Us with Miriam
Familia Hernandez Maya

SUCCESS!
Apaxco has literally exploded with missionary work. This week was my first baptism of a person that I found and did everything with, and I even got to baptize her. Her name is Miriam, and her whole family (Enrique, Beatriz, Maria, and Luis, not the 3 year old Alexis) are going to be baptized in the next few weeks. We also found an excellent family who is the brother of the less active family that we reactivated (the one that had TONS of problems) and they're all preparing for the 13 to be baptized. We also have several prospective investigators that are actually fairly promising. I'm just so excited about the work now! Heavenly Father has blessed us so much for being willing to submit our will to His and to do all that He has asked us to do. Honestly, I'm looking forward to another transfer here in Apaxco, and I kind of feel right now that it will happen. Things are just going great.
I had an amazing teaching experience this week with Fam. Acevedo (the reference from the reactivated, formerly less-active family) in the which the wife basically unloaded everything on us (which we were actually hoping for, so that was good first of all) and told us how her husband had cheated on her 6 months ago, but they're still together, she's had this kind of problem and the other and just feels like she needs to get closer to God. After she told us that, the Spirit told me so strongly that I needed to share Alma 36:18-21 (Alma sharing when he was converted to Helaman). So I did. I have never felt like I was doing the Lord's will as a missionary more than in that moment. I absolutely know that I was an instrument in the Lord's hands to help one of His daughters to feel His redeeming love and the power of His Atonement. It was so amazing to think that the Lord considered me worthy and able to literally save her soul from the gall of bitterness and misery. There was a visible change in her from then on (not just because we were both crying), and she just seems happier with life. It was just so amazing to be a part of that experience.
That's really just how Mr. Durtschi is (from my experience and Alyssa's), so don't feel too bad about it. I'm glad the concert went well and that you saw Trent's mom. I actually had a dream with him the other night, and I've been wondering how he's doing. He's right at about 10 months now, and last I heard (in June), things were going just swell. It makes me excited for when everyone gets home and we can all share our experiences and everything. I'm sorry that Lys hurt her finger. I really hope it starts getting better and that you make it out of your surgery alive. I'll be praying for you. I've thought a lot about what I would say in a talk coming home, and I've got a lot of really good Elder Holland inspired ideas that I know mom would just love. The mission gave us a DVD with a talk by him and Elder Eyring that are both really powerful that I'm making you all watch when we get home. I really hope that when I do come home, I'll be changed enough that I'll be able to impact someone with something the Lord inspires me to say. That's really cool that you had that fireside about missionary work. I think it would be just amazing if you and dad went on a mission (after I'm done with college, though. I need your half-tuition benefits), especially if you learned Spanish. I think the whole family should come back to Mexico sometime no matter what, though. We could visit my mission and Brigham's and just have a great time (maybe even a side stop in Cancun, just for the fun of it). It would be fun if you learned Spanish, as well. You're basically just left out right now being the only ones that don't speak it. That, and me and Brigham will be in our own world with our own Spanish while Lys and Manuel are in their world, and Scott and Tara in their scholastic Spanish world. Who knows, maybe my semi-chilango Spanish is different enough from Brigham's that we won't even relate that much. Anyway, that's all I have to say about that. Also, I don't know why you titled this email "hurricane issues?"
I almost forgot, but we had Zone Conference this week, as well, which was great. President Call spoke a lot about what happened to me with Sr. Acevedo (not me specifically, but the principle) about how we need to be motivated by love for the people and for Heavenly Father and Jesus or the work will never happen as effectively as it should. It was really nice to have that emphasized so much for me this week.
Well I hope everyone has a great week, and that things go as well there as they are here. I know that the Lord is guiding us and helping us. His hand is everywhere in my life, and I know that He is molding me into the missionary that He needs me to be to help His children. I know that this church is true. The Lord leads and guides us through a living prophet that knows our needs and who will guide us in the Lord's paths. I know that through weekly participation of the sacrament that we can renew our baptismal and other covenants in order to be cleansed from sin. The Holy Ghost will lead and guide us as we do so, and we can all be faithful servants of the Lord when we listen to His promptings. I know that this is the Lord's work, and that I couldn't do it without His help. I'm so grateful for everyone's support (including Emily and Betsy for letters this week), and I know the Lord is blessing you for it. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances that He has set forth for us. Strive to do your best, and the Lord will do the rest.

Elder Joseph Facer

PS happy birthday to Scott this week! You're so old!