Spirit. I dont know, maybe next week I'll be able to organize my thoughts out better.  Hahaha!

But, really this week I've felt the power of reading the Book of Mormon. We've had a few investigators tell us that they're reading it, and once they do, they always seem to have such a good testimony of the Book of Mormon. I pesonally have felt the power of the Book of Mormon so many times in my life, and especially here in the mission. 

And well, also I have a super strong testimony of a quote that Mom gave me. 

“God does not begin by asking us about our ability, but only about our availability, and if we then prove our dependability, he will increase our capability.” ― Neal A. Maxwell

Honestly, everything is awesome here, I love being here, and I love the people here! I've already seen so many miracles here in the mission, even here in this area after only one week! I'm way grateful for everything that has happened out here and I can't wait to continue onward. And hey, this next week I'll complete my first 6 months of the mission... A little crazy huh????? And I'm still 18! Hahahaha!

But, I love being here and I love God and His Son, Jesus Christ, and I hope that you guys can feel the love They have for you. Something I've learned is that we're all important to Them. They'll help us if we will only ask in faith.

And well, I guess that's more or less all I've got for this week, hopefully next week I'll have more specifics to share. And I'll send photos once my comp sends them to me, okay??

So, until next week, I love you guys a bunch!! 

Stay awesome!!

Nick

OH! Also, everyone, watch the Prince of Peace video on mormon.org

Literally awesome.

Okay till next time :)