Starting off February

Hello Family!  We are in February already...  Time is going by way too fast!  Jaja but seriously, I feel like I just blink, and we are already done with another week.  Kind of scares me...  Tomorrow I´ll be completing 19 months in the mission.  It´s weird to think that I´m one of the old guys now.  But that just means that I have to set the example, and hope that others can be edified by my example.

      Which reminds me of something.  When Elder Cook came here to the mission, he noticed that most of the missionaries here have less than a year.  And he said something really important.  He said that we shouldn´t depend so much on experience/time in the mission, as much as we should depend on inspiration.  And it´s true.  Someone can know the scriptures like the back of their hand, and in which situation they should use them, but without the Spirit, it won´t have that good of an effect.  He really stressed that we should follow the promptings of the Spirit ALWAYS, and that sometimes it´s better to just talk inspiredly than use scriptures.  And when an Apostle of the Lord says something like that, you´ve got to obey!  And this is something that you can incorporate in everyday life.  Follow the Spirit.  

     And what´s so great about that is that we put that into practice this week.  We´ve been working with Cruz, the husband of a recent convert for a long time now.  He´s come to church a couple of times, and he knew that he needed to be baptized, but he just didn´t want to take the step.  So this Friday, we passed by (saying a prayer right before because we knew that we needed the spirit) ready to commit him to be baptized.  

     When we ended the lesson, we were ready to extend the invitation.  I felt the spirit telling me that we just needed to be direct and really commit him to do it.  And when I was inviting him, I didn´t even realize what I was saying.  It was one of the rare moments in my mission when the words weren´t mine.  By the time I realized I was done talking, he said, "You´re right, I need to be baptized.  And I´ll be fine to do it this Saturday."  Wow.  That was one of the most powerful moments in my mission.  So he´s set for this Saturday.  We just need to make sure that he´s set for it.  But seriously, wow.

     Well, if you havent realized yet, I´m really late on this email, so I´m going to have to cut it short.  But I´ll be sure to try and make some more time next week.  Love you all!  Until next time!

     - Elder Stuart

     P.S. Alma 27:27

And because time is so short, pictures will come next week.  Love you all!

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.

General Conference Weekend!

     Hello Family!   Well, what a good General Conference weekend that we had!  This one was definitely a lot better than the last one, not because the messages were better or worse, but because I actually understood it this time...  Haha but seriously, I hope that you all had a great weekend, and enjoyed the conferences so much! 

     I just want to talk a little bit about what I learned this weekend during Conference.  First off, what an amazing time for missionaries!  65,634 missionaries in the field, 20,000 or so with their calls waiting to go, and about 6,000 working on filling out their papers...  How incredible is that?!?  What a time to take advantage of the chance that we have to be missionaries.  Even for those who aren`t full time missionaies, I hope that this spirit of excitement is working on everybody!  I really liked Elder Cook`s talk on Satuday afternoon about peace.  What greater feeling can we feel than constant peace from our Savior?  Also, President Uchtdorf`s talk during Priesthood session was incredible.  He talked about titles that we have in the church, and how important they can be to us.  He named "Children of God", "Diciples of Christ," "Healer of Souls," and "Those who inherit all that the Father hath," just to name a few.  Also, President Monson`s talk on Sunday morning about odedience was really good, especially for me in the mission!  I hope that when the Ensign comes out you can all read it and study the talks again!  (And if you could, send me a copy of the Conference Issue of the Ensign!  Thank you!)

     Not only were the talks during conference great, but we were so blessed with how many investigators that came to conference this week!  We had 8!  We had Jimmy, the boy who hopefully will be baptized this week (We are going to make sure tonight!), a new family that we have an appointment with on Tuesday, and a couple of others.  What a blessing for us that we had eight people come to the best Church weekend!  I really hope that they learned something, and it makes them want to learn more!

     Not much else, just an amazing weekend full of General Conference!  Just a couple of things before I close:  I finally got the valetine`s day package this week, so don`t worry, I got it and I am enjoying all my United States junk food!  So it took about a month and a half based on the letter that was inside, so it takes a while, but I did end up getting it.  Also, I`m so glad that you all had a great time in St. George!  I can`t wait until I can come with you guys again!  And lastly, I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!  Thank you all so much for everything that you have given me.  Thank you for you support and you prayers, I can definitely feel them helping me be a better missionary!  I love you all!  Until Next Time!

     - Elder Stuart

     P.S. The scipture this week isn`t really a scripture, but a saying.  I heard it from a letter from James Rudd, and then Elaine S. Dalton said it again during Conference.  It says. "What e`er thou art, act well thy part."  Something to really think about.

     P.P.S.  How about Elder Christofferson quoting Les Mis in his talk!!  Awesome!

An Interesting Week

     Hello Family!  Hope you all have been doing great, because I know that I have!  I just have to tell you in advance though, this week was pretty weird.  A lot of good things happened, but a lot of weird things happened too..  So I´ll just start and let you guys know!

     I have to begin by telling you about the weirdest lesson I probably have had yet.  So this family that we are visiting, the dad is an active member, the mom is a less active who hasn´t come to church for years, and the kids aren´t members.  We have been working with them to get them active and help them come back to church, so that we can get the kids baptized, which could be five baptisms.  It has been hard, but we definitely have made some progress!  This lesson, we decided to try and extend an invitation for baptism for the kids.  So we began talking about baptism and how it is the only way that we can make it to the Kingdom of Heaven. (John 3:5)  We bore super powerful testimonies about baptism, and then the big question came.  We started to ask the kids if they would commit to being baptized, and it went amazingly!  The first two kids that we asked agreed, but as we were asking the third kid, the dad interuppted and said that maybe they weren´t ready!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME???  He should be super excited that his kids are agreeing to it!  We explained to him that we would help them get ready, and we will be with them every step of the way, and that helped him out a lot.  Eventually, we got every single kid to agree to be baptized!  Woo Hoo!  But, the lesson wasn´t over yet.  We asked the mom if she would like to be in heaven with her family forever. She started to explain to us that there was just one God, so it didn´t matter what we did, as long as we believed in God.  She dropped a bomb on us and told us that she might start going to another church...  So yeah.  DUring the lesson, we got 5 baptismal dates, but just about lost a less active member...  We are going to help her out, but seriously, the whole last part of the lesson just felt so weird!

     We also have another family that is really positive, the "miracle family" as we call them.  It is the family of the man I was telling you about last week.  They live about 1 1/2 hours away, so we didn´t get much time to go and visit them, but they seem way positive, and we might be able to put some baptismal dates with them this week!  How exciting that everything is picking up here!  I love it!

     I did divisions with our Zone Leaders on Tuesday this week, and I went with Elder Schmidt.  We had a member come with us to go teach a lesson.  His name is Iffy, and he is from Africa, and totally looks the part!  He travels the world learning languages, and right now he is working on Spanish.  He knows two african dialects, English, French, and now Spanish.  But yeah, we went with him, and I couldn´t imagine how funny it must look for the people in Momos:  Two Gringos and an African walking down with a bunch of Latinos in the middle of Guatemala.  I just had to laugh about it!  

      I am really glad that things are picking up here, even though I might be leaving soon.  (Oh by the way, I should tell you that this change has been extended by a week to accomadate all the new missionaries that are coming in.  So I still have two weeks left in this change.)  After 6 months in Pancá (Holy Cow!) I´m pretty sure that I will be leaving.  But it has been really good to see things picking up here!  I love this work, and I always will!  THank you all for your support always, and I will talk to you all next week!  Until Next Time!

     - Elder Stuart

     P.S. Alma 5:26.  We should always be ready to "feel so now" about the gospel.  If we have had a change of heart, and know for a surety that this church is true, we should always remember it and always feel it in our hearts.  If you can, also look up Elder Cook´s talk from this last General Conference!