Week 88: Meeting an Apostle

Dear Amazing Friends and Family,

Well, this past week I got to shake the hand of an Apostle for the first time in my life, "according to my memory." Elder Gary E. Stevenson took two hours out of his busy schedule to come talk with all of us in our mission. Wow, I don't think anyone really know what to expect when they meet an apostle for the first time, but for anyone that doesn't know, They are a normal person! The only difference is you can feel of their divine calling and the spirit that they have with them. The conference with him was from 10-12 on Saturday though we were all in our seats by 9:00 listening to the prelude music and I had some time to think about what was going to happen with this great opportunity! When He entered the room I could just tell he was someone special. Throughout the meeting it felt so normal as he talked with us, it was as if we were talking with someone on the street, though he was obviously talking about gospel stuff and it was more inspired than a street contact. Though he has a sense of humor and is an amazing person. We got to shake his hand and the line felt like forever, then the next thing I knew i was sitting down. HAHA He has a wonderful handshake. Firm, yet gentle, and he has such a wonderful smile. He greeted us all by name and then we shook the hands of the other General Authorities :) It was great!!! So, Now I can say that I shook the hand of an apostle. If you haven't done it, I hope you all get the chance to do it some day!

Alright, so this past week we had a really enjoyable time with finding, tracting, teaching, eating and sleeping :) And today we will be making baleadas as a district as well as a Mexican dessert called,"Carlota" we are all pretty stoked, and so that is what we will be off and doing today! HAHA Just know that I love you all and we are doing fabulous! I thank you all for your amazing support and love in all that missionaries do around the world. Best of luck in all of your adventures, 

Much love,

your favorite missionary in Tallahassee Florida,

Elder Stonely

Ingredients for baleadas.

Week 87: My week in an Email :)

Mis Queridos Amigos y Familia,

¡Los Amo! I love you all so much! I am so grateful for all the prayers and support that we have felt from you all this past week! Keep being amazing!

Three experiences:

Funny:     we had a Valentine party this past Saturday for the branch and we went to go set up all the table, chairs and decorations, well, when we were all done, Elder Leandro and I were on one end of the gym with a couple members and our branch president was siting on the other end by himself. We see this man walk in and start talking to the branch president. They were talking for about five minutes. Then this guy come over to us and mumbles something under his breath, and I asked him, "¿Como le puedo ayudar?" which means, "how can I help you?"  This guy, had this specific look on his face of such great confusion.... and I was waiting for a response, but got none, so for a period of about 10 seconds we stared into each others eyes in complete confusion. Then the bell rang in my head, (the guy didn't speak Spanish... ) HAHAHAHA I had forgotten that our branch president spoke enough English so I thought that this guy spoke Spanish when he came in. He was a little darker, and I didn't understand his mumbling voice. HAHA So anyway, funny moment of the week is that I spoke Spanish to a white guy and then we stared into each others eyes until I figured out I messed up. HAHA then we helped the man out. HAHA So now you all know that Elder Stonely isn't perfect :)

Stressed:     Ok, so this past Sunday we had branch counsel and all of the stake leaders came to our sacrament meeting. Now for those of you who don't know, since we have a Spanish branch, we translate from Spanish to English. You would think its easy, I'm here to assure you that it is, when people don't read stories or general conference talks. HAHA The only talk I had to translate was mostly a story that they read and if any of you realize how different stories are when you read them in your talk compared to just talking, it is like someone is talking a thousand miles an hour. So all these pour English speakers that were listening to me were listing to a made up story of mine about the topic of gratitude instead of what the speaker was saying because I couldn't keep up. HAHAHAHA it wasn't the best, and brought lots of stress! HAHAHA though I lived, and am still here :) Though the spirit was in the meeting and everyone was able to be spiritually uplifted :)

Spiritual:     So we found this really sick family this past week from El Salvador. Her name is Abigail and there are a lot of people in the family. We taught them the plan of salvation, then the restoration in two different visits, and she read the Book of Mormon and prayed to know its true! we are still working with both of them on helping them receive their own testimonies of the Book of Mormon and the restoration. That may not be too big of a spiritual experience, though I don't think words can describe the spirit that we felt in the lesson. It was amazing!!!

It was a great week and i am happy to be serving here in Tallahassee! The weather is slowly getting warmer which means spring is coming!!!!!!! wahooo!!!!!!! I love you all so much! 

Your Elder,

Elder Stonely

Blowing you my love and kisses!

 

A sick jeep with a wench in the church parking lot.

 

Week 86: Heavenly Father Loves You

Dear Friends and Family,

This week was amazing :) Truly one to remember :) So we went to a baptism of a 8 year old girl, did a lot of finding, and had a wonderful Sunday.

Baptism: 

There is a wonderful young girl in the branch named Ali who got baptized this past Saturday. It was a very special experience for her, though for all who attended. I sat listening to the prelude music. The pianist was playing hymns in a soothing sort of way that invited the spirit into the service. I looked at all the children and started reflecting on my own baptism. Honestly, I do not remember much of how the service went, who spoke, or who was there, though Alis baptism was similar to mine in the way i felt. As I listened to countless people tell Ali to remember what she is feeling I wish that I would have written my feelings when i got baptized. Of course an 8 year old isn't normally the BEST at expressing their feelings, though it would be cool to reflect back on what my 8 year old mind thought. I may not be able to account the story of my baptism, though I could tell you what i felt because i felt the same that i feel at every baptism i attend. There is a feeling of peace, comfort, endless love, joy, happiness and everlasting hope. The room was filled with smiles. The children seemed to be more in tune with those special spirits that were in the room as well. Oh how i wish to be a child again. I want to know what is going on in their minds. What would they think? What would they tell us about what they feel. I am grateful for the joy that the gospel brings to every single on of us. I know it to be true!

Finding:

I have a testimony of prayer. I know that our heavenly father listens to us and is always willing to bless our lives. We had a special experience this week with finding many potential people to teach and to share our testimonies with others. Though, as many missionaries experience, we meet many people, though not all of them let you come back again. So we were feeling a little bit of discouragement. (just random thought, there is a difference from feeling discouragement and being discouraged.) And In these moments of discouragement is when our Heavenly Father wants us exercise our faith a little more in him and increase our dependence on him. So, we prayed together as a companionship that we would find success in our finding. Though we didn't find success in "finding" we did find it in something great!

We have a LA whom i will call, Susy. Susy has a rough life, she isn't a resident here in the states, she has two kids ages 5 and 3 who are constantly needing help though are a joy of her life. She has a rough working situation which makes it hard for her to work, which means a rough life financially. She comes to church on and off, though has a strong testimony. She has suffered a lot from depression which we didn't know before. Anyhow, we decided to go over on Sunday since she didn't come to church. We went over and started talking to her. Her appearance wasn't usual and she looked worn out and exhausted both spiritually, emotionally and physically. We asked her how she was doing and told her we missed her at church and that led us into a conversation about what was going on in her life. It was very cool to see her open up, though I felt really sad for her situation. We felt inspired to talk about Joseph Smith and prayer. She really enjoyed it and went on to tell us that there have been two really bad moments in her life where in the deepest darkest parts she has received a knock on the door and who have they been? The missionaries... HAHA She told us that when we came by this day that it was one of those moments where god was telling her that he was still there and he was listening. We felt special knowing that we were instruments in heavenly fathers hands. It was definitely a testimony builder for us.

As well as being a moment in her life where she knew that her Father in Heaven was with her and heard her, it was a testimony builder for us that our Heavenly Father hears our prayers, he knows our desires, and he has a will for each and every one of us. Let us put our faith in our Heavenly Father and in his son, Jesus Christ. I love you all so much and enjoy feeling the love from your prayers and your support. Have a wonderful week!

Much love,

Elder Stonely

Used wine bottle corks put to a useful purpose.

Good doggy, it is okay to eat that mail.

Tallahassee water tower.

Week 85: Tiernas Misericordias

Dear Friends and Family,

"Tiernas Misericordias" means "Tender Mercies" in English. I know that I have mentioned a lot of tender mercies before, though this past week as I focused on my journal a little more, I tried to write all of the Tiernas Misericordias that I could remember throughout the week. It truly was an amazing way to reflect back on the amazing blessings that the Lord gives to us daily. In fact, every hour. I always tell myself if i cant find a tender mercy every hour of my day, i need to look harder because there is always something if we go out and work for them, have faith to receive them, and ponder on them. I want to share with all of you one that I had this past week.

Sunday. Alarm goes off, i say my prayer and continue through my morning. Our schedule hasn't changed yet like all the missionaries around the world, so we still have the normal routine. If I told you all my week was full of flowers, smiles, laughing, tacos, and perfectness I would be telling you the story of a fantasy world. We did eat Honduran tacos which were AMAZING, though to sum of the overall week, it was enjoyable, but rough. I woke up feeling sad, feeling a little tired, down and not as motivated as always. After a couple minutes of starting to exercise i told myself that if i went throughout my day feeling the way i was feeling that nothing would be productive. 

Now, doing what most of you would probably do, I decided to focus my studies on the Atonement. I took some time to sing some sacrament hymns and reflect on the words. Given that it was Sunday, I thought that I would try to focus on the Sacrament and what it represents. Those hymns invited a wonderful spirit into my studies and I felt uplifted to focus on helping our investigators use the power of the atonement in their own life. I truly was spiritually uplifted.

However, daily struggles aren't always taken away as we may want. Sunday I learned that we must all be like Nephi and ask for the strength to endure through tough moments:

"But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound." -1 Nephi 7:17

What comfort, peace and strength both physically, emotionally and spiritually I have felt as Nephi felt. I know that the Savior is always here with us and is willing to lift us up and carry us on our way to reach our goals and to accomplish what needs to get done. And not just to accomplish, but to do it happily and joyfully. I know my savior lives and that he is with me. What a tender mercy we all have in every moment. 

I love you all so dearly and wish the best luck in all of your journeys! 

All my love from the small city of Tallahassee :)

Your very own, and only,

Elder Stonely

Some pictures from a District activity that we had...

Week 84: Memories :D

Dear friends and family,

This week was good, transfers happened, Elder Leandro and I are both staying in the amazing city of Tallahassee, church got canceled and we stayed inside because of the "tornado" storm, no one hurt, all is well, time goes fast, taught some people, shared the gospel, ate some good Hispanic food, did some exercise, drove, walked, talked to people and slept. There you go! That pretty much sums up the week!

Our Zone and District, groups of missionaries, have a couple mottoes that we are currently using in our areas which are, 

"Enjoy the Journey."

"TAMMI" the camel. 

     Through work

     Achieve

     Mighty

     Miracles

     In our lives

They have been a really good focus for us to enjoy our mission experience by working hard to achieve the miracles that we want in our everyday mission lives as well as personal lives. This week I had the chance to think of a quote by Thomas S. Monson:

"God gave us memories so we can have June roses in the December of our lives."

As I reflected on this quote as well as our zone and district focus, I began to look back at my "June rose memories." I asked myself, 

"What spiritual moments have I had this past week? month? year?"

"How has my testimony strengthened over these past weeks? months? years?"

"What topics of the gospel have brought me comfort and peace?"

The real question was, "what are my June roses?" I went back through my journal and started to read. I was surprised to see the many experiences I have had, people that we have met, and things that I have learned. As well as be remembered of the uplifting memories as i read my journal. For me, I have a really bad memory, many people tell me, and as i thought of my mission, i am glad that I have been writing those spiritual experiences, mighty miracles, and enjoyments that I have experiences so that during my hard times or sad moments, I can look back at my June roses. It brought me lots of smiles looking back :)

I ask you all today, "What are your June Roses?" and "what are you doing to remember them?" We have been blessed with memories, or ways to remember things so that even during the rough, bumpy and cold roads, we can remember the times we spent in our flower full, sun-lighten fields :) 

I love you all so much and am so grateful for your all of your support! May your week be full of the spirit as we all strive to share the gospel with our beloved friends. 

From the biggest heart in Florida,

Elder Stonely

Week 83: YUMMY!

Dear my favorite, mother, father, family and friends,

This week...

Yeah that was about it. HAHA I'm totally kidding. We had a lot of fun this week. For starters, this past Saturday we were out tracting, we decided to go through a couple trailer parks that we hadn't been to in a good minute, and we started knocking doors! We went to one trailer that was a referral from a different investigator. We had attempted to stop by before though with no success. BUT, that never stopped a missionary. So we went by, they were busy, so they kinda wanted us to get out of their night, but we decided to ask them some "get to know you questions." With Hispanics, if you literally only know one thing about their country and culture, they open up to you big time and become a whole new person! SO, being that this family was from El Salvador, I asked them if they knew how to make a "pupusa." For all you gringos who don't know what I'm talking about, the picture attached is a pupusa I had. It is pretty much a thick tortilla with a mixture of Hispanic cheese, beans, and chorizo inside of it. Then they put pickled cabbage and carrots on top with varieties of salsas. 

So back to the story, we got talking about the pupusas and we set up an appointment to come by and teach a lesson with them at 9:00 the next morning. So, at 9 on sunday morning, we went over, started teaching and while we were teaching, the mom was making pupusas for us to eat after the lesson. SOOO it was amazing... Pupusas are darn good, and we had an amazing lesson with them. They all accepted to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. WHAT OTHER AMAZING THINGS CAN YOU ASK FOR AS A MISSIONARY?!?!?!?! 

1. Amazing lesson!

2. Amazing people!!

3. Amazing food!!!

Alrighty, so that was our week in a jiff! We have a lot of miracles headed our way we can feel it :) I thank you all who are back at home supporting the missionary force around the world! I love you all dearly!

Elder Stonely

A few pictures of our District from last week.

Here are some pupusas I had back in November.

Week 82: :D SMILE BIG!

Dear my amazing friend and beloved family,

I love you all so much! I think if the world had a little more love than maybe there would be unicorns and rainbows everywhere :) random thought, well this week was a great one! Honestly it flew by really fast, and now as I look back on it, i almost feel as if yesterday was Monday. HAHA 

Welp, we had a wonderful experience this morning that made me reflect on our behavior and attitude throughout each day. Elder Leandro and I went to Walmart, there was hardly anyone there which meant less time in the line!!! so we got all our groceries gathered together and went to the shortest line which only had one person about done. We put our groceries on the checkout table as the lady in front of us swiped her card. Now, bless her little heart, this lady was an older woman and i think her memory was gone or something. She swiped her card multiple times, was frustrated that the machine wasn't working when in reality she was reading what it was telling her to do like type in her pin and information and all. She attempted many times to pay with the card without success. The cashier was getting frustrated at the lady because she didn't know what she was doing. So we tried to help the lady the best we could and she was grateful once it was done. While we were checking out, the cashier was still a little frustrated and then started having problems with the water we were buying. I felt really bad, so I tried to keep a positive outlook and smile. As she checked out all the other items, we asked her questions about her life and her work and her normal days and tried to cheer her up. After a couple minutes of talking with her, her composer changed, she herself had a smile on and the world felt a little happier :) 

By the time we got done checking out, there were three people behind us and everyone else in the other lines had already left. What we thought would be a short trip turned out to be a little bit longer, though a little more rewarding. It was surprising to me just how much a smile and a positive attitude can mean in life. I thought back at times I've been in a line, or a grocery store, or in any public place and have seen people getting frustrated and angry only to see myself feeling a little impatient and angry with them or my situation. Maybe you've all had similar situations, but if not, I'm glad you've learned your lesson faster than me! When we are put into these situations or when we have an opportunity to shed some happiness, just do it! People have bad days, people have hardships, people get impatient and angry, and maybe they only need your wonderful smile :) Everyone around us is a child of god, they feel sad just like we do, they are happy when we are, they feel the light of Christ just like we do :) And we have the responsibility to share that with others :) People see a difference in who we are. They observe us. And through simple acts of smiling and being a little happier in your daily lives, people will begin to pay more attention to you and will wonder, "how come they are so happy?" leading to the perfect opportunity to share something about the gospel and why you are truly happy! :) May you all have a wonderful week and enjoy the amazing year of 2017! I love you all!

Elder Stonely

Here are some pictures. Most are of the people in the branch and some fun ones! I made the yummy veggies and all :)