A new Ecuadorian companion and marriage plans that includes a drunken turkey... oh that boy...8/8/2016 ¡Hola!
So this week has not been so crazy. I mean I did get a new comp and a bunch of new elders in the zone, but it has been pretty chill. Obviously there`s still plenty of work to do, though. SO! Guess who`s my new comp?! Elder Onofre, my beautiful friend from Ecuador! Yep, the same Elder Onofre who lived with us in Arboleda for about 6 weeks. It`s kinda nice not to have to go through that whole ¨getting to know each other¨phase. Hopefully it gives us more time to focus on getting to work and seeing success in the zone. I also have another ghost from Arboleda back to haunt me...Mi hijo, Johnson! Yep, only one cycle apart and now we`re in the same zone. His comp is a district leader too, so I see him a lot...great...He told me it would happen some day. Just another example of how the Lord tests us. This week I also found some awesome ideas for my wedding. Not like it`s happening soon or anything, but ideas like these take years of careful planning. So, the family of one of our converts is from Oaxaca (southern part of Mexico) and they truly know how to throw a party. Basically a wedding party there lasts for 2 weeks. The whole town or village is invited and participates and they have some awesome traditions. My favorite by far is this type of parade they do. Basically there`s a big ole band that plays music throughout the entire town and people slowly start to join and party with them. They also parade around with a bunch of animals too. Cows, chickens, pigs, etc. Basically that`s the food. Yep, they parade what they`re going to eat throughout the streets. Literally a living menu. But! The best part of this whole parade by far is...The Turkey. Yes, a real life turkey. So, a very special person is given the honor of carrying the turkey on its shoulders while parading through the streets. Wait, that`s not all! They are also making the turkey drink taquila in order to get it drunk. A DRUNK TURKEY!! THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT EVERY WEDDING NEEDS!!! I`m sure this isn`t as exciting for many of you as it is for me, but just know that from this point on I refuse to have a drunken turkey-less wedding (sorry/not sorry mom and dad). Well, I`m sure you are all glad to hear that Mexico is inspiring me with such wonderful ideas. It truly is a magical land. I love it so much. Have an amazing week, love you all!!! Love, Elder Foust
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¡Hola!
It has been a wonderful week of small and wonderful miracles! Mainly miracles as far as work is concerned. Normally the last week of the cycle seems pretty slow and the energy kind of dies out, BUT! This week was great! Plans were made, goals were set, and spirits were lifted. It's just the perfect situation to make any missionary happy do what they're doing. The zone did great and we saw a lot of success, but Elder Choc and I had an incredible week. We did divisions twice again this week, but the days we did have together were awesome. We found a lot of new people to teach this week and had amazing lessons with each one of them. Remember also, that it's Elder Choc's last week here on the mission, so we had to make it a great one. We had one lesson on Saturday that by far was the highlight of the week. It was an appointment with a girl we contacted earlier in the week. We actually didn't think she would be there because we knocked on her door and talked to her without her actually opening the door. Normally by how much the door is opened we can measure their level of interest so obviously the odds of her being there and accepting us seemed pretty slim to us. However, she was there andwas interested. Her mom came in and asked us questions and then listened to us as well. The environment was perfect. They truly wanted to know what our message was about and asked questions, participated. It felt comfortable and easy to give the lesson which (in case you didn't know) doesnt always happen the first lesson. The spirit was so strong and it was just perfect. It was especially powerful as we explained the First Vision of Joseph Smith with them. As I shared Joseph's experience and testified of it's truthfulness, my heart burned and I felt so much happiness and love. Love for the two people we were teaching, love for my amazing companion Elder Choc, and love for my Heavenly Father for letting me be apart of this wonderful experience. We committed them to come to church the next day (they came too!!!!) then we left. Walking to our next cita Elder Choc tells me, ''As you taught the First Vision, it hit me. This was the last time I'll teach the Restoration as a missionary.'' I didn't even notice, but he even cried a bit in the lesson. I'm so glad that his last lesson with investigators was an awesome experience and that I was given the opportunity to be a part of it. So, Elder Choc heads home and the entire zone basically has changes. Yep, I'll have to get to know an entire new group of elders including two new district leaders (and my comp as well of course). It has been a crazy week and I know I'm about to have another one. Pero, así es la misión. Thanks for all your love and support, you guys are amazing and I love and miss every one of you! Have an amazing week! Love, Elder Foust ¡Hola!
Well...I've been feeling pretty weird lately. Really wierd. Friday, July 22, 2016 marks exactly one year I've now had in Mexico.ONE. WHOLE. YEAR! This is kind of a big deal people! I keep reflecting over the past year, and wow. Today it hit me a little bit harder. We went to the temple and tried to make it to the 9:00 session but got caught in traffic (and the police now are stopping buses and checking all the bags for weapons which delayed us a bit more). So basically we waited til the 10:00 session when all the missionaries from the CCM go too and wow...ONE YEAR! I was exactly in their shoes. At that point I literally had no idea what kind of amazing experiences and blessings the Lord had prepared for me. In the temple I just felt this overwhelming feeling of gratitude. All the fears that I had one year ago about what was to come have completely faded away. Obviously I have new ones about my life after the mission and saying goodbye to this wonderful life I have now, here in Mexico. However, I now have a different perpective and more trust in the Lord. And the fears and doubts weren't resolved in a few minutes or days upon arriving here in the mission. It took time and effort and faith. Months and months of trial and error and a genuine desire to become better. More faithful, more humble, more selfless. A mission does not miraculously fix all of your problems and instantly make you a better person or a different person. Definitely not. BUT! It gives us one of the biggest opportunities to focus all our time in doing so. I don't want to seem like I now have no problems or that I've learned all that there is to learn on a mission or that I finally ''get'' it all. Mucho menos. I'M ONLY HALFWAY THERE! ANNNNDDD don't think that I'm that naive to think that I'll finaly ''get'' it after 2 years. I have alifetime trial and error. A LIFETIME! Plenty of years to try to understand the incredible truths and blessings of the gospel and to not make such a mess with my perfectly inperfect self. I think after being on the mission for a year now the greatest thing I have learned is that I really don't know that much. BUT! The Lord does. He know like....a lot. So, would I want to trust my triste self or the Lord? Hmmm...toughy. Being a person who is constantly afraid of the future and constantly terrified of failure, it's a incredibly resassuring to have the knowledge that our Heavenly Father truly is in control and we just have to trust Him. Something that I have always known, but never completely understood. Until now. Until the incredible, extremely difficult experiences of the mission. However, I'm forgretful and will forever have this constant struggle of understanding and applying the plane and precious truths that I've known almost all my life. Mortality, gotta love it. BUT WE CAN DO IT! WE CAN DO HARD THINGS! I am just so thankful to be here, at this time in Mexico. I know God has a plan for me and for everyone of us. I know that this mission has worked miracles in my life. I know that I am a representative of Jesus Christ and part of His true church. I know that this past year has been the best one in my entire life and I know that I have another year just waiting for me with just as many beautiful experiences and lessons to be learned. Thanks everyone, for all your love, support and prayers. You are all amazing and I miss and love you. WELL! It has been an exhausting day and I think I'm a bit emotional and need to talk to some food about it. SO! Hasta la próxima! Love, Elder Foust ¡Hola!
Wow, I'm already heading into my 4th week here in barrio Villada with Elder Choc. Only 3 more weeks until he goes home and I get a new comp!!! I feel like we just started all this craziness. But...that's just how the mission works. So this week was another full week of divisions. I feel like all I do is run around and I'm hardly in my area but, I only have a little bit of time to get to know everything before changes. I spent all day Wednesday with Elder Preciado (we all call him 'Precious' which he just loves) from Guadalajara. He was actually in the same district as me when I came here in the mission. He knows quite a bit of english and is just a super funny, friendly guy. At a time when I barely spoke spanish and was a nervous wreck, he helped me feel a lot better. For that, he'll always be an awesome friend. So, the divisions went amazingly. The only bad, but actually super fun thing was that we got completely soaked in the street. It was raining so hard and we couldn't really avoid it so we just accepted it. People looked at us so wierd laughing and smiling in the pouring rain. It was awesome. Saturday we did divisions again but started them after a quick, delicious breakfast together. One of the elders is from the north and taught us how to make flour tortillas by hand! We even rolled them and everything. Plus, we made homemade salsa, guacamole, and all the fixings for delicious breakfast burritos. They were the best breakfast burritos I've ever had and I ate like 4 of them. It was a great day. The last interesting thing that happened this week was that I renewed my visa! Yep, I'm legal for one more year!!! It was awesome to get together with Elder Gardner and Elder Lynch from my generation. We also went with an awesome Elder from Puerto Rico who will be going home with us as well. It was a cramped taxi ride to Immagration, but it was super fun. Afterwards we made a stop at a store run by Jews that sell a lot of American foods. I got some cream soda and enjoyed every delicious drop of it. The cream soda and burritos were definitely the food highlights for the week. Well, the good ones. Friday night we went to the store to buy some things before heading home for the night and a guy was there shucking oysters on the sidewalk. A bunch of other guys were hanging out there and one of them told me to try one. I politely said no and kind of tried to ignore them as we bought our stuff. I was waiting for my change when I see the guy offer my comp one. Choc asked where they were from and if they were fresh and the guy assured us that they were. He kind of looked scared but at it anyway!! Then, they handed me one. And guess what...I ate it. I don't even like oysters and never ate them at home in nice, authorized establishments but I'm here in Mexico eating them in the street by some random guy. It was 100% peer pressure and it 100% worked. Luckily, I haven't felt too many side effects yet. We'll see.......... Well, obviously I'm still working on my decision making skills but at least it makes for interesting experiences. Hopefully we guys have an awesome week and study1Nephi:18 in the Book of Mormon for your homework. Next week I will post a spiritual thought because I haven't done that in FOREVER and I feel terrible. I mean, everyday I have amazing spiritual experiences and learn new things about the gospel. BUT! It's more important to share the experiences we have and help others learn as well. Okay? Okay. Love, Elder Foust Hey!
HAPPY GRINGO DAY EVERYBODY!!!!!! I know that everyone is just lovin their day in the sun, eating BBQ, hanging with the family and enjoying some awesome fireworks. Definitely miss all of craziness back home. BUT! Don't worry too much. We've celebrate the 4th here in Mexico in our own way. We planned a 2 zone activity at the stake center and spent the day playing volleyball and basketball. YEP, I FINALLY PLAYED VOLLEYBALL FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE MTC!!!! It was amazing. I also shared all my American snacks from my package my parents gave me. After all that we had a wonderful feast of McDonalds and Dominos...GOD BLESS AMERICA! Haha, it was an awesome 4th of July. Now, about the week. Interesting (probably my favorite word, right?). So I got a very bad cold this week which did not make things too fun. Especially since one of the worst days was during divisions. I'm trying to get to know the zone a little bit better since I only have a month left until I'm left all alone here. So, Wednesday I was in a different area. It was terrible. I was such a distraction in every lesson mainly because I looked like I was dying. I was trying to hide it too which probably made it look even more pathetic. Also, I was trying to focus on helping out this elder in his area but I felt absolutely horrible. So I'm struggling to stay alive when the assistants call me to tell me some elders in our zone have special changes (we were on divisions with one companionship affected by the change) and they are going to close an area as well. Also, it was happening tomorrow. Well, that ended divisions. It wasn't really stressful or difficult for me but we did have to run home in the pouring rain so that one of the elders we were with could pack. During all this craziness, I somehow managed to lose my phone on the bus in my rush to get back. Really? I was so mad at myself. I frantically called and called, praying that someone would answer. THEN, SOMEONE DID!!! AND THEY LIVED ONLY A COUPLE CALLES AWAY!!!! So, still sick, still raining, we sprinted to this wonderful saint of a man. I could not stop thanking him and ended up giving him a hug (definitely regretted being a good person after that). What an incredible answer to my prayers. I realized after that, the day wasn't that bad. When we finally got home, I popped some pills, drank hot chocolate and slipped into a magical coma. So, Thursday was still a pretty rough day but I felt a lot better by Friday. Just in time for the next divisions. Elder Butler from Arizona (who's an amazing and ssuuuuuppper tall person) came to my area and we had a great time. Well, today was great but it hasn't ended and I still have to direct a zone meeting tonight. I hope everything is going well back in the States and you all enjoy your 4th of July. I know everything down here in Mexico is just incredible. I love the people I meet and teach, the other missionaries I work with, my amazing companion Elder Choc, all the wonderful friends I've made...the food and so much more! It's crazy/sad to think that probably this time next year I've be saying goodbye to it all. SO! Enjoy life and love the people around. There's really no other way to be happy. I love you all! BYE!! con mucho amor, Elder Foust ¡Hola!
This week has been incredible/interesting/overwhelming/exhausting. So many things have changed and I'm just trying to adjust. Luckily, I'm in a great area with an amazing new companion. His name is Elder Choc and he's from the Yucatan. We will only have 6 weeks together because he is going home at the end of this cycle (like most of the mission it seems). I've got a lot to learn in these 6 weeks! Elder Choc is awesome though and is definitely helping me out a lot. The impact of being a zone leader still didn't really hit me until Friday when we had Mission Leadership Council. All leadership of the mission there with the Stutz's and Nebeker's made for an incredibly inspiring and spiritual experience. I learned so much and truly felt the weight of my new responsibility in a very healthy and motivating way. Hopefully I'll be able to apply all that I learned and truly help the elders in the zone. It truly was an incredible experience and I look forward to the next one. Well, I'm pretty exhausted right now from playing basketball with the zone and I can't think of much else to say. OH, I KNOW! My new apartment has a washing machine!!!! It's amazing. Just that we have to hand fill it with water and pay a lot of attention as it changes cycles so that we can drain the water properly and not flood our apartment. Still miraculous though. Love, Elder Foust Well...
Today's the day. Changes. Sorry I didn't write a post last week but things have been crazy. SO! Last Sunday I got a call from President Stutz and he invited me to be a Zone Leader! I knew that these changes were going to be interesting, but not that interesting. I feel completely honored and overwhelmed with the responsibility. I know it will be a lot of work but it is also a great opportunity to serve and develop further as a missionary. Lots of studying and prayer will definitely help and prepare me. Hijoles... Another interesting and heartbreaking side affect of this new assignation is that I am moving to a new area. This past week and yesterday especially I spent a lot of time saying goodbye. Uhhh...I hate goodbyes. You would think it gets easier, but it feels a lot harder. It was especially hard to say goodbye to our new converts Demetrio and Rodrigo. They were baptized Saturday and it was an incredible day. These wonderful people were truly converted to the Lord. I just know that 15 year old Rodrigo is going to be a great leader in the church in the future. Especially with the help of an amazing father like Demetrio. The love and care he shows for his son is incredible and I admire their relationship so much. It's sad not being able to stay with them and watch their progress first hand, but I'll definitely be looking out for them and checking in from time to time. However, the hardest/easiest goodbye is still pending. JMoney, JTown, JBreezy, Yohnson, Hijo de Juan, Mi Hijo Elder Johnson and I...will finish our time as companions today. Heartwrenching, terrible, devastating, world collapsingy? Yes. Do I want to continue much further? No. Mainly because I'm pretty sure he reads this (Johnson don't read any further). It'll be a hard goodbye. He has definitely become one of my best friends in the entire world. He was an amazing companion and the past 4 1/2 months have been awesome. I'm pretty sure he's ready for a break from all this craziness by now though. He hasn't killed me or anything else yet, so I must be a kinda ok friend. I'll be sure to refer him to the ¨Friends¨with Foust support group I'm sure somebody has formed by now. I'm so proud to have been his first comp and to have had the priviledge to witness his tremendous growth and progress. I can't wait to see what incredible things he does in the future. The goodbye is easy in a way because I'll still see him here on the mission and we've made a blood pact (which may or may not have happened without his knowledge) to meet up after as well. The companionship is over, but Johnson and Foust isn't (I just know he's either rolling his eyes or puking...ni modo!). So. Today's the day. New comp, new area, new responsiblity. All that, AND I'm coming up on a year here on the mission. So many emotions, but I know everything will just be amazing. Love you guys like crazy! Help out your missionaries. Feed them, find them work. The missionaries will feel amazing and I promise you will, too. Have a great week! con muchísimo amor, Elder Foust ¡Hola!
Wow, so I reallly don't have too much time today (I know right, que chafa soy?) BUT! I'll try to give you the run down. So this week, the weather continues to be this crazy mix of extreme heat and downpours. I love the rain, but I feel like I'm going to get sick with all these crazy changes. Plus, it drips wáter in our house but only on the stairs. It's tile too, so it makes for a deadly combination (especially in the mornings). It has been fun though! The work is going great as usually. We've really had some great success with contacts as well. We've found some great people who truly seem interested. We also have some amazing investigators that have their baptisms planned for the 18th. They're amazing and I love visiting them. It's also weird to think that the 18th is the last Saturday of this cycle! The time is flying by. Changes will come soon enough and I have a feeling that I'll be the one moving. Who knows though. It will be a sad/exciting day. Today we went to center and Zocalo with my dear friend Elder Gardner and his companion. I've been a few times now, but it is still awesome to go (especially with awesome people). For breakfast we ate Krispy Kreme and for lunch....guess what I found.....QUIZNOS!!!!!!! I made Johnson get a chicken carbonara and he loved it (of course he did it's the best flippn thing to ever happen to chicken in sandwhich form!!!). I'll definitely come back to visit. Well, that's about it! Just to end things...a list of stupid things I've done this week (that I can remember). 1) I ate most of a boneless wing until I realized it didn't have a bone in it. 2) (this morning) Johnson and I accidently got on an only women's bus. 3) I was contacting a guy in a little store and he puts his hand out across the counter while talking and for some reason I thought it was to shake my hand (it was not). He did keep on talking like nothing happened, but Johnson was in the background dying... Don't I make you proud Mom and Dad? Love, Elder Foust Making homemade peanut butter cookies, interview with Pres. Stutz and a giant fish attack...6/2/2016 ¡Hola!
Well, mission life refuses to slow down! It's crazy thinking that pretty much everyone is out of school and enjoying their summers already. Also, I'm getting dangerously close to my one year mark and it's kind of freaking me out. Like, how the heck did that happen? Time's just flying by! There's not too much to report so I think I'm going to bring back...The List (most of you probably already know that Elder Foust loves making list for about everything (and usually counting wrong or starting and ending the list with 1)) 1) We are officially halfway through this cycle already so the thought of changes are starting to plague my mind once again. Luckily this time, I'm prepared for (almost) anything. 2) Thursday we had interviews which were amazing as usually. Pres. Stutz is incredible. Full of life and full of love. I learn so much from him and left incredibly inspired after our interview. 3) Related to #3, after my interview we saw some members come ready to pull the weeds at the church and President told everyone to stop watching and help! He also told one hermana to take some money and buy some flowers to plant around the church. We got it all done pretty quickly and the church looked great! 4) Last week I made homemade peanut butter cookies in the church for the district meeting. No one uses ovens around here and so I was surprised the one in the church even worked. The first batch got a little too done, but the second turned out great and everyone loved them. Obviously I'm trying to gain their love and respect through their stomachs. Hopefully they don't expect something EVERY week. 5) So yesterday we went to eat with some members who have a gigantic fish tank in their living room. They also have some giant fish along with it. Well, we were all sitting there in the living room, waiting for the food when I hear a splash and suddenly I'm drenched with wáter. One of the monsterous fish jumped and I just happened to be in the splash zone. It was a ton of wáter, too. My hair, my entire back, and the front of my pants all got soaked. I'm pretty sure I smelled a little fishy too. 6) It's pretty weird that I can now be considered a 'bishop's son.' Good luck Bishop Foust, love you and know you'll be great! All the way in Mexico and I can still bug people with my wonderful listing habit. ANYWAYS! Love you all and hope you have a wonderful week! Love, Elder Foust Sorry this is so late in getting posted, it has been a pretty CRAZY week back here at home too. Craig Wearing holes in his shoes, almost dying (again) and helping with English class evaluations...5/23/2016 n¡Hola!
Well, this week was a very hot, yet very wet week as well. Pretty much every day it's scorching hot and I almost die. THEN, it rains at about at 7 when it's already cooling off and I've already melted into a puddle of nothingness. Plus, 2/3 of my shoes have holes in them which makes it that much more interesting in the pouring rain. Luckily, things have been going good so when I walk into the house exhausted from the heat and soaking wet from the rain, I'm usually pretty happy. At the beginning of the week the zone leaders told me I had to do divisions with one of the companionships in the district so Johnson and I parted ways for the day on Friday. I went to Xochitenco with Elder Gutierrez from Honduras. It went pretty well except that the first thing we did in the burning sun was climb a flippin mountain!!!! Ok, not exactly a mountain, BUT! It was a huge, steep, dreadful hill. I realized after that wonderful experience why his comp told me,'Thank you so much Foust, you saved me. OH thank you, thank you!' Uhh...I really almost died that day. However, I was incredibly rewarded at lunch when the Hemana made us cream of broccoli soup. It was worth it. The day after, on Saturday, we woke up bright and early to help out with an English class. It was a class of college students and the teacher just wanted us to speak normally with them. Most of them understood us pretty well. The teacher did not tell us that we would be doing an interview with each one of them and actually grading them. He told us that the grades we would give them would count for their final grade, too. I mean I didn't want to fail anybody! He told us to be completely honest. Johnson and I worked out a pretty good grading system. After an hour and a half of interviews, they invited us out to eat. It turned out to be pretty fun and the teacher told us he wants us to come back and help some other days. Well, that's pretty much it! Have a great week, love you all! Love, Elder Foust Pozole: Basically Mexico's version of manna in soup form. It consists of a meat broth (pork, chicken, steak) with a special type of puffy white corn and seasoned with chilies. Lettuce, radish, onion, oregano, lime, and salsa are then added according to each one's taste. I think that I could eat Pozole everyday of my life and be a happy, fat man. I'm already looking for ways to make it in the states or smuggle it across the border... |
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July 2017
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