September 9, 2013

Enrique and rosita whaen they were signing there papers to get married by the law, and we all wore our suits ha

This is our district. District mazatlan chaka ; )

me and my sombrero, I teach in this sometimes. no just kidding.

we were rich that day... me and elder becker pardo Hey Everyone!!!I hope everyone has had a good week : ) me and Elder Becker had a good one. It was one of those really fast weeks because we are just sooo focused together. Thats what i like most about our companionship, is that we both are so focused on the work and the peoples needs, and what we need to be doing for them. Okay so the interesting news for this week is that we are almost done teaching the wife of enrique. Her name is rosita. and her baptismal date is this next saturday. We have basically done all the work for her, and she is almost done with the lessons and she knows everything, and is really smart and agreeing to everything we say. She studies with enrique in the night. They were married this past week so that they could be obeying the commandments, I was sooo happy for them. I will send pictures in this email. They were married last wednesday i think!!!! and it was sooo exciting. It was something very cool to see happen. Then later that night we rounded up some of the members and we shared spiritual thoughts, and had cake. It was very fun. Rosita will be baptized the 14th!!!!!!!!!!! aat 6 o clock. The only reason why we cant baptize her is because she doesnt live in our area, and we never gave the reference to the other elders because Enrique and her dont even want to go to that ward. . . . . We have explained the importance to them but they are brand new converts and they have told us were not moving. bbut i am very happy for them. Enrique has his little shop in our area, and he is working their constantly. He repairs shoes, and basically whatever thing that has broken he can repair it if it has to do with clothing or apparell. He is awesome. So we are very happy for this last week me and elder pardo have together, that we will be able to see everything that we expected before this change ends. Salvador isnt progressing anymore because his dad doesnt want him to get baptized....... we are still trying........ but he will not be prepared for his date.... I know he will get baptized one day. He is awesome also. This past week we have basically put all of our attention in members and rosita to prpare her for her baptism. Everything is going well!!!!!!!! I am happy,..I have still been a little sick, but i am just working working....... trying to releive myself from whatever i have. I cant tell if its allergies, or if a sickness here, because two days in the past week, i havent been able to stop sneezing. but i will figure it out, it only hits me really hard sometimes. But i think its because of the summer.... We are now leaving summer so i am sure that it will go away. Mom thanks for the birthdays i am very happy to have them. I am sooo suprised that we are now in september... I feel tired though. I feel kind of like a sponge haha that is doing all the lords cleaning and preparing for when he comes, but i also receive sooo many blessings from it also, and through those blessings those are what push me to do even more. Thank you for that quote also It is very true. We should all be more positive and say we can!. for those who dont receive a quote from mom every monday it is from Here's your quote for this week is by Eleanor Roosevelt: "Nothing has ever been achieved by the person who says, 'It can't be done.'" But it is very true , so we need to keep all our heads up, and push through things when they get tough. Dad i am very happy that we had part in the convincing of alex hawks. Argentina!!!! that is very awesome. I am way proud of him, and excited for all the blessings that he will receive. also all the people that are waiting for him to come, and share his testimony and strengths. Please tell him i am happy for him. Last night when we were walking home it was pouring. It was very rainy and we were soaked when we walked in the house. Then we went to bed, and then we woke up ready to play soccer because it is like tradition in this zone to always play soccer in the morning at 7:00am mondays. and we woke up to the same rain that we went to bed with. and we still got everyone together and we played in the rain. : ) It was very fun we played for a good two hours and a half, and then it stopped raining, and then we played about an hour longer. I am really tired right now.... hah. For the four months that i have been in this area we have played soccer every morning mondays. I remember missing like three times because of other things happening. but i really have enjoyed this area, I think i will be changed. We have changes next monday and i will probably be traveling somewhere else. But i have really grown to love it here, and if i ever come back i think it will be on of the first places if i return, I know the gospel is true and i know that my testimony has grown even more while i have been in mexico. With the people here in juarez in this big area i have seen sooo much growth and my testimony has just followed the growth with every little thing or miracle that god gives us. I am so grateful to be here, and i am excited for the people here because the ward is just growing and growing even bigger. Pretty soon there should be four missionaries called to this area because it is too big to have just two. . . I know the gospel is true, and i know that missionary work is a huge part of the gospel. I am grateful for the members that are always so kind and giving here. They have all helped my testimony grow through there actions and how we are as gods children. I know that the book of mormong is true, and that joseph smith is a prophet of God, I know that we are all called to help share the gospel with those who dont yet know the fullness and what are heavenly Father has planned for us. So we need to share it. I know that jesus atoned for us so that we could have a way to return to live with our heavenly father again. and i just wanted to share my testimony with all of you in the name of jesus Christ amen : ) Love everyone, be good, CTR, be safe. Love elder fellingham

September 2, 2013

Okay month 9????????? ........it feels like months are ticking,,, not time. I am trying my best to live up my mission because i know these things that are happening will not happen again. But i am really focusing on living it up to the fullest : ) even though i might not share a lot there are soooooo many things and miracles that happen throughout my days. There isnt a single day now that i look back on and not find something that was amazing that happened during the day. : ) I feel like my vision has really changed., and i have been trying to smile more.... hah lots of people have been telling me that i look really serious....... including the new president..... : / whoops, but i told him that it was just my normal face, and that i would try to smile more every day. : ) ha i find myself smiling more and more each day. This past week was really good. We worked some things out..... with my investigator that we just baptized. He started seeing his old wife again they got back together in this past week, and we had to explain that they needed to get married. . . by the law. because they said they were married through a church. . but it wasnt for the law. So we explained that to them and i am sooo grateful that they are sooo willing to do exactly what we say.... today they got the papers all worked out, and they turned them in. My companion and other people were there witnesses today because me and another elder we had to go to culiacan today. We traveled their in the morning and traveled back in the afternoon..... ahhh three hours their and three back. It just made me really tired sitting there forever. but it was pretty good. i got to rest a little. But Enrique and rosita took it really seriously to get married for the law!!!!! I am soo happy for them. This wednesday we will check the papers and hopefully they will finish them. But i am just happy and very impressed that they want to obey the commandments. And they are sooo very awesome. We are hoping for three baptisms for sure at the end of this change! The wife of Enrique is taking the lessons now, and she wants to get baptized. This is another wife. . . After his wife died he found her. so she is different. Just incase your confused. but yeah we are working with Rosita, Salvador, and Aaron! They are the ones that should be baptized. Im really hoping to see our efforts grow in these next two weeks to get them all prepared for baptism. I really dont want to be changed in two weeks. I want to stay here.... I feel like it is where i am supposed to be, and i have just seen sooo much progress with the ward, and baptisms while i have been here. I have grown sooo close with lots of people and i dont want to leave them...... I hope all we do is just receive missionaries and we can stay here... hah, I love mazatlan Juarez. Although i love here, it also has been the area where i have been the most sick....... I dont know what it iss. But i think living by the bay and where there is a lot of dust and sicknesses its just the way it is. I dont know and i cant think of anything else. But i got sick again this past week.... My throat has really hurt, and my nose has been running constantly. And i have sneezed a lot. I also got bit by a dog last week....... I emmidiatly asked the owner if her dog had rabee shots and she said that it got them last year...... and i was like hmmm maybe i should go get it checked, but i just told myself no.... haha but dont worry the dog was a chihuhua, and the bite just broke the skin a little bit. and no i didnt get rabees : ) Everyone was startled when i said i got bit by a dog, and then when i told them it was just a chihuahhuah they just laughed at me..... : ) but it wasnt that bad. We almost had an assistence of 80 flat last sunday!!!! We had lots of our investigators go to church last sunday. I was sooo happy, Lixis family came and they stayed for the whole time!!!!!! the mom thought her kids wanted to leave after but they went with all the other kids to their classes, I was glad to see that the members were doing there part. Rosita came with enrique, Angelo came, and others! It was really great. by small and simple things great things come to past. name that scripture, Mom and Dad Love you guys, Hope your well! Dad im glad your back home. Happy your trip was safe, and you progressed with your work! Mom thanks for your quote, and i am happy to hear an update with the family! thanks Thanks for the medicine tip, dont think there is anything about that, but doesnt hurt to check. Thank you for your prayers, Because i feel like they are being answered. I will remember to keep in my prayers about the Clay family and everybody else, Jackie and well anyone else that tells me to pray something specific for them. I have a testimony about specific prayers, : ) Its something really important. I heard through one of the talks by henry b eyring is that probably one of the biggest sins that we have is that in our prayers is that we dont give thanks sufficiently.... because we are all very soooo blessed!!!!! We have way more blessings received than bad things that happen, So count your many blessings and name then one by one, but in your prayers to your Heavenly Father David give your family my love, thanks for your message, know you guys are busy, but i love hearing from you, Im happy for jaxon and how grown up he is! I cant wait to see little austin, and the new one that is coming. Do you guys have a name yet, ???? Mom i have another question, who is jaimes waite??? apparently he is in our ward now? has he talked to you at all.... His name is sooo familiar but i just cant put a fce to his name..... : ) Emily!!!!!!!!!!!! I am sooo proud of you and your decision to be baptized!!! Good Job! I wish i was their to hear yours and cailtins voice but you can sing for me when i get back, okay? I miss you two, love you guys. Thats about it for this week, I love you all!!! Please keep me in your prayers also that these two weeks of this change can go well and smooth, That we can have diligence when we teach and that we can teach clearly to our investigators. Thank you all soooo very much, Love you all, remember that your all in my prayers. Love Elder Fellingham

August 26, 2013

This past week was fun haha, Me and Elder pardo we had a lot of funny things happen this past week even though it wasnt that productive... : ) but it was productive. ha, my companion got sick again, these past three weeks have been just full of enfermedades, but he had an infction in his stomach.. We went to a hospital because the missionaries have it free their. its a little far away though. But we started the week out pretty good, and then mid week he got sick, and then we got the antibiotic, and yeah he is better now, Atleast i think he is better : ) We asked three people to be baptized at the end of this change and they all said yes!!!!!!!! so that was one of the easiest things we did is just asking people to be baptized, and being productive at the same time, and sooo I learned that you can be productive by doing really easy things. Our lessons are to the point where we know exactly what and how we are going to teach it. When you stay with someone for a couple changes that kind of just comes naturally. But i really like the way we teach, Aaron is an investigator that has had the missionaries with him before us, and he has been tought, but has forgotten a lot of the things and we are just teaching it all again to him, his date for baptism is this next week. we are hoping that it will go through!!!!!!!!!! we have to do a lot by then but i think we can do it! He has a problem with drugs, and worshipping the virgin, but he hasnt taken drugs for a week, and we asked him to stop having the virgin in his house, and he said he would switch out the pictures with the new pictures that we are going to give him : ) He is a cool guy, for the whole time that i have been here his grandpa has always told us in the church AARON wants to get baptized.... and he always yells it too..... haha sooo we are working on him. He always goes to church sooo we will see what happens. We havent seen alot of other investigators because of the change of our food. Our food changes every month with the members, and where we eat nw it is a little hard to go where we went before....... So thats been a challenge, we are still trying to figure out . Me and my companion are going to start going on a lot of divisions with priesthood holders. melchezidec priesthood. We are going to try to start teaching a lot more. We just have to play it smart, and we can get a lot more done, and alot more teaching done. Other investigator is Salvador. He is 12, and his mom said we can baptize him!!!!!! All we have to do is teach him all the lessons and his baptismal date is for the 14. He has a lot of aunts and uncles in our church, and he want to be a member. He is really funny, and he likes to run in races, and he likes to play futbol! he is progressing well. We just have to help him read sometimes. but other than that he is set!!!! His family members are willing to take him to church every sunday even if his parents arent members!!!!! they are really close to eachother so thats good. Other investigator is Rosita!!!!!!!!!!! Rosita is the (wife) of Enrique. They were married through the church. A random church that we dont know. but all of a sudden they are seeing each other more often and we have given her the first lesson already and she wants to be baptized like enrique was. So that was really a suprise. She seems to have really good reasons why she wants to be baptized, and we are working with her to be baptized the 14th also. So I am excited about that also!!!! These are the people that we are working with the most. !!!!!!!!!!! I am excited and happy for them all. We are really working with all the members also. We are trying to strenthen them and the ward and i think that has been the hardest thing since i have been here. They definitly need more animo and strength!!!!! but with every little thing we do its more and more. . . adding to the ward, and helping them see the importance. Dad im happy you get to go back home after all this long time. I am sure you feel like me when i irst came into mexico.... ya..... you just dont understand a thing. but im sure of you stayed in brazil long enough you would pick up portugese. Mom i miss you, can you send me a list of everyones birthdays. ? i would like that. I love you, and i hope your big win theing goes well : ) i hope you get the 1000 your hoping for and that you meet even more people that can help you with your projects, and everything that you are doing and growing. Joy joy, It makes me happy that you had such a cool experience with feeling the spirit : ) I really liked the part about the ancestors of others protecting your family, that is really cool! awesome. and when i read that title i kind of just kept reading it over and over again,, stake emergency preparedness specialist over finance With big sentences come great responsability. : ) no but i hope you like it. ha. I know that th callings that we recieve bring great blessings into our homes and into our lives. and yes joy i would like a copy of that book, it sounds like it would help the people a lot here. Thanks. Love you and your family. I love everyone friends and family. I hope everyone has a great week!!!!!! Yesterday we had a family home evening and it wa about prayer. How is everyone doing with there prayers????????? Personal and family prayers! If your not doing them i would encourage you to do them!!!! : ) also try mixing them up a little bit, try to use words and phrases that you have never used before. Lets not get into a habit of asking the same things : ) I love you all, Elder Fellingham!

August 19, 2013

We are almost mid change!!!!!!!! again, Yesterday in sacrament meeting we had 2 less actives that we have been trying for about 3 weeks to get them to come to church and they finally came!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ahhhh what a blessing. I was sooo happy when they walked in late to sacrament meeting , haha Better late then never. It was Cristian who is an x missionary that has married with someone who doesnt want anything to do with the church, and his brother jose who is married also but all his family is inactive!,,, I was soo happy to see there faces. The Friday before we went to jose s house to give him a white shirt, He told us that he wasnt going to go to the church if he didnt look good, and so we dropped him off a white Shirt that i found in the bin of our baptismal clothes, that we have for investigators when they are baptized. I was happy i found one that fit him. The first 5 i pulled out were all for little kids..... But i think the White shirt gave him a lot of motivation to come to church. Also he told us that he didnt know if he would be able to come because he had a futbol game in the morning also. But he came for the first hour( the most important hour) of church. and we were very proud of him.! He had his championship game sunday.... so he told us the next week (sunday ) he will be at church for sure, and with his family. : ) Also all of lixis s family came to church, well the ones that we are teaching, and they made friends their!! I was so proud of our members also that when they came in they were very welcoming, and helped us by sitting next to them, explaining the things that were going on!! It was the mom, Lixis and Cristian. We are teaching them really slow, and clearly, but they have been following up with all the reading that we have given them. So thats good, the only concern that we have is that lixis is starting school, and she even has class sunday morning........................ Its another class she is taking to get extra credit!!! I have never heard having school on sundday!!!!!!!!! No me gusta. but that is a challenge : / and she is starting next sunday.... She needs to assist 2 sundays to be able to get baptized. So thats a little bit of what we are working with. It is going very smoothly though. So we are hoping for the best. Mom, I am well, I just got over being sick, last week!!! I was just drained, but yes mom i am drinking lots, ha you ask me every time : ) but i am staying sure that i dont get dehydrated,. You can basically feel emmidiatly when you are dehydrated here. So then you drink water. Here lots of the people use suero. Its called suero. But its eloctrolites, and they help have more energy, and well not soo much energy, but they help with the sun alot. It helps the body stay hydrated, its like gatorade. but its a little bit more powerfull, and it tastes gross. But hey it works. they help me alot during the day. Enrique is happy, It makes me really happy to see him when he comes to church. I just moved his house though..........and its something that i am worried about... because he just got baptized and now he lives far away from us, and he could be in another ward.... but his work is still in the same spot, and it is really close to us. But we will see what happens with that. I think he will still continue to go to our ward, because his work is right their close, and he goes to work right after church also. Sooo yeah. He is awesome though, and is helping us find more investigators. Everything is going well here!!! This past week wasnt too busy, There are alot of people that can be given a date to be baptized though. So thats what we are going to be doing this next week, is giving dates for baptisms. Our goal for this month is to baptize two people, three if we can! We are hoping for 2 though. I am excited to try and get this goal. Dad, its cool that you are in Brazil,!! I hope everything goes well their. And that is a lot of people, I heard sao paolo is one of the biggest cities in the world. be safe! Thanks for the scripture. Angela I am happy your got your job congratulations!!! Tell your boys im proud of them for putting in there efforts in soccer, i miss seeing all my nephews and nieces. Tell Alex i am happy for him that he is getting prepared!!!! thats awesome. I would like to see his picture! Love everyone fAmily and friends!!!!! Take care this week, I know this gospel is true, I see miracles everyday, This week try to help someone else know about the gospel. I was reading in one of uchdorfs talks and he said that everyone is a missionary. Love everyone Elder Fellingham

August 12, 2013

Okay to tell the truth, this past week was a little bit slow. . . . Finishing a change and finding out you are going to be in the area again with the same companion is not tough.... : ) haha but you just have to prepare in your head a little bit before that you can do it! Nike! yeah! Anyways Also after working hard to get a baptism, We work up to that final moment and then the person is baptized, and then after its like now what, ha,, but we just know that we need to push forward doing the same thing. The lords work is never over, I have been a little exhousted though this past week, and dad i havent been 100% either, but we are still teaching the same people and we also have a lot of new people that we need to teahc which is good. We have potential with some of them also. We just need to go and visit them. Wednesday was really special for me and my companion. It was really awesome to see Enrique get baptized!!! I will always remember it, and i hope he will also. I had to get permission from the president to do it, and it was something that Enrique really wanted. The place where we went is a place that he would always go with his children, and now he takes his grankids their. But It was somewhere he always went with his first wife.His first wife died on wednesday the 7th of august, And she has passed away... So he wanted to be baptized their. Where he has the most memories with her. Also he told us that he saw his dad their even though he has passed away also. So he has had special moments where this river is. So that is why we had the baptism their. The water wasnt as ugly as it looks in the picture. The white pants did not come out all green and goopy. . . haha. They were still very white. Thanks to my companion, he let me borrow his pants, and white tie. But it was a very special wednesday. We drove like 20 minutes out of Mazatlan to do it. It was almost in another area where missionaries are. but i was also scared to do it.. ha they have been finding cayman crocodiles in places further down the coast..... : 0 so i was a little bit nervous... but it was a good little place. Lots of people were swimming their and enjoying themselves. and they got to see a baptism. We have received other investigators. The mom of lixis, she is the 17 year old gilr we have been teaching. and her mom is now interested also, and we are teaching all three of them, Mom, brother, and lixis. So that is good. We are also helping and x misionary return to the church.... He served his his mission in puebla, and now he is inactive.... He married someone that is catholic... and she doesnt like church at all.... she doesnt even go to her own , ) catholics. but we are figuring out plans what to do with him and his family. They are very good. and we are working a lot with the less actives. The New president has changed a lot of rules. We are not llowed to contact people in the streets anymore... that is crazy.... also we are not allowed to ride bikes anymore.... I feel like they are getting really close to send more missionaries here. Announcements is that by the end of december we should have 250 missionaries in this mission again, and we only have 150 right now. We will receive 100 more!!!! its crazy. They have opened up 6 or 7 new areas here in the culiacan mission!!!! and They said by the end of december almost every ward will have 4 missionaries in them in the Culiacan mission. That is crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That means every area will have atlest two sets of missionaries in the ward. I think that will make it alot easier in the area of jjuarez mazatlan, because it is huge! we kind of do need back up, I wouldnt be suprised if this area im in is one of the first ones that they do put in 2 companionships. The work is so exxciting right now, and it just means the second coming is that much closer! I have grown so close to the members in this ward,,, and we keep getting closer and closer. . . ha they are all soo awesome. I will miss them when i leave. I hope everyone en(joy)ed the pictures, i know joy did, ha. Mom im really gratefull for your company, that is growing and you have such great friends to help you with it. Tell hector i miss him. He has such a white smile! Thank you for the updates on the whole family mom. I am happy that you send me whats up with everyone and how they are doing. I am very grateful for it. I love you. Dad i am really jelouse that you are going to sao paolo brazil. If you didnt know before, but since i was 12 i wanted to go their for my mission : ) but now i have realized that that is not where i am ment to be, I was called for Culiacan Mexico. and i am happy to be here!!! thanks for that scripture. keep giving me scriptures. There are lots. Love you I love you both, and i wish the both of you luck in your trips, and with your work. I love you mom and dad very much, And you two make me soo proud to be able to say that you are both such a good example to me. I love you be safe. Hermanos y hermanas, i also love you guys, i miss you all. Just one scripture for everyone 2 nefi 28:28-31, and one question, How well is everyone doing with reading there scriptures, and trying to learn (spiritually) We learn physically almost all the day long, but how much time do we take out of our busy day to put in a little scripture reading, or more time with the family, or an activity, like going to the park with the whole family, or taking a walk. I encourage you, even though i am the youngest to do something that will strengthen your spiritual side, and strengthen your unity with your families. I love you guys.!!! so much. Hope everyone has a good week. Fellingham family in a whole, or individual families, doesnt matter. Just as long as it is with family!!!! Love Elder Fellingham

August 12, 2013 Photos

August 5, 2013

Hey everyone. I hope everyone is well.! I am doing well. Healthy, and strong. first of all want to wish caitlin and Kenneth happy Birthday, and also whoever else is going to have a birthday soon.... Sorry i need to be better at birthdays. I give everyone my love. This past week was a little bit longer but short at the same time. I was a little bit sick this past week.... i got a little bug... and it was not that good. but i am better now and still on medicine, but i feel much better. We finished this change really strong. The end results of this change were bigger then them all in the past... sooo it was a super good feeling to see them and to see the people that did the effort to come to the church. Especially the investigators. I have very good News!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our investigetor is getting baptized this wednesday! The 7th of august. (Enrique Perez) He is very sure that this gospel is for him. There are little things here and there but once he gets in and he starts knowing more, everything will just fall into place. He is very awesome. and we are finishing all the lessons with him today. we only have two other small lessons that we need to give him. And then his date to be baptized is in two days. We have been teaching other people also but they havent been progressing as fast as Enrique. But we are still trying to teach them at the same pace. It is kind of hard when one gets ahead of others because all our attention sometimes gets dragged to that one person, and then he is baptized and then we move on. But i am excited for his baptism. Today we had changes. But me or my companion didnt get changed. We are still the same here in the same area! The new president didnt move hardly anyone from mazatlan, or other areas. I dont know why i hope he moves us more often!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i am a moving type of person... i dont like being cooped up... but its the lords work. And he knows where we need to be. I feel like we are just going to strengthen mazatlan even more and its going to be awesome!!!!!!!! I am excited. I am excited to see the results after this change to see what we can really do as a companionship. I seem to work really well with elder becker, and it makes me happy. I have been getting head aches lately.. I get head aches when it is super hott.... and it is super hott outside... I sweat a lot during the day, and i remember the heat from last year, but i dont feel like it was this hott.... It is the hottest place i have ever been... and it is pretty humid to add upon that. Love everyone. Hope everyone is safe and healthy. I sent the packages that i wanted to send. I hope they get to the family. I love you all and the time is ticking. . . It goes by soo fast now, There is a scripture in jacob that talks as if it was just all a dream. and i like to relate it to my mission..... Ahhh it is just sooo fast. i feel like i cant keep up sometimes. but I love it and i know that i shouldnt be anywhere else right now. Love you mom and dad. Thanks for that quote dad liked it! Mom i missed you this week, but thats okay. Love you guys and the fam. Have a good week!!!