Changes are Coming!

  X´be´ij Wachala´al!  I recieved some emails this week with some Q´eqchi in them, so I had to start off with some K´iche´ for all you guys!  Although I bet none of you will have any idea of what I said, just look how I usually start off my emails, and you´ll figure it out!

     This week has been a really good week for us.  We started off the week with two big goals in mind:  Find at least 15 news this week, and extend a baptismal invite to all of our progressing investigators that we have.  And that worked miracles.  We accomplished every single one of our goals.  Found exactly 15 news, and invited everyone to be baptized.  Now, not everyone accepted to be baptized, but it helped us see who was going to progress and who wasn´t.  And some people did accept a fecha!  When you put hard reaching goals, and you do everything you can to reach them, miracles happen.

     Our most positive investigator now is Jorge.  He´s accepted to be baptized on the 29th of March.  He´s basically ready for everything.  He accepts a lot of the doctrine we give him, and when he doesn´t understand, he asks questions to understand.  And they are really good questions.  He couldn´t come to church this Sunday, but when he told us that he couldn´t, he was apologizing like mad!  He promised us to come every Sunday from now on.  He´s looking really good, we just need to keep going with him.

     Also, we went with some old investigators that we had.  They are an older couple that live pretty far away.  Crazy how it happened too.  This week we got a random phone call, and turned out to be the man, Lorenzo.  He just asked how I was doing, and when he figured our that I was still here in Chiquilajá, he invited us to go with him.  And when we went, they were so receptive!  They remembered a lot of our message, and they are eager to learn more.  I am conviced that if they come to church, they´ll for sure get baptized.  (They also accepted a fecha for the 5th of April, but they need to come to church for that to happen.)

     By the way, Antonio is just rediculous.  He´s not taking us seriously, and it´s been really frustruating to me.  And it´s also effecting Cindy.  She didn´t come to church because he didn´t want her to.  We really need to talk serious with them, but they are going on vacation for about two weeks.  Great...  So things are slowing down with him, but we are going to keep at it.

     They are the people that accepted to be baptized.  We really tried to have everyone accept a fecha, but we didn´t have too much luck.  But we´ve got some progressing investigators that are looking good, and I´m sure we´ll be able toput more fechas this week.

     Also, I´ve been enjoying a lot contacting recently.  Like, a lot.  There are some really amazing things that happen when I find myself contacting.  And, for me, I guess I´ve kind of made it a game when the people aren´t interested.  I try to make them change their mind as much as I can.  For example, there have been people that say they don´t want us to visit them, and 5 minutes later, we have an appointment with them.  Could you call that manipulation?  I guess.  But it´s for a good cause!  Jaja

     I´ve been really working on making my studies more efficient.  I gues Elder Welker, my comp from the CCM, was thinking the same thing recently!  Jaja but for a while, I´ve been studying to strengthen my testimony, be more sure about things, etc.  But recently, I´ve been trying to focus on what my investigator needs.  Really praying about their needs, and how I can help them.  It´s been incredible.  My studies just seem...  better.  I´ve been getting a lot more out of my studies, and that always helps.

     Talking with my comp this week, I´ve realized that there is a point in every convert´s lives that they change from a convert to a member.  And it´s a very needed change.  For example, a man named Pedro that has been baptized a little over a month is already a member, because he´s magnifying his callings, and really just plain pilas.  On the other hand, there is a convert her named Martha who has been baptized since August, but she is still a convert.  Why do I say that?  Because she doesn´t go to church every week, she´s not sure about what she´s doing, etc.  And we need to help the people make that transition.  it is so important, becuase it´s the difference between active and inactive when their testimony is tried.

     Hoo, I hope you all understood that last paragraph...

     Well, that´s about it for now.  I´m thinking I´m in my last week in this area, becuase changes are next week.  But you never know.  But in case I do, I´m going to go out with a bang.  Until next time!

     - Elder Stuart

     P.S. Read 1 Samuel 10:8, and then 1 Samuel 13:5-14, and think about the importance of Profets/Priesthood.  And if you want, D&C 98:14-15

¡Xbe´ij watchalal!

¡Hola Familia!  Man oh man what a good time it is to be a missionary now.  I´ve been doing a lot of reflexion this week, and it´s incredible for me to realize that I´m a missionary.  I´ve been remembering all the times when I was little where I thought "Man, those missionaries are so old and so great."  And now I´m one of those missionaries!  We are in the time that we need to hasten this work, and I am a part of it!  The Lord is asking us to do all that we can to spread this gospel to all nations, and I´m in the heart of the work.  What a blessing.

     Well, after that paragraph, it´s kind of rough talking about this week.  It wasn´t the best week in the world; more than anything everything just went by really slow.  We had been spending so much time on Cruz that we kind of neglected the other parts of the work, so we are suffering from that now.  Not gonna lie, it´s been kind of frustruating for me spending most of the week trying to pick this area up again, and not watching it happen.  But I feel like that is one of the biggest reasons that I came to this mission.  To work on my patience.  And I feel like I am doing a lot better.  Tht doesn´t mean that I´m perfect yet, but I´ll get there!

     We do have one really good prospect.  Antonio, Cindy´s husband, is now listening to us.  Cindy has been baptized for about a month now, but she´s on fire!  She wants to do everything possible for us to baptize Antonio.  And she´s super pilas too!  Jaja for example, this Friday we went to teach Antonio about the BoM, and basically she taught the whole lesson.  She´s got a super strong testimony, and she´s gonna be the key factor for us to baptize her husband.  If we keep going at it, I feel like I could baptize him before I leave this area.

     This week was Stake Conference, and of the four hours that I went to, about 3 of them were all focused on missionary work.  I don´t remember that happening when I was back home, but now missionary work seems to be sneaking up in every church meeting that I go to.  The Lord really is wanting us to pick up the pace.

     This week, I´ve been focusing a lot on my BoM study, and I´ve slowly been realizing more and more how important this book really is.  I know for a fact that it is true, and it is the word of God.  This week during a lesson, we had one investigator tell us that he wanted a dream telling him the BoM is true.  And before I knew it, I was testifying to him that in my 20 years of being a member, I´ve never had any manifestation, dream, voice, or anything of the sort telling me that it was true.  It´s just been year after year of studying it,  and I know that it is true.  There is no doubt of any sort in my mind.  

     Well, that´s about it for this week.  We are going to be working hard this week to get a lot more investigators to teach, so that we can pick up the work here.  I just want you all to know how much I love being out here.  The trials, the work, the culture, the language, the Spirit, and so much more.  There is nothing like it.  Until next time!

    - Elder Stuart

     P.S. 1 Nefi 6:5,  and try replacing the word "write" for "do".

What a Week(end)!

Hello Family!  This has been one of those weeks where I`m just so happy to be a missionary.  This work is absolutely amazing, and I`m so grateful to be part of it.  I`ve got to do as much good as possible while I`m here in Guatemala, and I`m ready to do it.

     As you can all tell, this week is highlighted by the weekend, so I`ll start there.  On Saturday, Cruz was baptized!  It was a really spiritual service, and a really meaningful one for me also, because it was one of the baptisms that we had to work hard for.  I want to tell you guys a little bit how it happened, so you all know.

     Cruz was in the States when I got here, and also when Martha (his wife) and the whole family got baptized.  So in November, when we heard that he was going to come here, we thought we would get a good baptism easy.  But when he got here, and we tried to talk to him, he didn`t want anything to do with us.  And that continued for a couple of weeks.

     Then one week we had an activity at the temple, and Martha wanted to go.  Cruz ended up taking them to the temple, with plans to just go home right away.  But Martha ended up convincing him to stay, so he did.  And he loved it!  He felt the spirit so strong, and the next time we went to their house, he stayed to talk with us!  And he even came to chruch the next week!  

     But, the thing was is that he hada lot of problems that he needed to get fixed, but he was willing to do it.  It took some time, but he did it!  And he ended up being baptized.  What a journey that was for me!  I loved it, especially because it ended up great!  Haha but that was Saturday.

     Short story really quick.  On Saturday morning, we went to go fill up the baptismal font, but figured out there was no water...  Great.  So we left and decided to try again in the afternoon.  Well, there still wasn`t water...  So we had to think fast, and ended up asking for water hoses from all the neighbors, and planned to ask water from a neighbor to fill it up.  Well, long story short, after a few broken hoses, neighbors leaving, and all that stuff, we decided to just change chapels.  So we went to the next ward over.  Satan was trying to stop the baptism, but he couldn`t!

     Sunday was also a very special day.  I would dare say that it was my favorite Sacrament meeting in church in the mission.  A couple of things happened.  Cindy, who was baptized three weeks ago gave the opening prayer, and did amazing!  I got to confirm Cruz a member of the church.  (I also got to baptize him).  The Stake President was there, and gave an amazing talk.  It was just a very powerful and spritual meeting.  A great sunday overall.

     And today, we went to some tourist spot all the way up the mountain in Xela.  It was really fun.  There were hot springs (couldn`t get in...), a great lookout, and an awesome restaurant.  It was really fun, and it made me remember a lot of Italy for some reason... But that was really fun.

     Wow... This has been a long email.  But I`ll end now, so that you all don`t get bored!  Jaja but seriously, it`s been an amazing week.  A week I`ll never forget.  Until next time!

     - Elder Stuart

     P.S. Moroni 6:1-3

Photos!

What do you get when you are in Guatemala with food that doesn´t agree with your stomach, very cheap toilet paper, and a lot of time and patience?  This.

Just another beautiful picture of Guatemala.

We were walking down the street one day when we see a huge crowd of people.  So naturally, we go to see what´s going on.  Turns out a cow fell in a drainage hole, and people were trying to pull it out.  So we helped out.  In this picture, I´m just off to the left.  And the hole is on the right.

Here´s the cow in the hole.

 This is a painting of one of the lakes here in Guatemala, Lago Atitlán.  This is really what it looks like too.  So beautiful.  (Also, there is a lot of speculation that this might be the Waters of Mormon.)

This is the morning of the baptism that was supposed to start at 11:00.  No one was there!  Not even Cindy and her kids!  The curse of GMST (Guatemalan Mormon Standard Time).

Cindy and her kids.

The family and I!

Getting ready for the baptism!

The turnout of the baptism.

Some kid playing in church.  Made me laugh.

Amazing Week

  Hello Family!  This week was absolutely amazing.  We had a really good start to the week, and to top it all off, Cindy and her two kids (Michelle and Antony) were baptized on Saturday!  This has been one of the weeks in the mission where I know for a fact I am where I am supossed to be.

     So I want to tell a little bit about how Cindy came around to be baptized.  This is the first baptism I´ve had that we found them knocking doors.  (The rest are references)  Her husband Antonio attended us, and we didn´t even see her until like the fourth visit.  But when we did, she didn´t really want to talk to us, and was so sure that her church was the right one.  That was back in November.

     But over time, the whole family didn´t progress, so we stopped visiting them for a while.  But one time, about 3 weeks after we stopped visiting them, we were up by their house, and Elder Josec and I both felt the impression to visit them again.  So we did, and turns out the Cindy needed a lot of help from someone exactly then.  So we helped her out a little bit, and left, not thinking much about it.

      But ever since then, she started to warm up to us.  We never saw Antionio because he got a new job, and he always got home late.  But we started to teach Cindy again, and now she started to accept it.  She made the necessary changes in her life, and she just looked happier.  

     But there was one night about 2 weeks ago, where Antonio came home late, and was really drunk.  Long story short, he threw Cindy and her kids out on the street, and we just happened to pass by when that happened.  So we arranged for them to sleep in a member´s house for the night, and while we were looking, we had an amazing talk with her about the church, and how she loves it.  We talked a little bit about baptism, and she told us she would think about it.

     So now this Tuesday passed, and we had an amazing cita with her.  We felt the spirit so strong, and Cindy and her two kids agreed to be baptized!  Michelle, the little girl asked us, "How soon can we do it?"  So amazing.  So on Saturday, they were baptized!  So amazing.  They were so happy, and it showed.  Everyone could see how happy they were.  

      As for baptisms, this has probably been one of the most rewarding ones for me.  I saw their conversion from start to finish, and I was there every step of the way.  It has been on of the highlights of my entire mission.  And I´m so glad that I was a part of it!

      Wow, that took up a lot of space...  I just needed to tell you guys about her so that you can understand what I´m feeling!  

     As for the rest of the week, we worked really hard at the beginning of the week, because we knew that the rest of our time was going to be taken up by the baptism.  But we still had some really good lessons, and found some really good people to teach.  

     As for me, I´ve been feeling the Spirit more than ever recently.  That has been one of my goals for the home stretch of my mission.  It´s one of the things about the mission that is unexplainable.  It also is one of my biggest fears about going home, because I won´t have the same opportunities to feel the Spirit.  But we always have to be working so that we can feel it.

     I feel like this letter is really jumbled, but I hope you all get what i´m trying to say...  But if not, just act like you do!  Jaja but I hope that you all have a great week.  I love you all!  Until next time!

     - Elder Stuart

     P.S. This week isn´t really a scripture, but a talk.  http://www2.byui.edu/Presentations/transcripts/religionsymposium/2003_01_25_bednar.htm  Read it!  It´s so good!

An Apostle in Xela!

    Hello Family!  This week has been a really good week for us all around.   We´ve had really good lessons, found some really good people to teach, and to top it all off, we had Elder Cook of the Quorum of the 12 come and talk to our mission!  I´ve definitely learned a lot this week, and I hope to be able to communicate what I am thinking today...  So here goes!

     So, as I said before, this Saturday Elder Cook came to talk to us.  And I learned a bunch from the conference overall.  I´d like to start with something that Elder Duncan, a seventy, taught us.  He told a story of an Elder that was serving a mission in England.  Things were going hard, and he and his comp decided to start talking more about the Savior, and try and avoid the Restoration.  But he started feeling depressed, and thinking about going home.  So one day, he decided to pray, and he heard a voice that said, "Testify about the Restoration."  So he did, and he felt so much better about his mission.

     What we are to learn from this is that we have a very special/unique message for the world, and that is the Restoration.  We shouldn´t be afraid to talk about it, because that is the basis of our message.  There have been times in my mission when I´ve found someone really pilas, and I want them to progress, but I think to myself, "What if they get offended by Joseph Smith and the Restoration?"  But it is so necessary for the people to realize that a restoration has happened.  Everyone should know about it, and if they want to accept it is up to them.  But it´s our job to teach them about it.  A really good reminder of how important the restoration really is!

     And then Elder Cook got up.  Man, I could tell that he really is an Apostle of the Lord.  He brought a spirit like none other when he walked in.  And he is so smart about the scriptures!  Blew my mind.  But he talked a lot about how we as missionaries are sent to a ward/branch to strengthen it.  And we need to be part of it to do that.  And then he shared D&C 112:33, and talked about how important yet solemn our job as missionaries is.  There have been times when I have forgot how important it is not only to be a missionary, but to be a good one.  There is no substitute.

     But the best part of it all was the apostolic witness that he shared with us.  As he was bearing his testimony, he said this:  "I testify to you all that Jesus Christ lives.  I know the Lord.  I know his voice.  And there is nothing that can make me deny this."  Wow...  The Spirit was so thick (for lack of a better word) that I knew it was there.  And I also knew that what I am doing is the Lord´s work.  So yeah, this week was one filled with the Spirit.  

     Things are going good investigator wise also.  With Cindy and her children, they are still set for this Saturday, so we are just going to visit them a lot this week to make sure that they are still on board.  And a good thing with them is that they are putting the example for Antonio, the husband.  He came to church this week because of them!  If they can just keep being the example, I have a feeling that the whole family will one day be members.

     Wosvelí is still as prepared as ever, and this week we started his divorce process, but I´ll be long gone before it´s done.  But the important thing is that he gets baptized eventually.

     We´ve also got some really cool people that we are working with right now, they just need to take the next step towards baptism.  But things are really looking good here in Chiquilajá!

     I love you all, and love how close we all are.  I was thinking about it the other day, one of a missionaries biggest drives is how close his family/friend relations are at home.  And I´m so grateful to have a VERY strong one.  I love you all so much.  Until next time!

     - Elder Stuart

     P.S. James 3:4  (Also 3-5)

"Just Keep Going"

    Hello Family!  Here I am, yet again, but now I´m finally writing to you guys a real Elder in the mission!  I just completed 18 months in the mission this week, so now I´m done with my Sister Mission!  Just 6 months are left.  That is so weird to think about sometimes.  There are times that I feel really excited about coming home, but then there I times I feel really sad about leaving here.  But it´s bound to come soon, so I´ve just got to make the most of it!

     This week we had a really special moment with a really special family.  This is a family that we have known for a while now.  (Almost 3 months!)  The mom´s name is Cindy, and her husband is Antonio.  I´ve talked about them in a couple of emails now, but now they deserve special mention.  Well, Antonio has become a drunk again and has made life really hard for Cindy and her kids.  But amist all that, she has recieved her answer.  She and two of her kids have accepted to be baptized on the 25th of January!  I´m so happy.  

     The most interesting thing about them is that there have been a lot of times where I have thought, "Well, they aren´t going to progress anymore, it´s probably just better if we drop them."  But I never did, and I am so grateful for it.  It´s like Heavenly Father was saying to me, "Just keep going."  He really does know best.

     Other than that though, the week wasn´t that good.  Both Cruz and Wosvelí were out of town all week, so we haven´t seen them at all.  The divorce for Wosvelí is going to take longer than we thought, so that´s not good.  And Cruz isn´t really feeling it anymore.  We have a FHE with him tonight, so we are going to really try and bring the spirit so that he can feel it.  

     Another really cool thing.  Elder Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve is coming here on Saturday!  He is going to talk to all the missionaries in the mission, and 
I´m so stoked for it!  I never thought that anything like this would happen while I was in the mission, but I have the chance to be instructed by a living apostle!  Amazing.

     I want to share with you guys something that I studied this week.  Let´s go to Alma 20.  In verse 2, the Lord tells Ammon not to the land of Nephi, because the King will try to kill him.  And later on, we read in verse 8 that, as Ammon obeyed the Lord and went a different way, who else comes along but the very King that Ammon was meant to avoid.  When I first read this, I was like, "What?"  Really confused.  So I started to think about it.  

      I think that no matter what, the Lord was going to put the King in Ammon´s path.  But what happened with that depended on Ammon´s obedience.  Ammon listened to the Lord and went the other way.  I imagine that if Ammon didn´t listen to the Lord and saw the King, he would have been killed without quesitons.  But when Ammon obeyed the Lord, his meeting with the King was really positive, and ended up saving his brothers and converting the King.  

     This really just screams "Be obedient!"  Sometimes things are going to happen regardless of what we do.  But the consequences depends on how willing we are willing to submit ourselves to the Lord´s will.  

      I really am enjoying myself a lot in the mission field.  I am learning a lot about myself, and I think that is one of the main reasons I am here.  I know what I am doing is the Lord´s work.  I love you all, and love all of your support.  Until next time!

     - Elder Stuart

     P.S.  Well, if you guys want another scripture other than the one in the letter, take 1 Nefi 17:35, just the first line.  (Up to where it says God for the first time.)  Think about it along with obedience.

¡Feliz Navidad!

    Hello Family!  I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas!  Filled with fireworks and everything!... Oh wait, that`s just us in Guatemala...  So yeah, that`s just for Jeffrey and I.  (Unless my limited knowledge of other countries comes into play here...)  But anyways, I hope that all of you had an amazing Christmas, filled with a bunch of Christmas Spirit!  I hope that we all did what President Monson said, and make sure to take off that last syllable of Christmas to remember what it is really about.

      I really like what my brother Jeffrey said this week, that all of us missionaries that are serving are giving the best birthday present we could to the Person whose birthday we are celebrating.  (That sentence is probably really weirdly structured.  Just bear with it.)  

     But now we have moved on, and it`s time for us to think about the next year, 2014!  (Wow time is going by way too fast...)  People always talk about resolutions this time of year, and honestly, I`ve never really done them.  But I think that it is important that we think of ways that we can be better people, and really stick to what we committed to.  Especially with a spirit of Christ in mind.  We all can be better, now it`s just up to us to do what we can!

     The mission`s got a really good idea with resolutions and all that.  We are trying out a 40 day and 40 night fast of things that we know we have to change.  Every one of us has something to change, so now we are promising to fast about it, and make sure that we are better missionaries.  We need to make sure we have the spirit with us at all times, so this should help us out!

     Now I just feel like this letter is just a bunch of thoughts about this time of year.  Let`s get on to what`s going down in Guatemala.

     Just to start off, we had 6 people in Sacrament Meeting this week.  That`s tied with my all time high.  I guess people are just in the Christmas Spirit!

     Our most positive people are Cruz and his daughter Sharon right now.  They are coming to church, and are still set for their baptismal date on the 11th of January.  They`ve got no real problems right now, so we are just still preparing them for their date!  I`m really excited for them.

      And now I`ve got to tell you guys about a man named Miguel.  He is a really good friend of Cruz`s family.  He`s about 70, and he`s really got no family around.  And on top of all of that, he`s almost deaf.  Well, he`s been around whenever we teach Cruz and Sharon, but we haven`t really been paying attention to him.  But on Sunday, we had started church and everything, with everyone inside already.  But after the Sacrament, who else walks in but Miguel.  He came on his own!  He just walked in like he knew exactly what he knew he was doing!  So we are definitely going to see what`s up with him this week!  Man I love miracles.  Sometimes I feel like I should deserve them, but when we are on the Lord`s errand, everything is possible.

     We also had a mom and her three kids come to church this week.  Her name is Cindy, and she is the wife of an Antonio that we had been visiting a couple months back.  Antonio now doesn`t want anything to do with us, but Cindy does.  She really wants to know about the truth, and where to find it.  So we are really going to help her out.  And after about 2 and a half months of knowing her, she finally came to church!  I`m really hoping and praying that she will keep acting on the faith that she has!

     I don`t know, it`s been just a really good week this week.  I was just talking to Elder Keele about it, and Sunday`s are what makes or breaks your success in the week.  You can have the best week in the world lesson-wise, but if no one comes to church, it feels really hollow.  But when people take that step of faith and come to chruch, it`s like walking on air.  There is no other feeling quite like it.

     Sometimes I feel like I am being blessed way to much than I deserve.  I`ve realized this week that I have a lot of faults.  I am a very imperfect person.  But God takes those imperfect people, and has them do what they do best.  There is a spot for all of us in this world!  We all have our part to play, no matter how small.  I think it was President Uchtdorf who said one time, that the world is like a Symphony, and we are the players.  If we don`t do our part, the show will go on.  But with our help, everything is just better.  We need to remember that always.

      Wow, this letter`s a honker, that`s for sure.  I just feel like putting all of my thoughts down, so you guys know what I`m thinking.  Above all though, I don`t know what I would`ve done without the mission.  I would`ve been a completely different person, and not for the better.  I am infinitely grateful to my Heavenly Father for this chance that I have.  He really is our Father, and Jesus Christ is our Brother.  We are SO blessed to be a part of this Gospel.  I know it.  And I love it.

     Until Next Time!

     - Elder Stuart

     P.S.  Malachi 3:3  This one takes a bit of explination.  A refiner and purifier of silver purifies his silver in a very special way.  He has to take the silver with tongs, sit right next to the fire, and hold it in there while it is being purified.  He knows it`s done when the silver shines and he can see his reflection in it.  Now we just need to compare ourselves to the silver and God to the refiner.  And look up Alma 5:14 while we are at it.

     P.P.S.  I really hope that last paragraph makes sense.

      P.P.P.S.  If any of you make it to this point in the email, you deserve a hug.  Just wait seven months and it`ll come!