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

Last Week! (in the MTC!)

September 1, 2012

First off, Happy Birthday Mom!!  How awesome is it that I had the chance to write you on your birthday!!  I hope you have the best birthday ever, and that you have so much fun!  I heard that you are going to have a BBQ at our house for it, so that should be a lot of fun!  I´m bummed that I have to miss it, but know that I am always there with you guys in Spirit!  

This week has been pretty uneventful.  The only really big thing that we did is we went proselyting again!  It was way fun this time!  I´m not going to lie, I was a little frustrated last time, because I didn´t understand what the people were saying most of the time.  But this time went a lot better.  It is amazing what a difference three weeks makes in helping me learn the language.  It would have been just me and Elder Welker, but he got really sick that morning, so I went with another two American elders, and we went as a threesome.  To me, it was really good, because I felt like I could control the pace of the conversation.  When we had a Latino companion with us, he would talk really fast, and the investigator would talk really fast, because they knew that the Latino would understand.  But when it was just us Gringos, it felt like they had a little bit of mercy on us and talked a little slower.  Plus, we gave away two BoMs to people who were really interested.  We gave a lot of pamphlets away, and got a lot of people’s info, but these two that we gave the BoMs to were so interested in what we had to say!  It felt so nice to share what I know with these people, actual real people, because we have just been practicing with our teachers.  It is a little sad that we wont get to continue talking to these people.  Especially because the two that we talked to, they both said that we could return in a couple days and talk about their experience!  It was such a great experience!  And it is so amazing to me that I was able to do this all in Spanish pretty well!  I know that I couldn´t do it without some help from the Lord, well, a lot of help!  But I can´t thank him enough for giving me that opportunity to share the gospel with these people.  So we got their contact information and gave it to the MTC here, and they will contact missionaries in that area and have them visit them again.  But it was such a great experience, something that I really needed to have, because it just got me really ready to go out into the field!  

Speaking of which, we only have 3 more days here, and then I will be out in the real world!  That is so crazy to think about, but I am so excited!  I’m not gonna lie, I am a little nervous, but that is to be expected.  I’m sure it will all go away once I get there and get to work!  I can’t wait to get there and actually start my mission for real, because I know it is going to be some of the best years of my life!  

We have been preparing for it this week, especially yesterday, where all we did is have in field orientation.  They told us a lot about what to expect and do while we are out in the field.  I can´t say it enough how excited I am to get out there!  I feel like I really am prepared to get out there, not perfectly of course, but I feel like I could hold my own out there!  Of course I have been studying the language, but that really is a secondary thing behind the gospel.  I finished Jesus the Christ this week, and I can´t even explain how much I have learned from it.  I feel so much closer to my savior now than I ever have before in my life!  I love having his constant spirit with me at all times, and whenever I get frustrated or discouraged, I know that I can always turn to him and he will make everything feel that much better!  I LOVE THIS WORK!  I just can’t say it enough.  And I know that I am going to love it so much more once I actually get into the field!  

So we leave on Tuesday, September 11, exactly two months after I entered the MTC.  It is so crazy to think that I am already 1/12 of the way done with this.  Kind of puts it into perspective.  But I know that I am going to make the rest of the time I have here count with all my heart, and I am going to regret nothing!!  

It sounds like you guys are having a lot of fun back home, with work, school starting, Jace, and such.  I hope that you guys continue to have as much fun and enjoy life as much as you can, because I know for sure that I am!  I´m sorry mom, I don´t have the address here, because I would have to run all the way down to my class to get it, but I will find a way to get it to you!  It is crazy to think that the next time that I write you guys, I´ll be out in the field!  Crazy, but I´m ready to go into it full force!  

Until next time!  I love you all, and happy birthday again Mom!!!!!!      

Elder Stuart

Nearing the End (of the MTC that is!)

September 1, 2012

Hello Family!  It has been so great reading all of your emails and hearing all about your lives!  It seems like Jace has been the center of attention for the past week!  I can´t believe that he is already a month old!  It seems like just yesterday I got a letter with a picture of him saying that I am an uncle!  Crazy how time flies!  

Speaking of which, I´m out of here in a week and a half.  I am pretty sure we leave on Sept. 11, but I´m not 100% sure, so we will see!  Things here have kind of been slowing down.  We have gotten into a routine full of study, teaching, learning, and such.  It can get a bit boring at times, because we are in the same classroom for the greater part of the day, but when I step back and look at the bigger picture, I realize that it isn´t boring at all, because it is the most important thing that I can be doing at this point in my life!  I really need to be ready once I go out into the field, so all this study time is a great thing for me!  

Nothing big has really happened this week, just the usual:  going to the temple, p-day, and a whole lot of studying! Those are basically the highlights of this week!  We have been continuing teaching our two investigators, who are our teachers, and I feel like we have been doing really well!  Elder Welker and I have been told by both of our teachers that we have really good unity together, and that we can really work well to deliver the message together.  I´m glad they have said that, because I feel so far behind on my Spanish compared to him.  I haven´t taken a Spanish class since Jr. High, and he took Spanish classes all the way from 9th grade up until he came here, so all the way through college.  So he is definitely ahead of me in Spanish, and I sometimes look for help with the language from him, but I feel like I am holding my own and am actually doing really well!  Not only have I been studying the language, I really have studied more about the doctrine than I ever have.  

I don´t know if I told you, but I finished the Book of Mormon for the first time all by myself here.  It really was so cool to read it because I wanted to!  Now I am reading dad´s favorite, Jesus the Christ, and I am so mad at myself for not picking up this book earlier!  I have learned so much about Christ and his ministry.  I really feel like I get closer and closer to him every day!  I have also been studying a lot out of preach my gospel too.  There are so many useful things in there, even if you aren’t a missionary!  I love reading so much about what I am really here for, and it really helps raise my spirits.  Like I said, not much has happened here this week, but next week will be a lot different.  Next week we go proselyting again, but this time without a Latino companion, so it will just be me and Elder Welker going out into the real world.  I´m definitely still nervous, but I feel a whole lot better going out this time then I did 3 weeks ago.  I feel like I know what I am doing (sort of) and feel really confident to share my testimony with others!  

On a funnier note, some crazy things have happened in our district this week.  Really funny, but crazy.  So us as a district are really close, so we joke around a lot and aren't really afraid to be ourselves.  So on Wednesday, the whole day was pretty much studying and more studying.  One of the Elders in our district, Elder Oveson, doesn´t really do well with studying for such a long period of time, so when we got to around 7 at night, we were all pretty much worn out, especially him.  We were talking and joking around about how we could get rid of our stress.  Elder Oveson just out of the blue said jokingly that he wanted to flip a table over with all the stuff on it and clean up the resulting mess.  Or we thought he was joking...  We all were telling him to do it, because we didn´t really think that he would.  But wouldn´t you know, one thing leads to another, and a table is flipped over with a huge mess all around it.  We were all laughing so hard and couldn´t really believe that he did it!  It sure was a great laugh and great to relieve some of our stress.  Plus the table he flipped over had a chance to be organized, so it was a win win!  

Haha but I really am having a blast here and I love everything about it here!  I can´t wait to go out into the field and such, but I still have a lot to learn!  I love this work and I love the gospel, and I wouldn´t rather be doing anything else here at this point in my life!  Thank you all for your support and love, and I´ll be back next week!!!  

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!  

Elder Stuart

A Glimpse of the Mission Field

Hello Family!  

I hope you all are doing great, because I know that I am doing really good!  It has been a pretty eventful week so far!  The biggest thing was that on monday, we actually went out and went Proselyting!  For Reals!  Me and Elder Welker were put with another Latino missionary, Elder Rodriguez, and we basically got on a bus, went somewhere in the middle of Guatemala City, were handed a book of mormon each and some pamphlets, and then were basically told ¨Have fun!¨ It was a little nerve wracking at first, because everything we
had done so far was pretend and just working on everything, and if we messed up, it didn´t really matter, but this was for real!  Our very first contact was when we were on the bus, and me and Elder Welker started to talk to a guy standing next to us.  It was a little hard to understand him, because im so used to teachers who speak slowly and clearly, but this guy didn´t!  I could still get the gist of what he was saying, but it was hard to pick it all up!  But we did end up giving him a pamphlet and his address, so that we could give it to the MTC to contact him!  But that is pretty much what we did for the whole time!  We met with all kinds of people, people that wanted to hear what we had to say, some that closed the door right in our faces, a family with a bunch of little kids wanting to marvel at us gringos, a teenage boy about Ryan's age who really wanted to know more about our message, and a lot more!  There was even one lady who when she saw us, she said she didn´t want anything to do with us, because we didn´t believe in the bible and we worshipped Joseph Smith!  It is crazy to hear what some people know about the church, and how little they actually do know!  But we ended up doing pretty well to my standards, we gave away all three of our books of mormon, got about 15 addresses to contact them later, and really just got to meet a lot of the real Guatemalan folk!  It was such a neat experience, although not gonna lie, it was a little frustrating because I couldn´t understand most of what they were saying, but I just really need to work on it!  So that was really my first time out in the mission field for real!  It was so much fun!  

on Tuesday we had our first real live devotional with the Area President over Central America, President Martino.  We usually just watch other talks given in the Provo MTC, but this time we got to hear it live!  And it was weird, because usually, other people have to wear headphones to have the talk translated, but not this time!  Us Nortes had to wear the headphones, because it was mainly in Spanish.  But the really cool thing was, I didn´t wear the headphones for about 3/4 of the time, because I could understand him for the most part!  It was so cool to actually know what he was saying in Spanish!  He talked a lot about hard work and obedience, and one thing that he said that I took out of it is that we need to LEARN TO LOVE WORK.  I know that is something Dad would say, so I have kind of been used to it already thank goodness!  But he was a really good speaker!  

We went to the temple again on Thursday at 630 in the morning, so I was a little tired, but still was so cool to go to the Temple again in Guatemala!  I don´t think i could ever get old of the temple!  After we went to the temple, the distribution center is right next to it, so a bunch of us went and looked around.  One quick thing, they say for whoever is going to Quetzaltenenago, like me, will more than likely have to learn Quiche, which is a dilect there.  When i was in the distribution center, I thought i might as well ask if they had a Book of Mormon in Quiche.  Sadly they didn´t, but they had one in Quetchi, which is what my compainon will be speaking, so he bought it! We Were looking at it, and he said it best when he said it looked like a lawn mower ran over the last half of the dictionary and they just put it together in some random order!  It is really so cool to look at though!  

So I´ve been told by you guys that I should include some more ordinary stuff so here we go!  We get back to our residence at 9:30 getting ready for bed 1030, but a group of us hurry and get ready in about 5 minutes and we tell stories.  The best ones are the crazy girlfriend stories, and it seems like most everyone has at least one story to tell about one.  The craziest part about one is one Elder, who lives in colorado, was telling about his extremely crazy one, and all of a sudded, another elder who lives in florida started to realize that he home taught her at BYU!  How crazy is that?! Someone from Florida knows someones crazy ex girlfriend from colorado! It really is a small world!  

Another thing is the food here is great! At Provo, the food wasn´t really the best, becuase they had to mass produce it for about 3500 hungry people, but here, we actually have a real chef who cooks every meal for us about 100 poeple, so it is a lot better here!  My district is awesome!  I don´t have that much time, so I wont get into much more detail, but i will for sure next week!  Im sorry i dont have that much time to talk about you guys, but i love hearing about your lives and what you guys are doing!  Keep it up, I love you guys!   

Elder Stuart