It's so HOT in Texas......

Hola Everyone,

How are you all doing? It’s super sunny and hot here in El Paso. With all the time spent out in the sun I’m going to look more Mexican than white. Which I guess would be a good thing. The days here are getting very tiring, and we started to go to bed around 9:30pm. It’s like I walk in the house and fall asleep. I almost want to pull an Elder Calhoun and sleep in my suit. Other than that the work has been going pretty well. This transfer seems to be too much to handle sometimes. It very literally feels like we are sifting through the dirt looking for the gold, except with people. New people come and go every week. Last week we ended the week with 6 baptism dates and most of those being new, and we lost 5 investigators last week. It’s so hard to have someone tell you that they don't want to have anything to do with what you believe in or what you love so much after not really even giving you a chance.
     
But on the other hand I can’t complain because I also had some super spiritual experiences this week. So my favorite one is around Tuesday of this last week we were riding bikes down one of the biggest streets in the area. So we were on the sidewalk, and here when you’re riding on the sidewalk you cannot see when a car is coming from the streets you are crossing over. So it is actually pretty dangerous. Anyway, once Elder Humpfreys passed this one street that was coming up I started to get a really bad feeling and the spirit screamed at me "Stop!" So almost flipping over my bike to stop and slammed the breaks, thinking there was going to be some huge car that comes out from the street, but there was nothing. I just stood there super confused as 2-3 mins passed by, Then from an apartment to my left a little old lady and he husband come running out and asked me for something spiritual to read to bring them closer to God.  I asked what was wrong. And she said that they were going through a really hard time; the landlord was kicking them out, they had no food, her husband is a disabled vet going through dialysis treatments, and they were down on their knees asking for help, and when she looked up, she could see me right in the middle of their barely opened window. We were able to come back and teach them, and set baptism dates for them and everything.

When Sunday came we called them and they said that they were all ready for church and asked us if they could bring 2 of their friends with them too. Well that was a no- brainer. So all 4 of them came to church, but it turned out to be a total nightmare. In Sacrament meeting, I don't think I have ever seen such disrespectful behavior from any ward that I have been in. All the Priests and young women and even the young single adults who for some reason are in a family ward sat in the back and where being very inappropriate. I was hard for me to even feel the spirit myself. On top of that, our ward mission leader was taken to the bishopric and so we had some random guy teaching the Gospel Principles class. He turned the "Priesthood lesson" into a talk about the Word of Wisdom, Tithing, going to the Temple, and one day becoming Gods lesson. Needless to say, 3 of them where so mad that when we told them there was one more class, they said. "No thanks, I hated it" and asked for a ride home. Not going to lie, I don’t blame them, If I wasn’t a member and that was my first time at church I doubt I would have come back not to mention, no one really tried to talk to them. Well anyway, after I got them in a room with just Elder Humpfreys and me, I did what I could to save it. We calmed them down pretty well, and they said they would give us another chance. But you never know if they were actually being serious. To make a long story short, out of all 5 people that have come to church in the last two weeks we were officially dropped by one and probably will be dropped by the rest this week. Trying to keep spirits high. And open to any suggestions.

But at least General Conference and the Temple trip are coming up. YAY!

-Love Elder Stewart

Hello El Paso....

Dear Family and Friends,

Looks like I’m going to remain here in good old El Paso. What happened is when our District Leader called us with the news that I was leaving, he told me to be at the transfer sight at 10 o'clock. Which means you will be heading up North. If you are called to the transfer site at 1pm that means you’re staying in El Paso. So I showed up at the transfer site and was told by the Zone leaders that I did not need to be there. Haha After gearing up to have the work be slow and my Spanish lost. But what a surprise. So now I am here in the 12th Ward- Ascarate. The ward is big and there are 3 sets of missionaries here; the Zone Leaders, some sisters, and us. On top of that, our area is an all bike area :( I have seriously been hurting the last week or so, plus I have gotten a tan already (and it’s not even the hottest part of the year yet, which is 110 degrees in the summer), lost weight, and dropped $40 on my bike to put a new tube on with slime and liners so that it would take a 9' inch nail to get to my tires. My companion's name is Elder Humphreys or Elder Hump Daddy or Hump Dezzy as I like to call him. He is from Idaho and is a super innocent, but hard working missionary. He’s just kind of a nerdy kid, but he’s the first companion that follows all the rules and more. It’s quite nice because I have this habit of matching the work ethic of my companion which can be good because I can keep up with the "go get ems" but also slack off more with the "apostate" missionaries. He has already taught me that it is possible to set your own pace and your own standard, no matter the kind of missionary your companion is. His Spanish is alright, he has been out 3 months more than me, and even though I can speak more fluidly and sound more Mexican than him, he excels in grammar, (where I’m am weak).

When I first got to the area I was sad that there was not much work left by the missionary before me. But I was super eager to start teaching lessons. Elder Humphreys lets me talk more than my other companions did and so I’m enjoying being able to use my Spanish and teach these lessons. So we started out and started doing what we do. Riding bikes everywhere, talking to everyone, and teaching some great lessons. By the time Thursday weekly planning came around, we had to set goals for the next week. As I started to name off the goals that I think we could do, he said "You know that this area is considered to be a "Dead Area" right?" And I said "really?”  He replied "Yeah there hasn’t been any baptisms in months, there is a lot of less actives, and we have only set 1 baptism date." I said "well let’s change that, I want everyone to BEG to be in this area." He laughed and said "I’m down. Let’s go at it" Since Tuesday of this week, we have set 5 more Baptism dates and taught more lessons than the area has had in a long time. When our district leader called us up and heard that we had 6 dates he said "I think I just wet myself lol." apparently we have more dates than the whole district combined (and there are 6 sets of missionaries in our district." Now yes, it does sound like I’m bragging, but its more pride (the good pride) because I know that there is no way that we could be doing this without God's help. I have gotten back into praying every morning right when I wake up and before I lie down, and with how hard we are working on our bikes and how obedient we are, the Lord is blessing us in so many different ways. He has helped me turn one of the most miserable, tiring weeks of my mission (so far) into the happiest I have ever been.

Love you all,

Elder Stewart

Goodbye El Paso......

Hey Friends and Family,

Goodbye El Paso, Hello somewhere up North. We got transfer calls last Saturday and the Lord is bringing me up North. This has its ups and downs. I’m really going to miss my birth area, I am the only white person in the ward and to be honest I often forget that I’m not a Mexican (until I look in the mirror.), plus we spent all last transfer trying to revive this area with investigators and getting the members more active. When I got here we had 2 investigators both with B-Dates and no ward missionaries or Mission Leader. Now I’m leaving this ward with 10 progressing investigators and 7 with a baptism date with a consistent 5+ coming to church every week, as well as a mission leader and active missionaries. When the Bishop heard that I was leaving he asked for my President's number so that he could call and ask if he would give me 6 more weeks. Yes it’s hard to go, seeing as we have worked so hard for it, but I know the lord will bless me for the work I have done here and at least I know deep down that I had a big part in the conversion of people here, even if I won’t be here for their baptism.

I was here for the Baptism of Raul and Alicia Castillo though, and what a wonderful experience. I got to baptize the Mexican version of Grandma Stewart and my companion, my Grandpa. It just seemed so perfect, it was exactly a month since we first met them that they were baptized and they accepted everything with an open heart. The best part is this connection that I feel with them. I knew that on my mission that "People where specifically prepared for me" but I don’t think I really believed that in my heart.  I can honestly say that I know that’s the truth, and now after their baptism, I’m leaving. I feel like they were the main reason I was here. Not to mention the help we got from the members with these two. We must have had 30 people at the baptism. All willing to make them feel like they have always been members of the ward and that they will always be loved and accepted. I hope that one day when I get home that I can bring my whole family here and they can meet them. True they only speak Spanish, but I’ll translate or something.

So I’m really pretty nervous about leaving, and even more about going up north. If any of you guys have or can easily get the Book of Mormon and/or the D&C audio disks in Spanish or even English that would be such a life saver. I think I can call the distribution center and buy some. But I thought I would ask you guys to see if anyone had some hook ups cause I’m not sure if I can afford them as of right now. But basically, up North all Spanish missionaries lose their ability to speak Spanish because they rarely get to hear it, so I figured that if I listened to the Book of Mormon tape in Spanish for a little every day that it could help me keep up what I have worked so hard for down here.

Anyways I love you all,

Elder Stewart

It gets better and better

Hey Everyone. 

Wow what a great week again. You know they told us a million times that being obedient on your mission will bring success, but to be honest a lot of us just put it in the back of our minds until we actually try it for ourselves. I don't know if I said this in the last letter but President made a rule that we could only listen to MOTAB in the car, and we hated it, and still do kind of. It’s so hard to stay awake during the day. Anyway we have been doing it anyway and also cut some other things out of our lives and we have been blessed a million times over for it. 

Alicia and Raul passed their Baptism interview yesterday! So next Saturday we are going to have 2 baptisms at 6 o’clock! Yay. What a way to end this transfer. They are so ready. It’s amazing how the love of Christ works. I have known these people for 3 weeks now and already I’m planning to be friends with them for the rest of my life and most likely into the eternities. And they are almost 3x my age. I could honestly say I would do anything for them.

Also this week we had 7 people at church, which is another record breaker for me. I have come to realize that people at sacrament meeting is almost more fulfilling than getting baptism dates. The record for this area is 9 at church as far as we know, and we have 10 progressing investigators. So we prayed and decided to set a goal this week to break that record. Then if the Lord really does call me out of this area, which I hope he doesn't, it will leave a lot of good work behind for the missionary that comes in behind me. 

So you guys want more of the non-spiritual stuff so I’ll focus a little more on that. Let’s see. Last week we went and played sports with the zone, volleyball and basketball. When we got there I thought there was going to be a bunch of giants who were amazing at b-ball but was surprised to see that they all were pretty bad. So it was a lot of fun. Let’s see my companion. The hardest thing to get over is that he is always burping, farting, or spitting. I can’t stand it sometimes because it’s just too nasty, but I don’t say anything. I figure it’s going to be something I’ll have to get used to eventually with kids someday. (Hopefully not my wife!) But his Spanish is good and he is a good teacher. Plus he is very understanding when I bring up something that is bothering me and he changes right away. He also is a workoutaholic he helps motivate me to get up every morning and do the P90x, which is going very well. I have built up a pretty nice set of workout equipment and knowledge. I got some dumbbells, pushup bars, weight balls, P90x and Insanity disks, from some recent converts, plus some bands that I have. So that is going good as well. I ate something this week that is called Mole. It’s like egg mixed in a chocolate sauce that is pretty spicy. It was super nasty.

Anyway that is all for this week.

Love you all,

Elder Stewart