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
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