December 28, 2015 Christmas!

Guess who got to talk with their family?

thats right.

every missionary around the world.

what a blessing. hahah it was great:) 

sorry but this week i dont even remember what happened because of the skyping with my family!

but my last weeks email wouldnt send for some reason! 

everything is good and we actually had a baptism last sunday... well kinda. 

it was a family i was teaching in my last area that me and Elder Ence had found and taught, we knew they would get baptized but i got transferred so i didnt get to do the actual baptism. but THEY GOT BAPTIZED! thats what matters:) it was Comfort his wife Sithembile and his sister nothando:) their son will be baptized after the holidays!

super nice. well thats about it! im super jealous of everyone basking in the snow in utah, i saw there was a TON of it. so. im jealous!

but everything is okay here and nothing too new has happened!

i want to share some scriptures i came across this week that are super nice:)

Mosiah 26:29

talks about forgiveness and how we can let go

Alma 42:16

talks about how we still need 

correction from sin and 

cannot choose our punishment.

i know i havent made the best choices in my life. but i am grateful that i am able to let go of things that would otherwise drag me down. 

going into this new year, no matter what happens i can say that i am where i want to be doing what i need to be doing! there is no greater thing for me to help me change and become better:) the atonement is real! and my new years goal is to use it even more this next year, and help other receive the blessings it can bring to them and their family:)

Have a Good week!

Elder Fuchs

December 21, 2015 CHRISTmas

This week was dope.

there not tooo much that happened.

but a Family that Elder Ence and i were teaching got baptized and i got to go down and watch the baptism!!:)

it was freaking awesome!! #churchistrue.

i absolutely loved the christmas devotional although it made me trunky, or in other words to think about home for a bit.. i miss the snow man!!

but all is well. ill get over it in like 20 more months right??

we also had our christmas zone conference thing, and it was super fun and there was some reeeeaally good food so thats always nice:) 

ill throw some pics of it up. also i was in the choir.. and they changed my name to Elder Bieber. had a solo and completely killed it. no worries fam. 

everything is good and we are getting a family moving along in the process of getting married and Baptized as soon as possible! so we are hoping and praying to get them within the time of the transfer:) but if not, im sure the other missionaries will help them through it.

Other than that i REALLY miss soccer.. and everything about it. especially because the elders here are kinda boring and too lazy to go out and play soccer.. so i just have my own little practices in the morning with some bricks for cones and a basketball i found here.. so.. it great.

thanks for all the great emails this week friends and family:)

hope you all have an amazing Christmas, and a great rest of your week:)

also my camera is being dumb and im out of time... so no pics this week sorry..

Elder Fuchs

December 14, 2015 Got noooo Power

This week was great! we had some SWEET SWEET rain come down as a blessing for us. it was super awesome and we had a good time walking alllllllllll the way to the church in it.. which is only a few miles away:)

ill attach a video of me being awesome and playing in the rain:)

as for our food and stuff.. well its all gone kinda bad now because the power in our house has been out for the past few days!

other houses around have power so im confused as to why we don't.. but the nights that we havent had power it was nice and cool outside so we weren't dying!

this week not too much happened, just a lot of trying to find new people to teach, because the people we are teaching now arent too interested, and maybe its just not their time! so me and my companion elder avila have been knocking tonnns of doors and talking with many people! problem is, is that everyone is gone to their villages for the holidays!

But i know we'll find people to teach! just gotta work harder!

elder avila and i get along really well and we are good friends! sometimes he just gets down on himself because of the language barrier and that makes him a bit depressed. but all we gotta do it work! so i hope he starts to feel better fast, cuz i dont want a baby for a companion  hahaha , but other than that.. its allllll good.

if you guys need help with desires to serve, or you wanna do more. 

D&C 11:10-25 is absolute $$$ 

love you my friends and family!

thanks for the wonderful emails and pictures you send:)

Elder Fuchs

December 7, 2015 2K15 is coming to a close

This year went by fast.

this week went by suuper quick too!

soo funny story of the week is that, we have been teaching this part member family for the past couple weeks right, and turns out...

They are polygamists... so that's just great. now the kids have to wait probably until they are around 18 to be baptized unless authorized to do otherwise by the church.. but they do go to church every week and they bare their little testimonies, so i have no doubt that they will be baptized when the time is right..

but on the other hand we have had this couple we are working with, Luke and GuGu. they read the BOM everyday and know everything is true, but they arent married. so today we are sorting things out and getting their documents together so that hopefully if all goes right we can take them to the pool party we have in the chapel by the end of the month!

thanks for everyone who emailed me, and shared something to help me out! missions aren't easy, but i know it will make me better than i could ever be!

loving the work, just gotta work harder!

also i was reading in alma, and it has some of my favorite scriptures in there... 

alma 5:26-28  + Alma 34:31,32,34

asks a question first, asking if we were to die right now, would we be ready to stand infront of God?

then it pretty much says if you aren't ready, check yourself.

soften your heart now, because we are preparing to meet god in this life. and when the days comes, and if you still havent accepted, then its too late.

so please, if you have any desire, if you are not sure about something.

Get on your knees in prayer until you are.

God loves us and wants to help us. you just have to be willing to open the door to let him in. don't wait!

love you guys and hope you all have an amazing week:)

Church is true.

S/O to Emily HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY!

Elder Fuchs

November 30, 2015 Coo(leo)

just Found out im going to be here another 6 weeks in Ezulwini!

this place is awesome and probably the nicest/safest area on the entire mission. 

so ... You're welcome mom.

but this week was good we went to america. meaning there were massive houses! im talking like you are walking around in Alpine!. they are nice. we made some good contacts and some not so nice ones.

here white people dont like us as much as i thought they would.. i thought they would be like the Polynesians in america.. when they see eachother they are like "sup fam" and are best friends automatically... but here, its like they came to this place to be as far away from their own race as possible. hahaha its kinda funny sometimes.. but then i remember its racist..

ohh well they are nice people too:)

yesterday i taught the lesson and it was great, lets just say the spirit overcame me and something flew in my eye.. it was good:)

d&c 19: 16-18 is awesome! read it. then read it again. and again.

so today we went on an african safari and saw Rhinos and elephants!! it was sick!! pics to come dont you worry.

also i became joseph smith for about 2.5 second so youll see pics of that too dont you worry.

well not too much has changed! but we do have some baptisms coming up in just a few weeks, and in january the day before transfers with a couple part member families that we have:) so please pray that i can be able to teach them all they need to be ready and to know if this is what they need in their life (which it is.)

thanks for the few that emailed me this week! and i hope everyone has an amazing week to come!!

Happy early Birthday to my Brother Patrick!!

happy Early Birthday to Brittney!!

Elder Fuchs

November 23, 2015 New Area S'good

So this week was hectic! since we both didn't really know anything about the area, because he doesn't speak the language, and because I have to pretty much teach everything hahah!

but it was an amazing week and this next week should be even better! we are finding many people to teach and I know we will only get more:) we have transfers next week and so ill see if I get to stay here another week, or if one of us will leave!

though this change is hard I know that if I just don't worry, everything is going to be just fine:)

just like our mission president said to us at the conference, "if you can fix it, dont worry."  "if you cant fix it, dont worry."  either way dont worry. just do your best and the lord will be there to do the rest:)

my last comp left me with a sweet quote and I wanna share it with you guys:)

"I searched for myself and I could not find,

I searched for my god and I could not see,

I searched for my Brother and I found all three."

keep it real back home.

SHOUTOUT TO NAYELY IT WAS HER BIRTHDAY LAST WEEK AND SHE GOES TO THE MTC THIS WEEK!

SHOUTOUT TO TANNER DAVISON HE LEAVES FOR HIS MISSION THIS WEEK!!!

elder fuchs

November 16, 2015 Emergency Transfer?

sooo our transfer only ends in 2 weeks, but i got emergency transferred because an elder ran away in the middle of the night and his companion only speaks portuguese which is super convenient because we are in the part of our mission where they speak english..

so.. sweet hahaha it was hard to say goodbye to my father (trainer) and my district! they are awesome but now im doing well here!!

dont have too much to say or too much time to say it! so all i have to say is that i am learning a lot and its helping me so much. 

Please pray for me, its hard teaching the lessons bymyself, and i can use all the help from the lord that i can get.. 

thank you guys so much

if you ever need anything don't hesitate to email me:)

elder fuchs

Alma 5:26-28  - Are we doing all we can?

Alma 13:24,25  - The time is coming.

Alma 14. - alma and amulek are savage for this.

#9 Happy Birthday Dad!!

its my dads birthday.. so everyone text him and wish him a happy birthday. 801-4202220:)

jk thats not really his number, but still text it, thatd be funny. 

ALL is well here in africa my friends:)   we are working hard and doing well here, we're finding some new people to teach except for this one family we have they are looking very promising:)

but right when we were about to invite them to our private pool inside the chapel, he tells us that she will be going to south africa for about a montth.. 

so that shattered my entire universe..

still love him though haha.

this week we got to finish general conference, and for all you fortunate people outside of africa, you watched it early this month. just want to say how awesome it was, and how blessed we are to hear these inspired talks! its really amaziing how they can be for us. kinda like they're watching us and know our lives and base their talks on how to help us:) in a way i guess its like that..?

for everyone with scriptures read mosiah 5:13

thats my scripture for the week:)

love you guys and don't forget to email Elder Fuchs.. 

Elder fuchs

i didnt have a chance to take many pics. but i will next week!

#8 "Transfers!!"

My first transfer is DOWNNN.

that went by quick! i only have to do that like 15 more times..

sweet. hahaha ill be home before i know it!

im excited to really see these investigators we have progress! i honestly hope they do! our branch really needs it.

I hope things really go as planned this next transfer and we really get some progression! its always sad when we have to tell people we cant visit them anymore because they wont do anything we ask them to. but as missionaries of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints we are here to find those who are prepared. those who maybe arent quite prepared, maybe we're just here to set the path for someone down the line. My only hope is that my companion and I are doing all that we can and all that we should to be able to have the blessings of the mission.

I know that if we do everything we can, Elder Ence and Elder Fuchs will be blessed! 

I hope you guys will keep me in your prayers these next few weeks as much as i keep you in mine:)

thanks so much to the few that emailed! it means a lot to missionaries:)

elder Fuchs

elder ence and me goin to church

our Branch mission leader and me hahaha

me and sister Jill (one of the members)

#7 "Better Days"

Every day here on the mission just seems to get better and better:)

its amazing the more i try and work, and do other things other than think about how much i wanna play soccer and how much i wanna go on a date with a pretty girl, the happier i am:) hahaha

this week was awesome! we started it off strong having a brii at a members home in Ngwane Park. a brii is just like an african bbq pretty much.. except just chicken. and its on an open flame like pretty much on the floor.. im not sure if it was sanitary, but whatever it was it tasted pretty flippen good hahah.

so this last sunday was amazing... we havent had conference yet but we will this next week, we get everything a little late, because... well.. Africa.. nothing really makes sense here ill tell you that.. hahah but anyway.. we met this guy Nahti and his wife and they are super awesome and just one of our many families we're teaching, and he came to church!! our second person to come to church, so.. baby steps, but it was good:) but it was amazing just to see how much god really cares and prepares his children, in priesthood class was the most amazing.. im sure the teacher had no idea what he had to say would be perfect for the situation that nahti was in, but it was.. and because of that he wants to come watch conference this next week and we will give him a baptismal date this week:) super excited! 

love you guys and for any of you deciding to go on a mission, or maybe you already decided you're not going.. please re-think.. you WILL change lives. not just the people you will serve but your own. i promise you that you will be blessed with a greater understanding of everything in life, and how great and amazing this church is and how much god loves you and his children! 

give it a try, it'll change your life. its already changing mine:)

Elder Fuchs

pics. 

first couple of the brii we had:)

then our district:)

then THEY HAVE MTN DEW:))))))) <3

then the comp and me:)

#6 Time is Flyin!

not too much to say this week! 

everything is going super good and i miss all my friends and fam a lot:) but its good to see everyone is doing good and still going on with their lives!!

this week we taught more families and we were able to get an investigator at church on sunday! that was a big thing because they never come. hahaha

the thing about your mission, is that you meet the most interesting people on the freaking planet!! hahaha its amazing. and constantly you can see that, like i said last week, god puts you wherever he wants you, no matter how much you think you might know where you are going or what you have to do, your plans will change, and you will see some crazy stuff happen:) its awesome to see those things happen everyday!

we had a SUPER weird experience.. so these elders in a different area here in swaziland were contacting and trying to be creative doing it so they would hitch hike, get the dudes number and everything and then hitch hike back to the other side of the area hahaha which is pretty smart.. 

anyway, they come across this white dude here, and apparently HES FROM AMERICA... hahaha and wants to know more about the church and mormons and everything.. and.. he lives in our area:) im super excited! his name is Sean and his wifes name is Nicole! they seem really nice and i cant wait to meet them!! 

love you guys and hope you enjoyed your week as much as i did:)

Elder Fuchs

PS. here is a selfie of me and my comp

what it looks like when you're about to teach a FIRE lesson.

and a dark picture of me and the sunset

#5 "Only God Knows."

then me and some chocolate children (s'cute)

This week was awesome my friends. no matter how much we planned and confirmed our visits, time after time, there were cancellations, and while we were contacting to fill the time and trying to find another lesson, we would find a family. prepared and ready for the gospel of jesus christ.

our lesson dropped with DuDu, one of our struggling members in Ka-Khoza, and we were calling other contacts to find someone we could run and visit.. while we were calling we start contacting through the street and decide to knock some doors, and we werent sure where to go. we found a small area and road we hadnt walked or knocked before. knocked about 5 doors and no one answered or the wife said come later when man is home.

walk a little more, and we find some older guys and some kids playing loud music, and washing their car, we go down and start talking, immediately they run in the house and grab us something to sit on, and some ice water hahaha nicest flippen people ever.. we met brian 37, fortune 32, and fortunate 27 and their mom salena and their kids. none of them lived at home except brian and his kid, and his mom. but for some reason, they were all together at the time we happened to pass by. we talked to them about what we do as missionaries and why we were there, and they expressed how grateful they were for us because they had grown up in a christian home. and they said their mother would beat them with a cane when they wouldnt go to church hahahah (they laughed about it) anywayyy.. by the end of the prayer and brief visit, the two grown men in tears, and thanked us and invited us to come back.

no matter how prepared and sure we were for our plans, god had his own plans for us! i know without a doubt god wanted us to meet and wanted us to walk down that road that for some reason hadnt been walked, but was passed nearly everyday by the missionaries for so many years.

we will meet with them this week and hopefully this wonderful family can grown closer and realize the truthfulness of our message as we share it to them.

i know this is the true church, and i know it can bless families in such a way that no other church or thing in this world can.

i just hope i can be a good enough missionary to be able to help them come to know that as well!

this week FLEW by! and ended on a great note! and started with yet another amazing P-Day hahah we are in town here in Manzini, swaziland and we'll probably hit up KFC across the street after im done emailing and getting some music haha!

never have i appreciated KFC so much in my life! and i also bare testimony of the tenderness of their chicken poppers. sooooo good. hahaha

here's a picture of me and my comp on this sick car we found.

love you guys:)

Elder Fuchs

#4 "Swaziland"

Good but hard week here. 

good because im finally out in my area!! swaziland, manzini area:)

its really developed and nicer compared to the cities and everything in mozambique, theres still the ghettos and everything..(come on im in africa) but its nice cuz we have water to shower and drink:)

also because it was a week of firsts.

got my first bucket shower.

first commitment for baptism.(not in my area)

first companion.

first mosquito net that didnt work.

first time i shaved my head clean.

first time i rode in a shapa (ill explain)

first time in an african safari (pics or it didnt happen)

first time i got malaria

and last but not least, first AREA:)

it was reaaaaaally good this last week i got to work with a sick missionary elder hruby for a few days, and he taught me a lot while i was waiting for my visa to swazi, but i got my first commitment to baptism with him. and its crazy how god puts people in our ways.. every single day. its amazing. 

but yeah my comps name is elder ence, hes a big dude from southern utah, and hes a funny guy! went on an african safari today and it was siick. hahah 

cooking for myself, so ive decided im going to be a stay at home dad. and also i love hot showers.

truly a blessing.. you guys dont realize. hahah

but there was a hard part.

we are pretty much starting from zero.. so pray we get to 100.. quick, lol. and its suuuper unmotivating and gets me down a bit cuz i guess playing sports im a bit motivated by numbers and seeing my success.. and its not that i see people as numbers but im seeing it as my efforts.. which i should probably change. hahah but hey. new week. gonna rip this week a new one. full of investigators and lessons, and you know what?? i think im gonna get a baptism. haha jk, but we'll fur sure get a commitment (if god wants:)) hahah

ill throw some pictures up for you guys of my last few days and maybe even a video. haha i love you guys, and not a day goes by im not missing you guys:)

 pray for my investigators please:)

1 Nephi 6:5 (thats a good one)

(also lied about the malaria)

Elder Fuchs

#3 "Turn uuuuuup"

President & Sister Koch

friends and family.

im in afri-freaking-ca. hahaha found out im going to swaziland today and they speak english and suswati there, suswati is their like dialect, and english is their official language! my comp is gonna be this brazilian guy and hopefully hes not a tool.. hahaha 

AP's and the new missionaries

seems like a nice guy, i met him but hopefully hes not a fubeca.. (lazy missionary) its pretty much exactly what you expect to see here, weve neen living in the mission home for like almost a week now! hahaha kinda sucks but everyone says we are lucky and to enjjoy our time here while it lasts so im guessing its pretty good... but our water has been out for about 5 days now... so were showering at the apartments where some couple missionaries live which is a blessing. hahaha love it here! like i said its pretty much exactly what you think it is like... unless you think its really nice, and like that the food is safe to eat and that people are mean, and that no one lets you come in their house... hahah i love it, you will literally never get the door shut in your face here in maputo or mozambique in general! people like..pretty much just walk around and say hey elders, baptize me. hahaha jk, unless theyre muslims.. theyre good people though, just some a bit stubborn and we have to follow a whole different thing with them cuz if they have ties back to their country then their family will find them and kill them.. so its a bit sketchy with them.. but theres some awesome stuff ive learned, ive gone contacting and gotten pretty much every contact weve talked to, hahaha me and elder carvalho played a game with this family, and ended up getting 37 references.... usually from a member family you might get like 5.. so it was a big deal hahaha.. 

What a really nice neighborhood looks like in the morning.

theres so much to say! but i havent gone to my area yet until probably friday this week.. so we/ll just chill here for a bit.. but im lovin it. so far havent gotten malaria.. but when we first got here i thought i was a bit sick, must have been from being on a plane for over 24 hours hahaha, well hey, i love you guys and i have a couple hours here so go ahead and slip me an email if you wanna talk!  

Pizza

love you guys and hope youre all doing well! hahah i think about you guys a lot! but im not home sick, so dont think youre that special;) hahah 

i pray for you guys and like i said think about you a lot! thanks for helping me hahah #day19... (do they still use hashtags?)

Saying goodbye to the MTC family

Bye to Elder Underwood