¡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!

Time is Flying

     Hello Family!  Wow, just seems like the time is flying by!  I guess that´s what happens when you are on a mission!  I really can´t say the same thing about you guys, because I don´t know how it is, but I hope that you are all having a great time!  

     Well, we had quite the week here in Chinique, basically full of illness and caring for one another.  So on Sunday, remember how I told you guys that Elder Cruz had Chicken Pox?  Well, that continued until Thursday, so he couldn´t leave his house until then!  That left Elder Riera and I having to go run and get his medicine, because Elder Berrios couldn´t leave either (because they are comps...)  So we had to take care of Elder Cruz until he wasn´t contaigous anymore.  So we didn´t get to work as much as I had hoped...  

     But then Thursday came around, and Elder Cruz could finally leave!  So Elder Riera and I celebrated by going to Paquinak, which is a place about 1 1/2 hours walking!  But, that is where the majority of our members live, and they told us they wanted to visit with someone!  So we went up there to check it out.  We found Julio, who is a 16 year old young man who has been coming to the activities with the other youth.  We went up there to teach him a lesson, and he seemed really excited to hear from us!  He has some doubts about praying, so we really focused on that, and how much of a blessing it is for us to pray.  It was a really good lesson, and I´m hoping that he will continue to progress!

     Then the bad news came again on Friday.  Elder Riera woke up with an intense pain in his back, and he could hardly walk.  He called the nurses of our mission, and they advised him that he should probably take a break for today...  Great..  So I was in the house taking care of Elder Riera all day, studying and more than anything wanting to get outside.  He got a little better on Saturday, so we left to work, but then his back acted up again, so we had to retire to the house early...  So this week I was basically stuck inside when I wanted to get out working.

     We do have a bright light though!  Remember Alejandro that I told you about last week?  We have been visiting him a lot recently, and he really wants to get baptized.  The only problem is, he has some problems with the BoM, and is struggling to gain a testimony.  So we are hoping that he can start up his own testimony, get baptized, and then continue to build his testimony throughout time...  But that´s not all!  His brother, Miguel, talked to us during the last lesson we had, and he mentioned that he had been reading the BoM recently from missionaries that gave it to him about a year ago!  How cool is that?  He is all the way in Alma, and has been reading a lot!  That just goes to show that even a little seed that missionaries put about a year ago can have an effect on us today!  So we are really hoping to work with them a lot in the coming days!

     We still had some good points this week, but I feel like they could have been more...  Maybe I am just expecting too much of me, but I want to be the best missionary that I can be!  This week was a little rough, but now we are all feeling better, and ready to work this week!

     I love you all so so much!  Remember that this is a Gospel of happiness, and there is nothing that should stop us from reaching our goals!  This church is true, I know it!  Thank you all for your support, and love you all!  Until Next Time!

     - Elder Stuart

     P.S. Alma 7:15  A great baptism scripture!

A Preparation Week!

     Hello family!  Sorry I`m late this week, but it is because we have a multi-zone conference in Huehuetenango tomorrow, so we have to be here in Quichè to spend the night.  So that we wouldn`t lose so much time traveling and being out of our areas, the Zone Leaders decided to change P-Day until today, so that we could have more time to work in our areas.  And for that I was really grateful!

     First things first, about our most positive investigator, Jimmy.  He was all ready to get baptized this past Saturday, but as we were teaching him during the week, we noticed a change in his parents.  They started listening more and participating more in the lessons, so we decided to postpone the baptism until this Saturday, where it would be possible for Jimmy and his parents to be baptized on the same day.  The only problem is, is that his parents, Miguel and Stefany, aren`t "married", so it causes a problem.  (Believe it or not, this happens a lot in Guatemala...)  People can`t be baptized if they are living with a partner, so we have to work on getting them married this week (which we have talked about with them), and hopefully we can have a wedding this Friday at the chapel, and the next day have a baptism!  It`s a bit of a long shot, but it is possible!  

     Also, we have been preparing for an activity that will happen this Saturday in the morning.  We are going to have an "open house" at the chapel, so that people all over Chinique can come to the chapel and spend about 15 minutes figuring out what we do during our reunions, and if they want to learn more.  This week we have been handing out invintations like crazy, so that hopefully the whole town can come!  It should be a really good way to find new people to teach, so here`s to it all going according to plan!  

     This week in my studies, I have been focusing a lot on some of the questions that are most asked by our investigators, and trying to find the best way to find them in the scriptures.  It has really been a huge help for me to have a basic knowledge of the scriptures, but it makes me wish that I would have studied them more before my mission.  So for all those that are preparing to go on a mission, really strive to study the scriptures and PMG [Preach My Gospel] every day, so that you will be that much prepared when you enter the mission.  Granted, you still are going to learn a TON, but it can`t hurt to learn more, right?

     In our district meetings, they have been focusing a lot on bringing our investigators to church with us.  One time I was talking with President Bautista about it, and he said that apart from baptisms, our most important statistic that we should focus on is investigators that come to church.  The reason is that if people come to church every week to learn more about the gospel, they will have a firm foundation, friends, and all sorts of good things.  That is why we have been really trying to bring people to church with us, and inviting members to help us out.  It really is a joint effort;  working missionaries with members, and I love it!

     That is just about all that I have to say for now, but this next week should be huge, with a multi-zone conference, an open house activity, and a baptism!  So I hope that you all have a great week, like I am bound to have!  I am so stoked always to be a servant of the Lord, and I have a really good feeling that this week will just strengthen my testimony even more!  

     I love you all so much, and thank you so much for writing me every week!  The Chruch is True!  Until Next Time!

     - Elder Stuart

     P.S.  We have been talking a lot about friendship this week with our investigators, so I figured I`d share John 15:13 with you guys, one of the best scriptures about friendship.  It just shows how much the Lord loves us and wants the best for us! 

Just Another Week in Guatemala!

   Hello Family!   Here we are, just another week passing by!  Crazy to think how much time has passed!  But I`m hoping that it will slow down a bit, because I want to make the best of my short time here!  It is so weird, because with 8 months in the mission, I should feel a little old, but I still feel so new!  I feel like I am still starting out, but my time is going fast!  So let`s just make the best of it!

    

     We had just another regular week here in Chinique, just the regular missionary stuff going on!  Not really anything really exciting, but hey, I have the chance to teach the gospel to everyone here, so I guess that alone is exciting!  We have some investigators that are progressing and everything, but the hardest thing for us is to get people to come to church.  In an interview with President Bautista a while back, he said that one of the most important stats for us is investigators coming to church.  Becuase once that they make that commitment, we can work on everything else.  For instance, we have this one family, Miguel and Stefany with their son Jimmy, who are really positive when we teach them, but when it comes to attending church, there is always something that comes up.  So what I am hoping for is that once they start to gain a testimony about the truthfulness of the gospel, they will want to come to church on their own!  So we are gonig to work hard for that!

     Something really crazy really fast;  So it isn`t 100% sure yet, but the Coban mission will be taking parts of nearby missions to even everything out, and one of the most probable zones to leave this mission and go to Cobàn is Quichè!  So the zone I am in right now could probably be a zone that Jeffrey could work in!  How crazy is that??  And even crazier, there will be some missionaries that leave this mission to go to Coban...  So there is a chance that me and Jeffrey could be in the same mission!  I guess we will find out more about that later!  

     Another thing that I am hoping to complete before the end of my mission:  I am going to try and read my entire set of scriptures (the quad) by the end of my mission.  It is going to take some time, because the bulk of our study is focusing on our investigators, but with any free time that I have, I am going to read all the scriptures that I own!  Wish me luck!!

     Not much else, hopefully there will be more to report on next week!  We have made some really good goals for this coming week, so I`m thinking that this week will be the best week yet in Chinique!  As always, thank you all so much for your support, and I love you all!  Until Next Time!

     - Elder Stuart

 This week is Galatians 5: 22-23.  We use this a lot when we explain how the Holy Ghost works, and it really is a great scripture!  And I, being a complete idiot, forgot my camera cable at home, so expect double photos next week!  Love you!