One more day!

Talofa Everyone!

So this week has been kinda crazy with everything that has been going on with us leaving on Saturday. 

Our Tuesday devotional was, in my oponion, the best one yet! Elder Walker of the Emeritus General Authority and he was awesome! He talked about he 10 steps in missionary work and it hit me so hard knowing that I was going to be leaving a doing this in less than a week! We alwasy have a devotional review after and it hit us this week that we were all leaving this week and going our own ways because we have all been so close! (In our district, there are 2 elders going to Hawaii and a sister going to Oakland Samoan speaking)

On Wednesday, My companions and I got picked to teach an investigator in front of like 60 new missionaries so that was kind of nerve racking but it was actually one of the funnest and best experiences I have had here! 

On Thursday, we had in field orientation for 9 hours and well that was.... fun! haha! They talked to us a lot about how members work hand in hand with missionaries. And also they talked to us a lot about how referrals are one of the biggest tools missionaries use when out in the field!

Thursday night, our teacher showed us lots of pictures and stuff he got in Samoa and this is definently going to be an adventure! The food he eats is pretty crazy looking haha! We also taught a lesson over skype to a lady in Samoa and that was the coolest experience too! 

The Samoan is definently coming! Everyone says that when you get there you wont understand what anybody is saying for the first month so this is going to be fun.. haha!!

So we leave the MTC at 4 pm tomorrow and we are so excited! This week we have just been counting down! haha probably cuz we are all excited to call our families! If any of you have international plans and I would love to call and talk to you in New Zealand because I have a 8 hour layover there haha! 

As much as I love the MTC... I am beyond excited to start the work in Samoa! Even though I wont be able to speak the language very good are know anything about anything... I am so EXCITED!! Atleast I know Heavenly Father is on my side!

I am so excited to fly because it will be fun being in the real world because its crazy how secluded from the world you are at the MTC!

Well I cant wait to send you my first email from Samoa! Thank you all for your support and love! I love and miss you all! 

Love, Elder Fawson

One month down!

I love Fridays!  One more week and it will be Mondays! I can't believe he heads to Samoa in a week!  So excited for him!  He said that he has already gained 12 pounds!!!! Yikes,  we might have to send him a new wardrobe! Here is his letter for this week!  Thank you all for your love and support!

Talofa Aiga! (Friends and Family)

Well I got my travel plans! I leave to Samoa next Saturday! I fly to LA, 2 hour layover, then to New Zealand, 8 hour layover, then to Samoa! I will send a pic of the exact times! Time literally seems to fly now! Its crazy! As much as I love the MTC... I am beyond excited to leave to Samoa!!

The language is coming along! I can translate sentences right over and we are conversating in Samoan and talking as much of it as we can! This week in class we have talked a lot about the Samoan culture and it is SOO cool!!

It is all about respect. Before you enter on to someones property you yell this speech to them:

Ia! Fa'malulu atu le solivale i lau fanua nei. Ae pe maua se avanoa i le ma talatalanoa ma fa'amasani. Ona tu'umule ai lea ma fa'aauau a ma asiasiga!

It basically just says that we would love the oppurtunity to come onto their land to converse or we can leave and go on our way!

And then once you get in the house there is one you say that is like three times longer! haha! And when people ask you questions you say thank you for giving me the oppurtunity to answer your question! There is just lots of stuff like that and much more! But man I couldn't be more excited!

Our devotionals are so awesome! This week they just talked a lot about how we teach people, not lessons and what the most important parts of the gospel are most important to talk to investigators about! 

This week I got to host new missionaries again and I got to bring in one of my friends so that was super duper awesome! I got some Elders that were going to the California Santa Rosa mission too! Some of my friends are starting to come in so its nice to see fimiliar faces! Speaking of familiar faces... I see Noah more now so thats awesome! 

We have so much time to study so I have found lots of good scriptures like Moroni 7:33 and Luke 1:37!

We are having TRC lessons will members who want inspiration from the missionaries that speak Samoan and it is the coolest thing of my life! Its a little taste of my life for the next to years and I am so excited!

Thank you for all your support and I love and miss you all!

Love, Elder Fawson

Two weeks till Samoa!

Talofa Everyone!

The days seem to fly by now! As much as I love the MTC Im ready to go to Samoa already haha! I have to admit that the 4th of July was definitely the hardest day because all I could think about all day was family. But I guess I got through it! haha! We got to stay out from 9:30 to 11:30 to watch fireworks! We then went back to our resdience and a couple of these new elders from Samoa and Tonga in our zone showed us how to HAKA and it was THE COOLEST THING!! 

The Devotionals on Sunday and Tuesday were awesome! On Tuesday, Elder Condie of the seventy spoke to us and he was hilarious! He was talking about the importance of the first vision and how it is the base of our religion and he said, "If you ever question if the First Vision happened, Ask God.... He was there!!!!" Everybody was like crying of laughter!

The Samoan is coming! We are starting to form our own sentences and starting to understand a lot of what our teacher is even saying now! haha!

On Wednesday, We got the opportunity to host new missionaries and holy cow it brought back a lot of memories! But its crazy how many tears there are when Elders and Sisters say goodbye to their families but then as soon as they turn around they instantly go away and they have the biggest smile on their face! I was looking for Noah to go host him but sadly couldn't find him. I did see him when was getting taken to his residence! It is so cool to see lots of friends coming into the MTC!!

So we will be departing the MTC saturday July 25th! So we have a calendar on our wall counting down the days!! 

Man I love my companions and my district! I know for sure that there is a reason we are all together!

Before I came here, well lets just say I didnt like to read... AT ALL! But now having 3 hours to study after dinner I have come to actually like reading! haha! I have read Our Search for Happiness and half of the Book of Mormon! And I know without doubt it is TRUE!

Thank you for all the letters this week! They really mean a lot! I love and miss you all! 

Love, Elder Fawson

Week Three!

Talofa everyone!

Happy 4th of July! This week has been pretty crazy! Sunday was the best experience of my life! I shook Elder Russel M Nelsons hand and said said hello to Elder David A Bednar and President Uchtdorf! And the best thing about it all was being within feet of the prophet! I know this church is true just by standing by him! He has the strongest spirit and you can probably feel it a mile away! 

My companions and I got called to be the zone leaders so that pretty awesome! We just got 13 new missionaries in our zone that are going to Fiji so now there is 22 Elders and 10 Sisters in our zone! Its filling up quick!

Its fun to see new missionaries every Wednesday because it makes me feel like Im so cool cuz Ive been here for longer haha!

At our Tuesday Devotional, Elder Sitati of the Seventy spoke to us and talked about the trials we all are facing and will face in the field and how to get through them. He said how we need to go out with courage because we have all been called of God to go do the work and it motivated me so much just to go out to Samoa already! Every night my companions and I just talk about how badly we want to just go out and we also talk about how we are going to wash our clothes in buckets haha!

MTC basketball is still the best thing ever! We always have gym before or after lunch and It is my second favorite part of the day!... Behind going to bed! haha! My Samoan district is so awesome and I know that Heavenly Father wanted us all together for a reason! And I love my companions! They honestly make me a better missionary each and every day! 

For the 4th we get to go out till the field and stay out there till like 11:30 to watch the fireworks so that was pretty cool news! 

This week has been awesome too because we are now teaching are "investigator" in Samoan with no notes or anything! The gift of tongues is so real and there is no way we would all learn this language this fast without it!

We will be leaving on the 25th of July now so in 22 days!!!

Thank you all for your support and everything you have all done for me! I miss and love you all!

2 Nephi 31:20

Love,

Elder Fawson

It's Friday!

Talofa Everyone!

Well its been 9 days and im still loving every minute of it! My companions and I have already taught 5 lessons in Samoan! On monday we have to teach our lessons in Samoan without any notes or anything so that will be very interesting haha! I can pray and say a lot of things in Samoan now so thats awesome! Ive come to realize the gift of tongues is soo real! If any of you are wondering my schedule:

6:30 Wake up

7:00 Breakfast

7:40-12:00 Classroom (Samoan language)

12:10 LUNCH!!

12:55-5:00 Classroom (Gospel and Samoan)

5:10 DINNER!!

6:00-9:25 Personal and Companionship Study

And then till 10:30 we go play Uno or just mess around like 18 year olds do at our residence! haha

As you can see... we do A LOT of studying!! 

I love my district! We all get along so well and it makes time fly by! There is 7 elders in my district including myself! these are some of the funniest guys I have ever been around! 

We had a devotional this sunday by Elder Nash of the seventy and he talked a lot about how we can teach about the plan of salvation to our investigators. At the end he told us to "Dont hold back from the lord! Give him everything you've got! No regrets!" It motivated me sooo much. I wanted to just get up and walk to Samoa haha! 

So this week on Wednesday, 120 new mission presidents came in for training so everything has been so hectic! Most of the apostles and all of the first presidency have been here. My campions and I were asked to pass the sacrament to all the mission presidents and the apostles and the first presidency for this sunday so I will be like 10 feet away from the prophet so that will be the coolest thing of my life!

We had some mission presidents that were going to Mississippi in training come teach us yesterday. It was reall cool because they had us do a lot of role plays and it really help us to learn how to teach from the spirit!

I feel like everywhere you go here you feel the spirit and it almost makes you never want to leave the MTC!

Being here has made me understand the scriptures soo much more and to learn how to make them apply more to my life and I have learned so much about the gospel that I know without a doubt this is the true gospel and that when we ever have doubt or trials we need to turn to our heavenly father and he will help us! When in doubt, Pray it out! I know this is the place I need to be and that I wouldnt want to be anywhere else!

The MTC food is still pretty dang good! We have had steak and shrimp and stuff like that! Every friday night is Papa Johns pizza so thats another great thing about P days! and we had Subway for lunch yesterday!!!

We went to the temple this morning at 6 to do initiatories this morning and it is the best way to start the morning! It will be closed for cleaning for the next 3 fridays so that sucks! but I guess more time to do laundry and email haha!

Thank you guys for all the Dear Elder letters! Its awesome to get something in the mail throughout the week so Fa'fetai! (Thank you)

I love and miss you guys! Thank you for all your support and I will talk to you next friday!

Love, 

Elder Fawson

Our first letter in the mail!

Dear Mom and Dad!

Well like everyone told me... This is so far the hardest thing I have ever done! The MTC is just all repetition so it gets just a little boring sometimes but I mean I still Love it!

The Samoan language is coming along so that's so good! We already memorized a prayer so we can pray in Samoan! So no joke mom I read the letter you sent me all the time! It brings me comfort I guess you could say:) Feel free to send some more!:)

Well tell the kids I love them and miss them a lot! Tell them to enjoy sleeping in! Haha!

The food here is really good so that is awesome! Like we've had Papa Johns and steak! and it was really good!

I miss you guys so much and well I guess you could say I am homesick! Everyone's advice of taking it one day at a time has really helped me and also turning to my Heavenly Father has given me so much comfort! I love you guys and miss you guys so much and you guys are in my prayers!

Love, Elder Fawson

P.S. Does Blake like my phone?:) haha!

P.S.S. Could you please get me some more of the CTR socks from Holmes Clothing:)

E moni le talalelei a lesu keriso! (the gospel is true!)

Yay! First letter from the MTC

We got the best surprise today! Tyler's P-day in the MTC is on Friday! We didn't think we would hear from him until Monday.  So happy to hear he is doing great! So proud! Here is his letter and first pictures!

Talofa Everyone!

Well all I can say is i love the MTC!! It is seriously the hardest thing ive ever done saying goodbye to my family for 2 years but I turned around and i have 2 companions that i already love. Elder Barclay from Paul Idaho and Elder Fenger from Anaheim California! They are 2 way cool elders and its nice because we all came in at the same time so we are all new and dont know what to do! haha but anyway I walked in the MTC and they gave me a yellow packet with my nametags and then the elder took me to my room and i put my stuff down and he took me right to my Samoan language class. Theres 5 elders and 4 sisters in there and we were all new so we had no idea what was being said because our teacher did not speak a lick of english the first 3 hours! I have come to realize that the gift of tongues is soo real because after 2 days of learning it we can speak some of it and we teach an investigator tonight in only Samoan! Its crazy how strong the spirit is here! We had a district meeting last night and i have never felt the spirit so strong before. Our branch president is the coolest guy and he really taught me and made me realize why I am on a mission. Read 3 Nephi 5:13. I was really struggling yesturday with not having my family around and i really wanted to just cry but ive learned that if i turn to my heavenly father he can give me strength to do what i need to do. One of the missionaries in our district didnt have his endowments yet because he was from an island by the marshal islands and today we went to the temple and did a session with him and i can honestly say that i felt so much comfort as i walked out the temple doors and I now know why I am on a mission. Well I miss all of you guys and know that your all in my prayers! Love you guys. I will send some pictures as soon as I can!

Love, 

Elder Fawson

 

This absolutely made our day! So glad to hear he is loving it!

His Room!

His companions Elder Barclay and Elder Fenger!

In Class!

He said he was trying to look tough like Elder Barclay!