Week 17: "General Conference"

Dear Friends and Family,

This week has been a growing week and learning week for me. Not much has happened and we have been faced with a lot of things that would probably have struck us down if my companion and I hadn't prepared the way we did. We had a Zone conference which completely changed the missionary work in our area and with General conference, I feel as if I am ready to take on the world! Some quick things that I have learned this week, 1. the importance of picking and setting goals. 2. how to interact with people and 3. the importance of centering Jesus Christ in our lives.

I wont talk very much about those three things, but I felt it was important to share. I have learned to pick meaningful goals that will get me somewhere on my mission journey and better help my investigators. I have learned, and continue to learn better ways of interacting with people, and during general conference, I realized that my life needs to be more centered on Jesus Christ in order to keep my "clay" on the wheel. So it has been an adventure:)

During our Zone conference, a new plan was set in place. Called "Opportunity Generation Next" Which basically, we are going to stop focusing on tracting and visiting formers and focus on Less actives and Family Search. It sounds terrible at first, but actually statistics down here have shown to be EXTREMELY different. We have been focusing on Less Active Members and helping them return to the church, and also focusing on getting Less Active members and Members to the temple to receive the saving ordinances that they so desperately need. And that has been a joy as we are currently helping 5 less actives and helping 4 members prepare to receive the Priesthood/ temple ordinances. Now THAT is something that has made me feel useful. In my mind, I thought missionary work was only for bringing people into the church. Well elder... WRONG! I am also supposed to care for the welfare of the members and help them:) And realizing that has been a great joy for me!

I want to share a regret that happened this week. It has to do with Following the spirit so you can all probably guess what went down. We had just got back from biking, so we hoped in the car. ALL, literally ALL of our plans had fallen through and we had 2 hours to kill... So we sat in the parking lot trying to think of where we could go or who we could visit. The thought passed through my mind that we should stop by one of the Less active members. We had called her not only 5 min ago and she didn't answer. But I thought we should stop by. I expressed this to my companion and he hesitated and a little and so did I. So we took another 5 min to think of who we could go by. Finally I decided that we were just going to stop by. So We drove over to her apartment. And as we pulled into the parking lot a van was leaving. And guess who it was... the less active member. So to summarize the story, the five minutes we spend doubting and rejecting the spiritual prompting caused us to miss a possible appointment that only the Lord knows why we needed to have. The rest of the day I felt terrible and could not believe that i allowed myself to pay no heed to the prompting. In fact i still feel really lame about it. So lesson learned! Always follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost! I found that to be a central message for me in General Conference this weekend which only added to my guilt. HAHA but I can only do better next time! And You can count on me to ACTUALLY follow it!

Alright so time is running short, but I just want to share with you all what I know to be true. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true church and contains the fullness of the gospel on the earth. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God and that through him we have the BOM which he translated. I know that the BOM testifies of Christ. I have a testimony of the basic truths of the gospel. that is all I need right now to begin my journey. I know that Jesus Christ suffered for not only our sins, but pains and temptations of every kind. I know that he knows how we feel at all times. He suffered it. And I know that through him we can find the peace and comfort from this world of pain and discouragement. I love my savior. I know he loves me. I Know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet called of god to guide us and lead us. He couldn't have given such a simpler talk. Keep gods commandments. I know these things to be true and the way we can all feel happy.

I hope you all can find peace and joy throughout your journeys and experiences back home. remember to not only listen to conference, but to read and reread the talks and continue to "Ponderize" the messages. I love you all and can feel the love that Christ has for all of you.

From the Heart of Foley,

Elder Stonely

Week 16: "There's nothing like SERVICE!"

Dear Friends and Family,

Oh my goodness this week has been FANTASTICO! HAHAHA A lot of learning, growing, working and serving. But I love it and wouldn't want anything different:) Last Monday after we emailed and ate lunch, we were on our way to the store and someones car had broke down in the middle of an intersection. Cars were just going by and nobody was helping them at all. So we pulled over into a parking lot and ran into the middle of the street to help them push their car out. They were VERY thankful for the help that we offered and would not stop saying "thank you" and they were nice people:) But when we started pushing their car, a Fire truck happened to be nearby and they saw us so they drove over and put on their lights so nobody would go through and hit us. and they followed us until we were safe from the dangerous roads. HAHA but we looked back to thank them and they all had their phones out filming the four guys in white shirts and ties pushing this car. So we got a good laugh out of that:) And that set a really good tone for the rest of the day:) which leads into what my topic for the week is:) SERVICE!!! Serving people around you is one of the BEST missionary opportunities. And not just for missionaries but for all.

We had some amazing service opportunities this week. For one, i taught another Family history class and they people were very interested. I found out that i am a terrible teacher, but that doesn't matter cause they were all very new to the site anyway, so just showing them a family tree was interesting! Although something cool happened when we logged into one ladies account to help her out and she literally had NOTHING. Just her name... So we did some digging and Elder Duncan (English Elder) Searched for her father and mother and BAM! She had like 7 generations that just appeared. And the look on her face was priceless! Those moments are some of the best ones I've had:) is when you get to see people so happy:0

The other service opportunity that we had was to help this guy build a shed. and before i get started, its key to know that Hispanics most of the time don't follow directions... And this shed needed some serious help with the directions. we were out walking in a trailer park cause we had extra time, so we found this guy working on this shed with his wife. It looked like they were struggling with it so we put our bags down and jumped right in. At first they seemed a bit hesitant that a bunch of white kids dressed all fancy were helping people they didn't even know, but as time went on they seemed to trust us a little more. They had a couple pieces wrong and so we helped them and just kept helping them. Well over the period of four hours, we had finished the base and the walls. And the smiles on their face were nice as they had seen that shed go up so fast! I guess he had been working on it for like 5 days or something. So we told him we would come back the next day. Which we did. And spent another 3-4 hours putting the roof on. And It was one of the best service opportunities in the world. We did one of those days on Fast Sunday and the mix between being on a spiritual high from fasting and serving made our day perfect! If you ever want to feel happy just go out and serve someone! truly one of the best ways:)

So Tuesday came along and I had the opportunity to go on a trade off with our district leader, (Elder Olson). I learned a lot more patience and charity during that 24 hour period. I don't know why, but when you are with other missionaries it is just different and they all do things in their unique way and I learned a lot. I came back to Foley after that trade off and started to apply some of the things that i thought would be good to try out. And my patience and Love for those around me has increased tremendously. So throughout my mission, Christlike attributes will be one of my main focuses:)

OK so now on to the fun stuff:) well not all fun stuff, cause i had the worst experience of my life. (not really... ) We ate at a members house and he apparently makes the same thing every time the missionaries come over. Which is Fish, (some other type of fish i cant pronounce/spell) mac and cheese and pudding. And I am not too big a fan of fish for those who know me... And I was stressing out the whole day that i had to eat fish and be happy about it... HAHA so we got there and he had left it on the table, so it was already cold, and I was staring at my plate thinking... "How am i going to eat this..." And when it was time to eat i shoved all the fish into my mouth to get it all done and over with. And it was terrible!!! I kept a really good poker face though and said that it was really good ;) but my tummy was wanting to reject what i ate... HAHA My strategy with eating the fish first though was so that i could override the taste with the mac and cheese and the pudding. Which worked pretty well:) and that dinner appointment was interesting.

Although i was rewarded later due to a double dinner appointment by mistake. Our ward mission leader took us out to a Mexican restaurant right after where i got some REAL food. HAHA now the mexi style is where its all at:)

And we have found a new P-day activity! The member we went out with a few weeks ago has started playing with us too. We bought nerf bullets and made PVC guns. well more like those Indian poison dart guns. And we play zombies and some other fun games in our apartment. Those have been amazing! and they are a good way to get all the stress out from the week:) We continue to find more and more fun stuff to do:) OH! and our Family from Hondurez, Ramon and Lucia said that our Honduran shirts are on the way. HAHA so soon we will be Honduran people:)

Speaking of Lucia and Ramon, They are doing awesome! They continue to impress us in their interest and willingness to change their life. Lucia is having a hard time getting to church because of work issues, but we are trying to hit her up with a job with some of the "hermanas" in the church:) we told her that they know people who can get her a job that wouldn't schedule her for Sunday. And that is what our next big step with her has been. But they are super nice people and we can not wait to see the gospel enter their lives even more as they continue to make these big commitments.

Pictures should be coming! There is quite a bit this week too i think. HAHA I love you all so much! And hope that everyone continues to do what they should to be a better person. The lord loves you all! And there is a lot of love in Foley Alabama! Until next week!

Elder Stonely

Week 15: ":D I'm Still Rollin'!"

Dear Friends and Family,

This week started off well when we had district meeting this past Tuesday. Our district is seeming to be closer and closer. (I knew it would...) HAHA I gave a cool lesson about Patience using A chocolate bar and they all pretty much hated me!! HAHAH JK:) And now we have some great plans next Tuesday as a district! Its not the same without Elder Clayton anymore, but its good in a different way! I am continually blessed with more and more people with different experiences and talents. So our district will continue to grow together:)

Now the Power behind a blessing is insane. I came home from a long, tiring, and terrible day. People weren't home, couldn't talk, I couldn't remember a lick of Spanish to save my life and overall You could say "the struggles are REAL!" And when I start feeling this down depressing feeling, all i want is instant relief. As we walked into our apartment, I asked Elder Chapdelaine if he would be willing to give me a blessing of comfort. And Gratefully he did. we went to a quiet room, I grabbed a chair, and he gave me a blessing. Now the important part i want to mention is that the stress from all of the things I had to do and all of my frustration didn't instantly go away. It was all still in the back of my head. But as the spirit entered the room I was given peace and comfort to all that I was doing. And I was able to finish the night knowing that I had the Lords Help. And throughout the whole week as I did all I was supposed to and worked harder than ever on the language I have been blessed. The Power behind a blessing is strong. The Enabling power of the Atonement is real. The savior knows what we go through and knows how to help us. And all we have to do is let him in. My testimony of the priesthood, blessings, atonement, and patience has grown this week. I was able to teach 2 lessons in Spanish fairly well! They could understand me and even though i asked for a little help, I was given the strength of the lord during those lessons. Truly a gift. The savior was with me this week as I tried my best and asked for his help. And for the opportunity that I have to receive, and give blessings I am grateful for.

Ok so other than having "the struggles" this week, we also had a lot of fun! We made our lessons enjoyable as well as spiritual. A lot of our investigators opened up to us this week and started telling us the "REAL" reasons they aren't doing things or don't want to do them. And for us that is exactly what we need to hear so we can help them in the best way. And when they open up like that it means they trust us! So we are glad that happened. There isn't much to report on any of our investigators other than the family of Lucia and Ramon now have another Baptismal date! They have been working hard and we had a lesson yesterday on Sabbath day observance. So we were able to share that our experiences with them and share the importance of going to church and doing the things they need to prepare. And they want to get baptized on the tenth. So that will be a day to remember! I have grown to love them so much and care about everything in their lives. They are at an important point in their life and I am greatful that I could be a part in bringing the gospel to them.

Going back to thursday, we had an activity for the Hispanics! We were celebrating Independence day of Mexico and we played soccer and ate great food! although since there are only two-three Mexican Families in the branch, The members turned it into "Independence day of...(insert home counrty)" HAHA so that was fun. The greatest thing though was that the whole branch was having a talant show on Friday, (which was both hispanics and americans) and there were more members, investigators and people at the Hispanic activity than were at the Talent show. HAHAHA GOOOO HISPANICS! We rock ;D

This week was a great one to remember and we did a lot of fun stuff :D I am greatful for the opportunity that i have to be out on my mission enjoying the experiences and the spirit. I hope you all have the chance to feel the spirit every day. I pray for you all and love you all so much! Remember who you are and what you want to become. Then be patient and ask for the Lords help and he will be glad to:)

Much love from the Heart of Foley,

Elder Stonely

Week 14: "Patience"

Dear Friends and Family,

Santa clause is coming to town! HAHA totally kidding. But really... Its been like 20 degrees cooler in the morning every morning when we go running and it feels PERFECT! So nice:) I congratulated myself today as I noticed I finally am showing some hope for some upper body strength. Doing exercises for 5 min every morning showing off! TENDER MERCY! JK:)

Alright so not much excitement this week, but I know that the Lord has been helping me in the little things. My main point of this week is yet again Patience. This transfer I have been blessed to have such a wonderful trainer and remain with him for yet another six weeks. And I would not have it any other way. During our training hour early on in the week I was having a rough day. rough time and honestly everything felt terrible... BUT! He mentioned some things and the only thing i could really think of was having more patience. Not only patience with situations everywhere around me but being patient with myself. (Something I now am understanding... After 18 YEARS!) But hey:) better now then never right? HAHA So as I have gone throughout the week everything that happens, i begin to see with a "patience" perspective. (not sure if that makes sense...) but in every thing that happens i notice that it takes patience. And when we have patience things are easier and better. I love this scripture which states it plainly:)

"And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the lord" (Mosiah 24:15). Patience is so important in everything we do and makes my week and days 100 times better. So, now that my little rant box is over on to the good stuff!

Tuesday we met our new district! Sadly Elder Clayton is gone, but Elder Olsen is a pretty boss District leader! Everyone in our district is either being trained or training. HAHA so pretty new district if you ask me:) and it is exciting! Everyone is pretty quiet during our meetings, which reminded me of when Elder Clayton went home telling everyone i was quiet! (which may or may not be true...) HAHA so now i have to break out of that box and actually talk to people! Shocking... i mean i am a missionary. HAHA No jk:) But i've been thinking of what i could do to bring our district a little closer together so we aren't so "NEW" to each other. And I thought of an amazing idea which i will try out! i'm not ganna mention it cause if it fails i will feel like Einstein without his persistence in trying and trying and trying. HAHA so we will see how the new district goes:)

Last day for Elder Clayton's leadership!

Elder Stonely and Elder Clayton saying goodbye!
Missionary companions for a day, cousins forever!

There has been like a Plague occurring in the branch. At least on the Hispanic side of things. HAHA Luiz cruz (one of the members) received his patriarchal blessing and is now preparing to go to the temple and so I think that has excited all the other Hispanics into getting their own! Which is great cause now all the Hispanics are excited about it!!!! So we have been helping them all out with preparing them to receive this amazing guide in their life's:) The members are now very attached to us which is good because they have been coming out to lessons with us and helping our investigators find better jobs and working with them on their journey. Which is how it should be because people need to feel loved in this world! And i'm glad that our investigators have been finding that through the members. I am proud of all of them down in the Foley Branch:)

Lucia and Ramon and their family are doing great:) We had to push their Baptismal date back a little bit due to some small things, but they are excited and really want to keep going. Its been a joy to see the excitement in their life's. Ramon made mention to us during the last lesson with him how one day he showed up to work and He didn't say a single bad word all day. His boss noticed his change and asked him why he wasn't cussing. Ramon replied that he had met some people (us) from the church and that he was trying to change his life. His boss seemed really impressed with him. Needless to say, Ramon has been seeing some CRAZY changes in his life habits and he is progressing very fast. We are excited to continue teaching him.

Today We had the really exciting chance to go hangout with a member in the branch! he invited us to come over and do some fishing for a bit in the morning and that was extremely fun! There will be pictures and stuff coming later hopefully! But basically... Fished for about an hour, i caught nothing, but the member was like, "alright, we aren't leaving till one of us catches something!" and not joking... right after that he threw his pole out into the lake and caught a fish. LIKE HOW???? HAHA it was pretty cool:) so we went up to the house and he decided it was cool to take us through the forest on his golf cart. And to make the experience seem less terrifying and scary as it was, my companion almost got his face ripped off by a "Banana spider" the size of my palm... IT WAS SCARY! The member was showing us cool looking spiders, so we got off the cart to look at one cool one and I look over to my companion and a foot away from his head is this GIANT spider. Like not kidding... biggest spider i have seen in my entire life. HAHA so the member told him to slowly walk away. and when everyone was out of the way he pulled out his hang gun riffle thing, (i don't know anything about guns) and shot the spider! It was pretty scary... But apparently that's normal or something. HAHA Well i think it was alright cause he took us out for lunch after:) and here i am. Still alive and still pushing forward! Tender mercy if you ask me. HAHA I felt like i was in Harry potter just surrounded by spiders. HAHA

Glad that this week has been a changer for me. I am beginning to see the blessings in my life and things that i need to work on. But always remember to give thanks for your difficult trials and challenges. Because then you get to learn from them and apply the wonderful Redeeming and Enabling power of the Atonement. I love you all so much and pray that you may all see the Lords loving hand every day as you wander on this journey, continually holding to the Rod of Iron. The savor and redeemer loves each and everyone of you. May you find joy in his gospel.

Much love from the little town of Foley,

Elder Stonely

Week 13: "Pasoli!"

Dear Friends and Family,

Well this week has been so great! For starters, i am addicted to "Pan Dulce" which is pretty much sugary bread that you can buy at the Mexican stores that look so fancy. HAHA those things are amazing... And they are what i buy for a good "pick me up" snack. HAHA some member gave us a GIANT tub of Ice cream so i pop one of the pan dulces in the microwave for 15 seconds and plop a scoop of icecream and it makes for a very tasty bowl of joy:) HAHA

Also while on the topic of food... we ate this thing called "pasoli" (not sure if that's how you spell it, but whatevs!) and it is some Mexican soup type things that you eat with Mexican chip things. And it is amazing! so anyway we ate it at a members house and enjoyed it and wanted more. She always gives us the extras, so we brought a bunch home. And then one of the families who we are currently teaching invited us over around dinner time to have dinner and to have the lesson. And guess what they made?!?!?! PASOLI!!! It was so good. and not even old after eating it so much. BUT! that's not even the best part. we walked out of that dinner/lesson feeling so full and the white lady who we had tracted into and helped with their car came out with a big bowl. and what was it?? PASOLI!!!! HAHA we were a little hesitant because she was a white person cooking a Mexican dish so we didn't expect it to be very good. BUT, It was better than all pasoli we have ever had. So we thought that was pretty funny:)

Ok now moving on from food and onto the good stuff. Honestly... This week was hard. VERY hard. Things falling through, we had to "Drop" a couple people, (which means stop teaching because they aren't reading or doing anything. they just like the listening) so there are other things we could be doing more productively. Its sad to drop people but necessary. and lessons were falling through especially with our main family, Elies and Patricia. They haven't come to church and we assume they are just busy and things are happening. so another way to have patience. And i am working on it! However... Something really truly amazing happened just within the last week that has been a blessing and will be a blessing to the branch here in Foley.

Our third family. Lucia and Ramon. Not sure how much ive mentioned about them, but i will debrief on their story so you all can have a little background. This family is AWESOME! They are from Honduras and have three kids. And we thought that the father was a member cause he said he was baptized, but it came out to be that he was baptized into some other church and he just knows a lot about the church! but we are looking for his records just in case... But we met the mother one day while tracting. she didn't seem too excited, cause i mean we are other "preachers" going around trying to convert. The father wasn't home that time so we weren't able to go in and teach but at least we got a return appointment. So when we went back for the next appointment we finally met the father and he seemed to be SOOOO excited about the church. Like he LOVES it! so we taught a simple lesson about how families can be eternal forever. and they were excited:) this time the wife seemed to show a little more signs of life. HAHA So long story short, we asked if we could come by and keep teaching them. And they agreed:) even asked us when our church was cause they wanted to come! And guess what... THEY CAME!!! 0ur first investigators that came to church:) It was way cool! and the cool part was they were participating in the gospel doctrine class. So that was super cool!

K so cool part time! at church they invited us over for dinner so we could eat and then have a lesson. And though the food was SOOO good, that wasn't the best part. HAHA It was a great lesson and we definitely felt the spirit! and to cut out all the unnecessary parts, they accepted the baptisms invitation!!! Both the Mom, Dad, and if the son chooses to he will be baptized as well!!! and that will hopefully be happening the 26th of this month!!! super soon, but super possible! We are all excited about that. HAHA

So all comes to show. Patience and hard work all pays off. Even though we didn't have to really do anything because these people were prepared by the lord and they are ready. And i am glad that i could be a part of their lives and be a part of this change. We have a lot of work to do this week and we are excited! Love you all so much and cant wait to keep you all updated on the family we are teaching:)

Much love from Foley Alabama,

Elder Stonely

Week 12: "Palabra de Dios!"

Dear Friends and Family,

Well this week has been shortened because of the P-Day being on Tuesday of last week. But it has probably been one of the fastest, coolest, spiritual, and PERFECT week that I have had so far! I simply cant mention it all today because it was that good! Before i get into the groove ill mention some other stuff before i forget. HAHA Number 1, Elder Clayton leaves this week so i will no longer be blessed with his presence in my district. So that's a little sad. But he's moving on! I'm excited for him:D Which brings us to transfers:D I have been blessed to stay here in Foley Alabama! I'm actually really excited because the past week i have gained an attachment to the people... HAHAHA But one of the English Elders in the area has been transfered and replaced by a newbie so we are excited to get to know him! We had our spanish activity this past Friday and i found out that i much be allergic to some sort of plant down here cause i keep swelling up every night from something! HAHA i seriously have had bumps up and down my arm from something. But they are only temporary:D They go away eventually. And its kinda fun cause im the crazy missionary enjoying the new environment. HAHA

Anyway... Back to the fun people:D So this past Friday we had our Spanish Activity with all the hispanic members of the branch and a couple investigator families! it went so well and we had a great turnout! one of the less active members who is moving today actually came and enjoyed a little "goodbye" party. I think me and my companion brought the spirit back into her lives before and she is now wanting to get ahold of the missionaries in North Carolina where she is moving too. I may never hear from her again but i hope the spirit touched her and will lead her back on the path.

But, we did have two Non-Member investigator families come to the activity!!! we were hoping that more would come and we would have more members show up too, but we had 30 people total and it was a perfect turn out. The nonmembers were what made it perfect:D The First family, I believe i talked about them last week. their names are Elies and Patricia. They have 3 kids and love families! Patricia used to be very religious but had fallen away when her Dad passed away from cancer. She doesnt understand why god would do that. (pretty much most people right?) Well anyway, we had a BOSS lesson with their family. It was funny cause their kids were playing outside with friends and they made them come inside and sit down and listen to the "Palabra de Dios!" (word of god) HAHA but... we shared the restoration and when we got to the First Vision, my companion recited Josephs Smiths Words. Now im not joking when i say i have never felt better in my life. The family was paying attention, i was trying to understand, but when he started, the spirit filled the room. It was so strong and i knew it was testifying to Elies, Patricia, and their family. All of their eyes were fixed on us and they could not move. We taught simply, but boldly. The spirit never left until we left. It was strong the whole time. But thats not even the cool part. The cool part was when Elies stopped us at the end and said "From the time you started describing Josephs vision, I felt something different..." And he went on to explain ALL the feelings that the spirit brings. And it was crazy because he felt it, we felt it and it was there. And it was perfect. They said they were going to come to the activity so they did! and they had a BOMB time at the activity and they said they loved it so much that they wanted to come to church sunday! Sadly they couldnt make it to church because something popped up and they live 30 min away from the building, but they said they are making all the efforts to come next sunday. We cant wait to meet with them this week.

Next! We tracted into this family from Hondurez. They are super fun and actually the father, Ramon, is a member, but it sounds like they kinda just "lost" the church or something throughout their time here. They are super busy and he is only home on the weekends cause of work, but we were super surprised when we went over their and they preceded to tell us that they wanted to get married in the temple. We were both shocked... So they will be someone really cool to have in the branch and im hoping that they DO find time for this change in their life. They seem prepared by the lord.

The other Non-member family that came to the activity we havent had a chance to followup with, but they seemed to really enjoy it and their kids had a great time. They left early cause they needed to go to their church, but we hope we can bring the gospel to them in some way:D

Now. The topic that i have been studying this week was Christlike Attributes. Not really going very deep into all of them cause i will be doing that later:D but this week as i studied Patience in particular i realized just how important patience comes into play. And how it connects with the atonement. I've been having a hard time with investigators not making appointments or things happening or stress lasting longer or feeling insufficient at the language and this week i really took a step back. And i realized just how important it is to have patience. Patience with investigators or people around you because they have lives too! Things happen, they have to meet certain things and they have a life! i didn't really understand that till now because living as a missionary you don't have a normal life. Your life is appointments. Patience is required. I've been feeling really insufficient because i cant speak fluently. Taking a step back, I've realized i know nothing. The gift of tongues is real if i can have a conversation with people and teach lessons. I have been given a gift. And i shouldn't complain about not being perfect. If i have patience and study hard, i will have what i need. And with the Atonement. He suffered for our pains and afflictions, and we just need to have faith and patience that he will help us get through them. Big lesson this week and something that has been helping me keep my head up and keep moving forward. This not only applies to me but should apply to everyone. Have faith that things will get better, you'll be ok, and the Lord will lift you up. but then have Patience. There is a quote in Preach my Gospel from President Thomas S. Monson that sums this up perfectly.

"Life is full of difficulties, some minor and others of a more serious nature. There seems to be an unending supply of challenges for one and all. Our problem is that we often expect instantaneous solutions to such Challenges, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of Patience is required."

Now i don't know why Patience is required. But i do feel like most of the time He is trying to teach us something that we would not be taught if the problem we face was solved right away. The lord knows whats best for us and we need to trust in him and his timing. I pray for you all back home and hope that as you all strive to be more Christlike and submit to his will you will all be blessed. I love you all.

Elder Stonely

Activity selfie:D

This is what happens when we come home late!

Member's bird that lives outside!!

Week 11: "Visit from Elder Brent H. Nielson!"

Dear Friends and Family,

I have enjoyed this past week. It has been full of learning experiences and fun. I have been working a lot with Elder Chapdelaine on teaching lessons by myself in spanish just so i can learn how to say certain things and when to say them and how to communicate with people more. I found our studies together very productive. He always amazes me in his teaching capability as well as his ability to comfort in his words when he can obviously tell something is getting to me. Even after a crazy lesson that didnt go well, he always knows what to say and how to explain things to me in a way that i let go of what happened or forget about my terrible execution and keep trying. He's a boss!

The biggest part of this week was our 1/2 mission conference. Elder Brent H. Nielson, First Quorum of the twelve, and another recently called Elder visited our mission. There were so many great talks and a lot said that all of us have been considering. Elder Nielson began his talk by telling us that the leaders of the church love us. They love missionaries. They pray for us, they care for us. I thought about everything he said and one of my favorite things he mentioned was, " Missions arent easy. They are hard. you've been called by a prophet. You are the select. But that doesn't make your mission easy." Then speaking of the atonement, "It wasnt easy for the savior. So why do you think it should be easy for you?" I thought about that for a minute. As ive mentioned before, The atonement has been a central topic in my studies. And I realized that things are hard. Life is hard. Things happen. People get angry. Simply put, its HARD. But the savior knows what its like. It was hard for him as well. I thought of not only the mission, but others. investigators, family, friends. A lot of people wonder why life isnt easy. Because if it were easy what would we gain? What would we appreciate? How would we grow? There wouldnt be discouraging times. All we would know would be easy. Now i know this may sound kinda silly and crazy for me to talk about. But as i thought of our investigators i thought of how i could help them through these hard times. And i understood why we have hard things happen so i could explain to them why and help them through them. They all have doubts, questions and concerns. But through the simple principles of the gospel things are made easier. The Atonement is wonderful.

Now I appologize if that paragraph does not make sense or is nuts. I find it difficult to explain my spiritual thoughts. I figure after 2 years of practice ill get pretty good :D

I also taught my first english class this week. there was a family that came in and wanted to know how to pronounce words and stuff. Lets say... I think i learned a lot more about spanish then they did about how to pronounce things. HAHA also have sympathy now for anyone trying to learn english because it is hard... And doesnt even make sense to me. HAHA I think ill just stick to spanish now...

So cool thing that happened this week! After the mission conference we went to a place called "Lamberts" It is a really good restaurant... They make like fried stuff, BBQ stuff and are known for their "Throwed Rolls" Yes they really do throw them! It was kinda fun cause you have you meal and all and then every 5-10 min someone comes to a general area in the restaurant and if you want a role you raise your hand, and they throw you a Hot role!!! And they have pretty good aim too. Its very fun and entertaining. But today we all feel sick from all the rolls. HAHA I turned to my companion and said, "I think i need to repent for defiling my body by eating too many rolls..." HAHA we enjoyed that dinner experience:D

So to end, I want to express my appreciation for this week. Its been one to remember and one to think about. Maybe next week ill have a lot more to mention. HAHA I love you all! Look forward to serving even more and doing the lords work:D

Beautiful sunset after a day at the beach

Elder Stonely

AAHH!!! He's getting eaten by a shark!!

Totally awesome sand castle!

WOW! Visitors from the Book of Mormon!