Week 60: I'm a Cowboy!

Dear Friends and Family,

Well I thought I would just let you know that I'm officially a Cowboy! HAHA As many of you know, we live in a little house, pretty much in the middle of a cow farm. Though there is a gate around the house to keep the cows out. So we got out of the house to come email today and I looked out by the gate and see a cow standing by the car. So Elder Valenzuela and I started to get unsure of what to do, so we called our landlord, but he couldn't make it out there in time, so we had to herd this cow back into the field. It took a couple of tries of me and the cow running at each other. HAHA They are pretty wimpy, so they get scared at a certain point. Though I hearded a cow! I'm a Cowboy mom! HAHA

The next biggest news is that transfer calls came in last night, Elder Valenzuela is being moved to Foley Alabama, my previous area and I will be staying here in Cairo with an elder Named, Elder Lambson. He looks like a pretty sick kid! I'm excited to serve with him. :)

As far as Missionary work goes, Ana came to church and is continuing to love it! We are going to start to work with her on getting her BCD date moved up closer. She has one set for November 19. So we are going to continue to work with her! She has been one of our tender mercies. And we also had the opportunity to take the sacrament to three of the members who can't make it out to church and even though it took up quite some time on Sunday, it was the best service we have ever done! So for all you young men out in the world, just know that the service you do with the sacred ordinance of the sacrament is a true blessing. Take advantage of it! 

I'm doing well! We are loving the work. :) It will all continue onward. :) I love you all so much! Thank you for your continual support. :) 

Elder Stonely

The biggest heart in Cairo, Sister Bouton!

That was random...

Week 59: Baptismal Invitation Accepted!

Dear Friends and Family,

This week has been a great one for sure. First off, it was the only week that I have been here where we have had a member come out and teach with us. THAT was exciting! But it wasn't even the best of news. One of our investigators, Ana Fuentes, accepted the baptism invitation and will be getting baptized in November! It is quite far away, but that was when she said she felt like she should get baptized. So we are going with it! She was truly a tender mercy.

The week had been going hard. There wasn't much work to be done and we, as a companionship, were both feeling a bit down. The day we were to see Ana however, we prayed that the spirit would be able to guide us and help us. And Ana accepted the baptism invitation. She then came to church on Sunday where all of the members just about killed her with love! She participated in the lessons, even though we had to translate, and was not scared! It was by far the best Sunday we have had yet. And we have a feeling, every Sunday will be like that. Part of both of us this week wanted to stay here till November to see Ana get baptized! There were a lot of emotions running through the week.

Spiritual thought comes from these two scriptures:

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. --Heleman 5:12

And this one which talks about partaking of the sacrament.

 

And I give unto you a commandment that ye shall do these things. And if ye shall always do these things blessed are ye, for ye are built upon my rock. --3 Nephi 18:12

As we watched Ana partake of the sacrament and enjoy the blessings of the Gospel, I just want you to know that the blessings that can come from the Sacrament are tremendous! I am grateful for that opportunity. It truly is a way to build our foundation on the rock of the savior. :) 

 

I love you all! And hope all goes well back at home :)

 

Love,

 

Elder Stonely

 

My silly picture for the week.

Typical Georgia country side.

 

Week 58: Inviting Investigators to be Baptized

Dear Friends and Family,

This week has been a busy schedule!!! To give you a perspective on how busy it was, we taught three lessons... HAHA We had Zone training, District meeting Training, Interviews with President, Weekly planning, joyous service projects, and the weekly stuff :) Then the rest of the time we spent going out finding people to teach. Cairo seems to be getting smaller and smaller as we go about getting to know all the areas. The Hispanic community is one of the nicest here too so I am yet again, truly grateful to be part of that one!

This week we have been blessed to receive a lot of council from our leaders and from those who taught us during the training. One main focus was inviting others to be baptized, so this week and throughout the next couple weeks, the zone will be focusing on inviting all to be baptized. I'm excited to see what it brings, because Cairo hasn't had a baptism in about two years! Its a long time, and we have a couple people who we really feel could join the lords fold!

Someone shared a quote with us this week that I have been putting into application throughout the week. Its simple, yet its taken for granted a lot of the time:

"He is reachable at any time and in any place." -unknown

We have the listening ears of our father in heaven truly at any time and in any place, whether we need him or not. I have been trying hard this week to keep a prayer of thanksgiving as well as asking for help and strength throughout every day. And I know that I have received help beyond my own ability because of that simple act. If you're not already trying it, JUST DO IT! 

I love you all so much :) Cant wait to hear from you next week :)

Much love and care,

Elder Stonely

The heart of Cairo GA

Week 57: Sister Bouton "Happiness is a choice"

Dear Friends and Family,

This week I wanted to dwell my thoughts on one of the members here in Cairo and an experience I had with her. Her name is Sister Bouton. She is an 70 year old lady who literally just keeps going and doesn't stop! Though something about her has just caught my attention since I first saw her. And that is just how good of an attitude she has. This week someone told me, "happiness is a choice" And I had a lot of time to think about that throughout the week and when I thought of Sister Bouton It just clicked. Happiness really is a choice. And for all of you out there who think otherwise, maybe Sister Bouton's story will be able to help you out :)

Like I said, Sister Bouton is a 70 year old lady who is married to a man who has back problems and  is totally dependent on her. They live really far from the main town and they live all alone. Sister Bouton also has heart problems. She has had five heart attacks since 2011, all of which, the doctors informed her, should have killed her. As she told the story of each of the heart attacks I sat there in amazement. I have seen many people like her in both the Nursing homes and Rehab that I have worked at, and she, like many in my places of employment just keeps going. On a couple of her heart attacks, she called the doctor, though the one she was going to see was booked for a couple days. So not thinking much of it and thinking her husband needed more attention than herself, she patiently waited for the day she could go. When she went into the doctors office, the doctors, upon finding the cause of the heart attack, were stunned to know what had kept her alive. They informed her that one of her Main Arteries was 100 % blocked. (this was the same thing for 3 of the 5 heart attacks.) Her doctor, was known for chewing people out for not taking care of their bodies and also their lives, so all of the nurses warned sister Bouton that she better prepare herself. So when the doctor came in, Sister Bouton was prepared. She asked the doctor," ok, what do i need to change?" The doctor, in reply, turned to her and said, "I don't know what you are doing or how you are living, but whatever you are doing, keep doing it. Because you should be dead right now." This happened on two occasions.

Now I don't think that she has come to the conclusion that I have or if the conclusion I have is the right one. Though I feel as if Sister Bouton is receiving the blessings from the hand of the lord for her strong testimony in the Gospel and for her continual desire to become like the savior. One big part of it is her choice to be happy. I have never met someone who has the burdens and loads of this dedicated wife, mother, grandmother and supporter of a falling branch than the Sister Bouton here. I asked her this week, "How do you always have a positive attitude?" she gave me her humble reply, "I didn't know i had one :)" And we both giggled over it.

My dear friends and families, if choosing to be happy is a lesson you haven't learned yet, I would think about it. Because I have already begun to see miracles and blessings poring into my daily life from trying my hardest to be happy through all that goes on. Yes, life is tough and sometimes unfair, but you choose whether or not what you have is gonna make you sad, or happy :) I constantly ask myself, "is there sunshine in my soul?"

I love you all so much and am so grateful for the lovely support that us as missionaries have. I am tremendously grateful for loving parents and friends who encourage me to push through every day. And I am also grateful for the savior, who is the support system for anyone and everyone. May you all receive blessings this week!

Much Love, 

Elder Stonely

Oh, yeah...I'm hip!

Homemade shake! Yum!

Another shake.

More weird selfies!

Week 56?? Lost count

Dear Friends and Family,

This week has gone by faster than any other week. It feels like I was just writing home. Well, one thing was super fun that we did! We did a family history activity, and though only one person showed up, it was a success! I also found out a little bit more on how to search and do family history as far as my Native American ancestor goes so mom and grandpa, watch out! I'm gonna find something whether it is on the mission or after! HAHA 

A lot of pondering has gone on this week in many different forms. Though one thing that I am grateful for is the fact that we are given challenges. They come in all shapes and forms. Some of them are great, and some are small. Though one thing is for sure, you will always learn something from your challenges. Even if its something you don't necessarily want to learn at the moment. Sadly, those seem to be more regular than not. HAHA Though the Savior knows how to shape you the way he needs you. And he does it in such marvelous ways that sometimes we miss them. I just want you all to know that I am grateful every day for the Lord and the challenges he puts in my paths so that I can overcome them and become stronger. 

I am also truly happy for his sacrifice so the challenges that I go through can also be a time for me to accept his support. Man, I learn something about the Atonement every day! its awesome!!!!! 

I love you all and look forward to hearing about your amazing adventures during these next few weeks! 

Much more love than ever,

Elder Stonely,

Cairo GA

P.S. Here are a BUNCH of pictures to make up for the lack of photos the last month or so...

We drive along this road each day to and from our home.

Visiting with Domingo.

It's P-day. Yeah!!

On the roof of the church.

Study time!

Chilling with Sister Sgoggins.

Strawberry shake.

With Brother Day searching for venomous snakes.

Feeding goats.

July 4! Why not wear all three???

Me and the "Yearmark" crew. We all arrived about one year ago.

Continuing work on ramp.

Making progress...

I did that!!

Almost done!

Week 55: Spiritual Fireworks

Dear Friends and Family,

I always start off by saying that "this week was one to remember" or something like that, though the only thing that remembered my week was my journal. HAHA There wasn't too much that happened. 

One big thing that happened was our mission said goodbye to President and Sister Smith, and welcomed another President and Sister Smith! We had the opportunity to welcome in the new Mission President and His wife and get to know them a little more. He seems SUPER energetic and crazy! I'm excited to get to know him a little more. :) And sister Smith is VERY quite and calm. They are a perfect pair for each other! And I think that we are going to enjoy them a lot out here. It was a humbling experience for me to see just how humble of people they are and it was nice to get to know them. :) We will miss the old President and his wife, though its going to be a blast with the new one!

This Sunday we also had an investigator at church. Domingo is his name and he is 17. We love him and were supper excited that he wanted to come to church! So when we showed up, there was another less active member who was there named Robert. In the same grade at Domingo. We got super excited cause Domingo would have a friend to talk to his age instead of sitting next to a 70 year old woman! HAHA So we approached Robert and asked him if he knew Domingo before we introduced them, and when he found out who he was he went off about how big of a trouble maker he thought Domingo was and how bad he was at school. HAHA So we got a little worried about how the friendship thing would work. Though to our surprise, Robert helped him feel welcome! It was great. :)

I wish you all a Happy 4th of July!!! I envy all of you who get to watch amazing fireworks and have a blast, though I'm a little prideful of the spiritual fireworks that us missionaries get to set off every day!!! Totally kidding. HAHA We can all have spiritual fireworks :0 And I hope you all enjoy your week! 

I love you much! :)

Elder Stonely

Zone Conference with new Mission President and wife.

Week 54: Blessed are the Poor in Spirit...Blessed are the Meek

Dear Friends and Family,

This week was yet again another great week! Full of more and MORE learning. And so much work to be done. I wanted to share with you all something that I learned this week in my studies and throughout the days. 

On Sunday afternoon, right after church I was studying in the scriptures. One of the speakers who spoke during sacrament meeting had been assigned to give a talk based off of a couple chapters in the book of 3 Nephi 12-14. Chapter 12 includes the "Beatitudes." His talk fascinated me to the point where that day I decided to dive deeper into each "Beatitude" and study them a little bit more. Though as I studied them I found my mind dwelling on two in specific. They are found in Verses three and five.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" verse 3.

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" verse 5.

I probably spent a long time pondering these two because time was flying by during the hour of study that I had. These two touched me a bit harder than the rest because these past couple of weeks many challenges, difficulties and what you could call "trials" seem to have been never ending. I found myself most days with feelings of anger, envy, regret, and feeling in a way entitled to some help from above. 

My studies have been recently focused on Christlike attributes, though until now I didn't quite apply what I had been learning. After reflecting the two scriptures, I realized that I was personally holding in a lot of personal pride. I thought of how I could become "poor in spirit" and "come unto him" which led me to becoming more humble and meek. I realized that in so many ways, I was feeling "entitled" to help when the help was already here. Becoming meek and humble is submitting yourself to the savior and letting him teach and help you. I Learned that If I was a little more humble and meek in what I was doing and how I interacted with others, the help I thought I was "entitled" to, could be given to me in any needful moment. I also realized that If i were to have any of the blessings of the gospel or "the kingdom of heaven" or "inherit the earth" I was to become more Christlike. Especially humble and meek. 

Now I apologize for the crazy spread of thoughts! Though I hope that if any of you are experiencing the same feelings that I felt this week that you too can experience the blessings that come from forgiving others even when you weren't in the wrong or by looking at things that happen in a different perspective. There is no pride in the heart of the humble. and those who are humble and "come unto him" shall inherit the "kingdom of heaven" as well as the fruits of the atonement and the blessings of the gospel. I am so grateful for our savior, Jesus Christ, and all that he has shown me, taught me and especially for his amazing example. I know that he truly did suffer for our sins, how we feel and the sorrows around us. I am grateful as well to serve the people around me:)

I thank you all so much for the support you are to all the missionaries around the world. Have a great week this week and enjoy your summer :) 

Much love,

Elder Stonely

P.S. I left my camera at home, so pictures will have to wait another week.