This Week in San Francisco el Alto!

     Hello Family!  And here we are, yet another wonderful week having passed by.  I hope that you all enjoyed your week!  Recently I´ve just been realizing that we really need to pay attention to all the blessings that we have daily.  Even when times are hard, God is still there blessing us always.  We just need to open our eyes and know that He is there.  Go look for Him if you guys are feeling down! :)

     Things are going good here in San Francisco.  We are still working with Paloma, and now my goal is just to make sure that she gets baptized before I leave.  She´s amazing, probably more pilas than some of the members here.  It´s just hard for her to take a decision, and that´s why we are here.  She´s been thinking about being baptized on the 12th, so we are going to work with that, and make sure that it happens.  But the good is that when she does get baptized, she will stay strong in the Gospel, which is exactly what this ward needs.

     Alejandrina is still going strong too.  She couldn´t come to church this week because of work issues, but she´s still positive, and we are planning to put a fecha with her.  She´s accepting the Gospel very well, so that´s really good.  We just need to have a really spiritual lesson with her, and we should be good.

    Something really cool about Alejandrina is that she lives in a little village outside of San Fran called Tierra Colorada.  Well, the first counselor of the Relief Society lives out there, named Margarita.  Without us even knowing, she went to go look for Alejandrina to take her to church!  How awesome is that?  She is just so willing to help us out, and she did it without us needing to tell her! I love the humble people of Guatemala, because they are just so personable, and love everyone!

     We have been visiting a family for a while, and they have had some problems recently..  But, on Saturday, we felt really impressed to go with them, even though we didn´t have it planned.  So we went, and as soon as we got there, the husband came to the door with a backpack on.  He basically said that he wasn´t going to be home, and then left.  So then Margarita, the wife, came to the door.  We asked her what happened, and if there was something we could do.  She just started to cry and said, "Come in."  Turns out that they got in a fight, and he left her now.  We don´t know how long, but he´s still not back...  But they had a really big need, because they had no food.  So we went to our house, got some beans and eggs, and cooked dinner for her and her two little boys.  But imagine what would have happened if we didn´t get there right at that time.  She needed some help, and we were there for her.  Many times while we were there, she kept saying, "You both are just angels."  It was really special.

     Also on Saturday, I got to go back to Colonia, my last area!  Remember Becker and Alvin?  We had put fechas with them right before I left the area.  But on Saturday they were baptized, and Becker wanted me to go and baptize him!  I really didn´t expect that, until the assistants called me on Friday and let me know!  Man it was really special.  I just loved going back to good old Colonia, and seeing everyone there.  But more important, I just was so touched that a 15-year-old boy in Guatemala wanted me to do something so special for him.  Wow, it was pretty amazing.

     Guys, the Spirit is so important in this work.  I´ve realized that so much recently.  Now that I have a lot of time in the mission, I know how to teach with good examples and all that.  But sometimes that makes me fall into the trap of trying to rely too much on my own abilities.  But we cannot do that!  The Spirit is the real teacher in this work, and if we impede that, we are lost.  At all points in our lives, we need to rely on the Spirit.

     We just got a new mission president this week!  President Smith is my new mission president.  We just had a leaders meeting with him today, and he is really cool.  Really spiritual too.  Too bad that I won´t be here to see some of his new ideas come into play, but I know that he will be a great addition to the mission.  

    I learned a lot from President Bautista too, and I can´t thank him enough for everything that he did for me.  He really helped me in the mission to get to where I am right now.  I´m so grateful for the opportunity that I had to serve with him!

    I´m doing everything that I can to finish strong!  I´m so close, so that just means I just need to work that much harder!  Let´s to this!  Until next time!

     - Elder Stuart

     P.S. 2 Nefi 2:21

Photos!

Celebrating my birthday with the Paz family!

Just a normal road here in Huehue.  After the rain, the streets were just horrible...

The Zaculeu Zone!  (Without the Hermanas...)

This family is so great.  Luis and Esvin are on my right and left respectively.  We worked so hard with this family, and they were pretty active when I left.  I´m so happy to see them in the church!

The Paz family, probably the family that helped us out the most in Colonia.

 Part of my area in San Francisco.  We are crossing a bridge over a river, and I just had to take a picture.

San Francisco is called "El Alto" (tall in spanish, but I think of it as "on high") for a reason.  The lights you see is Xela clear back there.  San Fran is the area with the highest altitude in the mission!

The ward going to plant trees as a service project.  And how did we get there?  Riding on the back of a pickup truck.  That´s my white hand holing on to the bar, and I´m standing on the bumper.  One of the many reasons I love this country, because this was completely legal.

While doing service, we just found this little river next to the road.  That´s the beauty of Guatemala for you guys.

Planting Trees!

A view of San Francisco, and the amazing view that we have.  But I´ll look for a better picture of San Fran to send to you all next week!

Crazy Week!

 Hello Family!  Well this week has definitely been on of the most eventful weeks that I´ve had for a while.  We had a lot go on, and I´m really happy about all the work that is going to go on here in Colonia!  We´ve got a lot set up here, and I know that June and July are going to be really special months here!

     Unfortunately, I have changes...  Yep, this week there are changes, and they are taking both Elder Pagán and I out of the area, something that we are really bummed about.  So apparently they are going to put Hermana missionaries in Colonia, so they are going to take us both out.  Needless to say that we were both really bummed when that happened.  We had worked so hard to get a lot of work here, and now they are going to take us out.  But I feel really good about my work in Colonia, and I know that I left my mark there.  I know that I will leave this area better off than it was before.

     Our biggest investigators are family members of a member in our ward.  Her sister, Roxana, and Roxana´s four children have been coming to church recently.  One of the kids is a member already, but three of them aren´t.  Yesterday, we had a very powerful and spiritual lesson with them.  We taught them the doctrine of Christ, and watched a Mormon Message called "A change of heart."  (Go look it up!)  Man, the Spirit afterwards was so strong, and Becker and Alvin, two of the kids, expressed their desires to be baptized!  We didn´t even have to invite them to do it!  They want to do it!  So this 21st of June they will be baptized.  Their older sister, Ceci, still isn´t sure about all of it, but I have a really good feeling that she will follow her brother´s examples.  Roxana has some problems with her husband, so she will have to wait for a little bit, but she´s really pilas too.

     We are also working with Merlin still.  Something that I have really realized while teaching her is the importance of teaching the doctrine clearly and simply so that others can understand.  There have been various times where she has said during a lesson something like this, "The missionaries taught me this before, but I didn´t realize how important it was until now."  She is progressing really well, and I have a good feeling that she too will be baptized in June.

     Argelio, a recent convert of about 4 months, is another person that we are working with.  He´s Luis and Esvin´s step-dad.  The thing is that the family has been coming to church little by little.  First Argelio was baptized and his wife.  Later his son.  And then we baptized Luis and Esvin.  Now we are focusing on the last two people in the house: Nancy and Saida, Argelio´s daughters.  Something I´ve learned from teaching them?  Focus on the head of the household.  Every time that Argelio has been strong in the Gospel, we have success there.  Every time that he slacks off a little bit, they don´t come to church.  So we are focusing a lot on making sure that the head of EVERY household is strong in the church, and they are being able to help out in the spiritual progression.

     Like Jeffrey said in his email, members are the most important part of this work.  Without their help, we are done for.  We have been seeing a lot of good things happen in this area because of the help of the members, and I know that the Lord is really hastening his work here in Guatemala.

     Our Zone this month have been calling this month a "Month of Miracles."  We are really focusing on the point of, "If God has performed miracles in the past, why not now?"  We are focusing a lot of being the tools in the Lord´s hands so that he will be able to work miracles through us.  And we have been seeing those Miracles.  I have recorded a good lot in my Journal, so I´ll share those when I get home.

     Basically, this week has been really great.  And to top it all off, I´m officially older!  21 years old...  When I first started the mission, I never thought this day would come, and now here I am.  I had a good birthday, with some members making me a cake and others giving me dinner.  All in all, I enjoyed myself!

      And now, I am officially going to start my last change in the mission.  I´ve been thinking a lot about how I want to end my mission, and I am going to give it my all to the Lord to make sure that He is proud of what I am doing here.  I know he is, but I just want to give that last push.  So here goes nothing!  Until next time!

     - Elder Stuart

     P.S. 1 Nephi 13:37

Mother´s Day!

     Hello Family!  And happy Mother´s Day to all you mothers out there.  You all are such a blessing in my life, thanks for everything that you guys do!  Things here in Colonia are so great.  We´ve been experiencing so many blessings here, and I feel so blessed to be able to finish off my mission here.  

     This week, I´ve realized that when we work hard, blessings always come.  Sometimes they aren´t immediate, and sometimes they aren´t in the way were were thinking of.  But they always come.  I´ll tell you guys why I´ve realized that.  We are working a lot with Elena and her family, and things have been interesting with them.  They´re coming to church, but are having a hard time accepting the Gospel.  BUT!  Because of them, we have been led to their families, friends, and who knows what.

     One of those people is Aura, who I told you all about last week.  She´s so pilas.  She´s coming to church, reading the BoM, and even giving us references.  There´s a possibility that she could be baptized this week, on the 17th, but if not, it will be next week.  She literaly just fell out of nowhere to come find us, and now look at what is going to happen.  

     Another one of those people is Rut.  She´s a friend on Elena, who has a lot of problems in her house.  She always tells us, "When you both come to teach Elena, call me so I can come over."  And one of the best things about her is that she understands everything so well.  With a little more time, I´m sure that she is going to love the church, and be baptized one day.

     I think one of the most important aspects of missionary work is talking to everyone that you can.  You never know when someone is looking for the truth, or just ready to hear the Gospel.  But if we never talk to anyone, we´ll never know.  Maybe the majority of the people won´t accept it right away, but some seeds can be planted for future missionary work.  This Gospel has to get to all four corners of the earth one way or another, and it´s our job to do it.

     Lastly, something else that I feel like talking about this week is how key the BoM is in this church.  The mission is really stressing that we make sure that every member of the church (recent converts too) is reading the BoM.  They have challenged us to ask every time that we see someone, "What part of the BoM are you at?"  When someone really has a testimony of the BoM, they almost never fall away.  And that´s something that we need to focus on here in Guatemala.

     I absolutely loved talking to you guys yesterday.  I loved seeing you guys, and talking just like good old times.  (That makes me sound like I´ve been away fo sooooo long...)  But I can´t wait to be able to do that every day in about two months.  You guys are really special to me, and I´m so grateful that we are able to spend all of eternity together.  You guys are the best.  I love you all so much.

     As for now, it´s just time to keep pushing forward, diligently and inteligently, in the Lord´s Vineyard.  Everyone that has time, go to LDS.org, find the spanish hymnbook, and put hymn #88 in Google Translate.  Until next time!

     - Elder Stuart

     

     P.S. The scripture for this week is kind of long.  Read Alma 60 and 61, and think about how we should act when someone complains against us when it´s not justified.  Especially Alma 61:9

A Special Week

Hello Family!  Just to let you all know now, this week was one of the best weeks I`ve ever had in the mission.  No, I didn`t have the best numbers or anything extraordinary, but with everything that happened in the week, it was just special.  I`ve learned so much as a missionary, and this week I`ve definitely learned more.  One of the best moments of my mission.

     Yes, I`m writing on Tuesday instead of yesterday, but you`ll all see why soon.  And if the letter is too long, just skip to the end, because it is the best part.

     So this Saturday Luis and Edwin were baptized!  Nice.  My first baptisms in this area, and they were good ones.  The service was really special, something that seems to be lacking here in Guatemala.  But it was incredible.  These two have made some really big differences in their lives, and we were able to see the result of it.  They were so happy the whole time, and they kept saying afterwards, "I`m baptized! I´m baptized!"  So happy.  And we also had a total of 17 investigators in the service!  I was amazed in how many investigators came.  And they all said that they loved it.  (There were more investigators than members, but that`s beyond the point...)

     Their confirmation was also really special.  The Bishop really made them feel welcome in the ward, and some temple missionaries that were there gave them ties for next week!  They were really happy about the support of the ward, as was I.  They are now saying that they can`t wait to go on missions one day, and that`s my hope for them. 

     We are still working with Elena and Aroldo.  Aroldo is kind of rough, because he`s kind of hard-hearted.  He accepts us and everything, but we just need to get into his heart.  The rest of the family is doing great.  They went to the baptism and church, and they are loving it.  We just are going to keep going with them and make sure that they always have that excitement.

     We`ve also made some progress with Antonia, who I had mentioned a couple weeks back.  She is the sister of a member in the ward, Hermana Paz.  For years she`s listened to the missionaries and all that jazz, but this week was something special.  After about 18 years of contact with missionaries, she came to church for the first time.  Ever.  The whole Paz family was shocked.  But I´m not really.  I´ve had a lot of impressions that now is her time, and we are here to help her with it.  I´m sure that she will be a member of the chruch this year.  I know it.

     The reason that I am writing today instead of yesterday is because yesterday, Elder Don R. Clarke of the Seventy came to our mission to have a conference here.  He is the assistant Excecutive Director of the Missionary Department of the Church.  And man does he know how to do missionary work.  If I learned anything about him, and General Authorities in general, it`s that they have a much higher vision of missionaries than we all do.  They know what missionary work can be, and they want us to catch that vision.  Elder Clarke taught us a lot of things, and it really made me want to finish my mission off the strongest way possible.  That man is incredible.

     It`s been a great change here in Colonia.  Changes are this week, but Elder Pagán and I are staying together, just like we thought.  So we are all charged up and ready to convert even more people here in Colonia.  I love being a missionary so much, and I honestly wish I could be one for much much longer.  The Lord lives, and is hastening his work.  Until next time!

     - Elder Stuart

     P.S. DyC 49:24.

General Conference Weekend!

Hello Family!  This week was incredible, to say the least.  My very last General Conference in the mission.  It´s been so weird to think about how fastthe time has gone.  Four Conferences, four areas.  It really makes me regret not having payed much attention to Conference in the past.  It´s basically like the World Series (Super Bowl, sorry, I´m a baseball fan...)  for us missionaries, and we get it twice a year.  Yeah boy.  It is absolutely amazing.  

     (If you´re short on time, and don´t want to read my analysis about Conference, jump down the the specifically marked paragraph.)

     All right, let´s get down to business.  General Conference, and what I liked.  First off was Elder Holland´s talk.  And, as always, he did great.  He explained a lot about what we as missionaries feel in the mission field.  About how challanges will always come, but there are more important things to do in life.  We must always have the desire and the courage to do what is right in the threat of opposition.  Also great on Saturday Morning was Elder Andersen´s talk.  That talk is really needed down here in Guatemala.  We need to always focus on the things in life that make us stronger, and always welcome opposition in our lives.

     Priesthood Session was absolutely incredible.  I loved every single talk.  One that really stood out to me was Elder Hallstrom´s talk.  Please go look it up if you have time.  I really enjoyed it.  Also, President Monson´s talk about courage was really good too.  We must always have the courage to do the right thing (or not do the wrong thing), no matter how small the thing may be.

     Elder Ballard´s tlak was much needed in the mission.  That chapter in PMG is one of my favorites, all about following up on comitments.  So important.  Most of the things we do in life will require follow up, and probably not even just once, but many times.  We need to learn this principle, and do all that we can to live it every day.  

      President Packer is such a powerful man.  He may be getting old, and I may not have gotten much from his talk this Conference, but this I do know:  That man has got one powerful testimony.  Amazing.  He really does know the Lord, and I know it to be true.  Just from his testimony, I learned so much.  We all need to strive to make our testimony that strong.  Wow, it just blew my mind how sure he was.  

     So yeah, that´s what I liked about General Conference.  I loved all of the talks, but those were the ones that kind of stood out.  

     *This is the specifically marked paragraph!*

     Other than Conference, the work here has been great.  We had many investigators in Conference this week, so we are just waiting this week to see what they thought, and work on getting them to church next week.  I really think we can, and there is a lot of work to do here in Colonia.

     Luis and Edwin are still good for the 19th of this month.  We are really excited, because that can mean turning their lives around for good in this early age. (13 and 15)  They like everything, and are coming to church, so now we are just making sure this is something that they really want to do, and make sure that they know what to do when we eventually leave the area.

     We had a really touching experience this week.  While with a member going to a lesson, she told us about her aunt who had before listened to the missionaries, but said that she never felt anything special.  The member, Nidia, was kind of reluctant to go, because the aunt, Antonia, has rejected missionaries recently, but we convinced her to go, so we went.  When we were there, she told us that she had been sick for a while, and Nidia said that we could give her a blessing.  And I was honored to give the blessing.  During the blessing, I felt the Spirit really strongly, but didn´t think much of it.  But when I ended, Antonia left the room, leaving us with the others in the room.  Long story short, when we had left, Nidia told us that Antonia had left because she was crying, and Nidia had never seen her aunt listen to a blessing like that.  Antonia seems really pilas now, We are excited about the change that happened.

     With that last story, I feel like we all need to realize something that we all have.  A divine potential.  For example, I felt normal during the blessing, but I know that Antonia was feeling heavenly hands, and hearing heavenly words.  All us of can do more that we really thing, we just need to go and do it.

     To close it off, today for P-Day we went to a beautiful place called Laguna Magdalena.  So surreal.  The word I would chose to describe it would be mystical.  Going there just made me think how amazing God really is.  He has all the creations before him, and we are able to be a part of it.  God really is all-powerful.  I´ll send some pictures shortly.

     Man, now I just feel like I´m rattling off some things...  so I´ll stop now.  I love this work guys.  There is nothing like it.  Until next time!

     - Elder Stuart

     1 Nephi 19:9

HUEHUE!

 Hello Family!  Well, I`m guessing that the subject is confusing a couple of you...  But I`ll explain.  As soon as I walked out of internet last week, the assistants called me to let me know that I was going to have changes!  Great...  But they told me that I was going to go open up an area where there has been a streak of bad missionaries, and it was my job to pick the area back up...  So yeah, now I`m in Huehuetenango, in an area that`s called Colonia.  So I`ve oficially said goodbye to Xela, and am probably in my last area in the mission!  So crazy!

     And the weirdest thing about the changes is my new comp.  I`m with Elder Pagán, the elder that was in Chiquilajá with me!  So we´ve known each other for his whole mission (4 months).  We get along great, so that`s going to be really good when we start to work here in Colonia.

     Not going to lie, I`m going to miss Chiquilajá a bunch, and Xela too.  The members there were incredible, some didn`t want me to leave, and one even offered me to end my mission there, and marry his daughter!  ;)  So if I want, I`ve got options here in Xela!  Jaja but seriously, it was amazing being in Chiqui, and all the miracles that I saw there.  But now it`s time to move on, and I`m ready for it!

     As for the Colonia, it`s a great area!  The members here are stoked to help us out with missionary work.  We received a ton of references this week from all the members, and we`ve still got a bunch that we need to contact!  It`s basically been a week of getting used to being in a new area, getting to know the members, and seeing what we can do from the very beginning to help out this ward.  I`ve got a really good feeling about this ward, and I know that the Lord is just waiting to help us out in the work.

     I want you all to know how great of a mission leader I´ve got here.  His name is Mauro Gómez.  The thing with him is that with his job, he works one day, and rests the next.  That means that sometimes he has to miss some Sundays, but he`s alright.  But what surprised me most about him is that he dedicates most of his time on his off days to go with us.  For example, on Friday we went with him starting at 4:00 in the afternoon, and we were with him until we had to go home!  It was incredible.  He`s always willing to show EVERYONE that he knows to us, and see if they will accept the gospel.  What a guy.

     This week I`ve been focusing my thoughts on how to best approach people about the gospel, seeing as I`ve been needing to do that for the whole week!  But I`ve definitely noticed something interesting.  Recently, I`ve found myself saying from the very beginning something like this: "We`ve come here today to share with you this VERY IMPORTANT message that we have."  yadda yadda yadda.  The key is saying that it is very important what we have to say.  Most people here I`ve seen just think that we are there to share a message about Christ, and leave it at that.  But if we can really make sure that they realize that what we have to say could very well change they way that they act, it`s a lot more promising.  

     As of now, we don`t really have anyone going really strong yet, seeing as we`ve got less than a week here, but we`ve got a lot of really good prospects, and I feel like my next letter will be talking about a lot of the people that we`ve come to know here.

     This work is absolutely amazing guys.  It couldn´t be bettter.  We are the ones who have this gospel in our hands, and it`s our job to share it with everyone!  Neighbors, friends, family, co-workers, strangers on the street, etc.  They´ve got the questions, and we`ve got the answers.  Until next time!  

     - Elder Stuart

     P.S. Moroni 8:16, especially the last part.

     P.P.S.  Huehue is really hot.  Reminds me a lot of St. George.  To put it in perspective, I put sunscreen on for the first time on Wednesday.  Yeah...