A bitter-sweet conference week....

Me, Raul, Alicia, and Elder Perez

Hey Friends and Family. Family and Friends. Whoever still reads this haha...?

I hope everyone is doing wonderful and that you all watched conference this weekend. I don’t have my notes, but I wanted to share some of my favorite talks, from memory.

I really loved Elder Bednar's talk about how the priesthood is active, not passive. Too many priesthood holders out there wait to be acted upon instead of acting and how it’s a greater sin to have a dormant priesthood instead of not having it at all.

I loved Elder Nelson's throw down on the big bang theory, a renowned scientist, making fun of all those scientist out there who claim there is no God and the world happened by chance. Also how the spiritual and physical gifts we have in our lives should not be taken for granted.  We need to give thanks to God.

Elder Cook said a few things that I really loved because of things I have to deal with currently and have had to deal with on my mission. Something like, you could have all the proof or facts in the world that the Gospel is true, but without a testimony built on faith, through prayer and reading, those things mean nothing.

I can’t remember who commented about "Authority and Power of the Priesthood, maybe Elder Scott? But he said there is a difference between receiving the Authority of the Priesthood, but without the Power of the priesthood, your priesthood can not be truly represented.

There are more but it will have to wait till next week.

The reason I call it a bitter sweet conference is because we had a grand total of 0 investigators come. Our investigator pool is very large, we found ourselves planning for 16 investigators last week. All which were invited, offered rides, called to remind, fellowshipped to come, and basically not one came to it. With excuses ranging from "being to Mexico" to "I have a relative in town that just showed up at my house" it was quite the site to see. On the other hand, I learned so much from conference that it made up for no one coming. Both my companion and I think that the reason that no one came is that God needed us to learn something from conference, and if our investigator would have came we would have had to watch conference in Spanish. So in that sense it was a blessing.

Other than that, we found two new families this week and they are just wonder full. One is 4- generation of women that were excited to hear the gospel and all set baptism dates. The other family was found for us by some faithful English missionaries, knocking in one of the hardest areas to knock due to the amount of Spanish there is. The girl that invited them back is almost 21 and is living with a younger brother and her mother. Both her and her bother set dates as well. We want to extend a date to her mother but sadly, she was asleep when we did. Their eagerness to hear the gospel is moral boosting; the only problem is that the father lives in Juarez and they go to Juarez many Saturdays and Sundays to see him. So it could be a huge struggle to get them to church. Never the less, the Lord has blessed us for the experience and they went to church this past week and we now have 10 investigators with a baptism date.

The zone leaders, when they called to congratulate us told us that we hold over half the baptism dates in the entire Zone. Then this week the sister missionaries in our same ward set 5 more dates as well. So our ward alone has 16 baptism dates. So they better step it up on fellowshipping.

My recent converts Alicia and Raul Castillo went to the temple to do baptisms last Tuesday! And Loved It! The thing I am most happy for is that I will still be on my mission when they are able to be sealed in the temple for time and all eternity. What a blessing that will be!

Other than that I learned so more things about my companion. He is currently dating a girl that lives in Saudi- Arabia, who he met in an online game that is a lot like world of warcraft. He says he is going to marry her (even though he has never met her in person), but the problem is that he is Mormon and she is a Muslim. In order for her to come to the USA and be married he said she had to fake her own death or something and never talk to her family again. Apparently by law, a Muslim father is allowed to kill his daughter if she wants to marry someone who is Christian. So idk if that gives you any idea what he is like but that basically sums him up. Haha

Until next week……

-Love Elder Stewart

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

It's Weeks Like This That Make It All Worth It

Hola Family & Friends 

I hope everything is going well. Life here in El Paso this last week was one to remember. Not to mention that the weather is amazing (70's) perfectly sunny, with a light breeze. I hear it will get up to 120 here in the next few months so I will enjoy it while I can. Anyway, other than that, the missionary work here has been picking up.

I have a love/hate relationship with knocking doors. This week we started back up the knock at least 1 hour a day, because we were promised to have 1 baptism per month if we do that every day. The first few days at the beginning of last week where one of those hate days. We have a returned missionary (named Marshall) just come to our ward 2 weeks ago and he was in the San Jose mission (His mission president was President Watkins), and actually served in the Spanish ward in Holister. (small world)  He is just golden for taking out because he is still in missionary mode and knows all the tricks, so I have actually been learning a lot of stuff from him. We took him out knocking Tuesday and it was super hard. Even though we had a pro with us and our approaches where good enough to convince Rocky Balboa that he was a woman, the people where just too hard hearted. Marshall asked us how we could even deal with the hardness of the rejection down here. The Catholic religion has a super strong hold on the people down here.


So the next day we decided that we would do an "Appointment with the Lord" which means we pray about the area and the street we should knock and we each choose 5 streets and see if they match. Well we had 2 the matched. so we prayed and told the Lord we would be there at 2 o’clock and asked that we find someone prepared to hear the gospel. Well we found 2 referrals for the english elders, 4 return appointments, and a lady who's mom was a member, but she never joined the church and is now wanted to have religion in her life. How great is that?


On Friday we had "Zone Conference" which was like a spiritual recharge. It was from 8 am to about 3 pm, super long. President talked about Christ and his Names in the scriptures. We also had someone come over and teach us table manners for 2 hours. I know know how to properly eat a 10 course meal. The funny thing is 99% of the time we get a paper plate and tortillas to eat with instead of silverware. So basically it was for later in life when I have the money to hire me a butler to make me really fancy meals.


After zone conference we had "Exchanges" where Elder Perez went to another area and I got a Greenie for the day. His name is Elder Krebs, and he actually knew Landen from BYU before he left. Anyway he has been out for only 3 weeks now and his Spanish is still pretty rough. It was my chance to see what I could do and also to see how much I have grown in the last 5 months. We had an appointment with our most progressing investigators which are also my favorite. Alicia and Raoul Castillo. They are an older couple who are just so amazing and actually remind me of Grandma and Grandpa Stewart. Just an older Mexican Version of them. She loves the Lord so much and all she wants is for her husband to be a worthy man of God and to be married in the temple. Now thats what I like to see. Anyway we taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ and when we got to baptism they accepted to set a date for their baptism. So I asked them is they had a calendar and we got it out, and I saw that there was only 2 Saturdays left (the 3rd and the 10th) until the end of the transfer and one of us may leave. And they have not been to church yet so it would have to be the tenth, but I decided to give them both options anyway, knowing very well that it would have to be the 10th. Anything the both decided on the 10th and even wrote it on the calendar. They have the feeling that "It is their baptism date and that they got to pick it. :)"


There was a flooding in our chapel a few weeks ago and so our ward is now meeting at a building that was 10 minutes farther away now. But despite of that we still had 4 people come to church which is my record so far on my mission. Alicia and Raoul came and also Olga and Moi. They where welcomed by everyone and really enjoyed church. I can see the effects of our hard work with this ward now and we are receiving the blessings from it.


Anyway thats all i have time for,


I love you all,


Elder Stewart

Almost at six months

February 20, 2012

Hola Friends and Family

I hope everything is going well. This week was kind of a slow one. Not really a whole lot has changed. It fact it was a little frustrating. But the key is not getting too discouraged so that you can give your all to every investigator. I don't want to find out in heaven that the reason one person wasn't converted is because I was discouraged by the indecisiveness of another investigator.

If you guys don’t already know, I'm talking about Olga. She had another baptism date drop last Saturday. Things with her are just so confusing. but we finally decided that she needed a little push or some pressure to go through with it. So we told her that there is really nothing more that we can still teach her without going over them for a third time. So we had an idea to have her pick her own date for baptism. Which has an up and a down. The upside is that she will feel like its really "Her" date and probably make sure she is ready for it, on the downside, it will probably be after either Elder Perez or I are gone. But then again that's not really what is important. They still have not been able to find work, which is actually probably one of the things that is putting too much pressure on her. Hopefully something changes.

Other than that we have like 5 people who have a testimony of this church and of the Book of Mormon and would be solid baptisms, BUT they all have some family member, friend, or the law keeping them from being baptized. I keep praying for something to change in the hearts of their loved ones. Hopefully something will change soon.

Anyway, love you all.

-Elder Stewart