Week 19: "Be a Member Missionary!"

Dear Friends and Family,

This week has been a busy one for sure. We have the Baptism of our family coming up this Saturday at 9 in the morning and they are SUPER excited! I can see it in their eyes every time it is brought up. They are beyond ready to take this first step and soon after they will have a goal to enter into the temple and be sealed as a family. I feel really special too cause their chose me to confirm them! Elder chapdelaine will baptize and i will confirm! It Has been on my mind all week and I feel honored. This will be a huge opportunity for me :)

This week has been so busy for many reasons. One being the baptism and trying to figure that all out and squared away so it will be successful, we had a Hispanic activity again which we tried to get put together, and It was my last week of training, which was insane cause I now will be a lone ranger! Part of me still feels inadequate because I never quite figured out everything i probably should and there is still so much more that I could learn. But Elder Chapdelaine has done a very good job at helping me and letting me know that I'm doing everything i can. Which is perfect to understand. I thought of the Newly called apostles yet again this week and how they all felt inadequate to be an apostle. And they have a tough job! They have to do more than me... HAHA but they trust in the lord and have that faith. And for me that has been what is keeping me going! I have realized this week more than before that I will have times even worse than now and that I need to have my trust in the lord anchored into the ground. And so that will be my next step as I move out of training. I'm just blessed to be with Elder Chapdelaine for another six weeks. HAHA

So not much more to report for this week. It seemed to fly by really fast which is nuts... The days go by faster and faster and by the time i look at my watch, its already P-day! Which is scaring me cause I don't want to be done! And i've only been out for four months. HAHA i still have plenty of time :)

Ending on a more spiritual note, I have thought a lot about the less actives in the branch. There are many reasons why people don't come to church or why people fall away and at least here, a lot of the time they leave because they don't feel loved or wanted or needed in the branch. Which is terrible. Now I cant blame them, cause when I got here there were only two members who constantly came to church in the Spanish side of the world, and all the other people are retired people who like their own little world and honestly, don't speak Spanish. HAHA But we have had the blessing of watching as more and more people are activated in the church and brought back into the "fold." Yesterday we had a total of around 15 Spanish members come to church and they are beginning to support each other more and more! And that has been a truly amazing blessing. Just remember that missionaries can only do so much. All of YOU have a more positive, lasting influence on less active members and converts. When you reach out to them it doesn't just seem like someone is being assigned to them but that someone really does love and care for them. All of YOU can do so much even though you are not missionaries. The lord loves you and all of your friends and family. I thank everyone for showing me an amazing example throughout the years :)

Much love from the freazing state of ALABAMA!\

Elder Stonely!

P.S. its not actually THAT cold... i'm just a wimp.

Week 18: "Get to stay in Foley, AL!"

OK! well to start off, Transfers were this week!!! and last night, I had a period of 3 hours of heart dropping pain that would just not seem to go away. previously i had thought of the idea that it would be cool to go to a new area and just do something else, but I realized that I really did not want that to happen. I realized what it means to have Charity and Love for those you serve. And you know what made me realize that? The 6 hours of heart dropping pain of waiting for the announcement of transfers. I was SO scared that I would be transferred and would have to leave my whole world (Foley Alabama) behind! And Ill express some of the reasons why it felt so hard:

One, we (Elder Chapdelaine and I) have been working really hard and doing well together. I did not want to leave that behind. And we had found Lucia, Ramon and their family. And they are doing awesome! We had a lesson with them the night of transfers and we set up their baptismal date and details that will happen. Which is awesome! they have really shown their testimony of everything and Lucia sent in a letter to her boss letting her know that she needed Sundays off in order to be with her family and go to church. Which really showed some improvement, and we thought she was for sure ready for baptism. So Lucia, Ramon and their son, Daniel, will be getting baptized on October 24. And they are ready. Probably more ready than i was when I got baptized. Or even went to the temple!!! HAHA they will soon have a goal to take their family to the temple and be sealed together. THAT if anything has made my mission a success. Which made me super sad to think that me and Elder Chapdelaine could be transferred.

On top of that was one of my favorite "Boss" (for you mom... yes it means AWESOME!!!) HAHA Luiz Cruz from Honduras. He has been a super story! he was less active, but recently has received his patriarchal blessing and will soon be receiving the priesthood and going to the temple. There has been a HUGE improvement helping get less actives and people like him to the temple in our branch. And honestly it is people like him which make this experience perfect as well! so the people like them were on my mind as I was thinking of possibly getting transferred. Which was SOOO terrible...

but luckily! We got the call and none of us had been transferred! That brought more relief to me than anything before. I wanted to be here for the baptism day and for the day when Luiz goes to the temple! And now i will be able to :)

alright so moving from that to a more spiritual side, I wanted to mention some experiences that I have had this week that prove that Satan is working hard on missionaries and anyone who is trying to "hasten the work". We were in ward council like normal and we announced the baptism of our investigators. And everyone was SOO excited, but then one of the members said something that really made me a little frustrated. he said that he thought missionaries were just baptizing to fill a "quota" and that we are baptizing people who will just go inactive. And he REALLY was stressing that out to "us" really. And he was dead set on his opinion and I honestly lost all Charity that I had at that moment. I wanted to rip him a good one because he didn't even know our investigators and where they were at. But Elder Chapdelaine yet again, showed a perfect example of who I needed to be. Which calmed me down and I was glad he was their. he took the unnecessary advice and said he would work hard to give them a strong testimony and work with them. (even though he already knew Lucia and Ramon had a testimony). I felt a little better when another member on the council ripped the guy apart and asked him, "did you have a testimony when you were baptized at 8 years old?" and continued to mention that peoples testimonies grow in the gospel. Lets just say, the man didn't say anything else during that meeting. I kinda felt bad for him...

on top of that story, there have been days this week that have been terrible... Terrible days where i get down on myself. But Ever day I realize that its just the adversary telling me im not good at it or I cant speak spanish or whatever the reason is. and I would always stop, say a prayer and continue onward with faith. And the days got better! I am greatful for the atonement.

So that story kinda got side tracked, but why did i tell it? because Someone told me before I left on my mission that people would say things that would make me loose hope and they told me that people who I would think would care, for example this man, would try to rip apart our work. And Elder Chapdelaine told me to not listen to what he said. Because we are doing the right thing here. and we will continue to do the right thing. And so remember all of you back at home! People are going to say things that will make you doubt what you are doing. but remember that if what you are doing gets someone closer to Jesus Christ and helps them, its the right thing. so don't be discouraged!

Alright so this week is already a novel, so time to end! I would invite you all to continue to reread the talks from general conference and to think about the words that have been shared. I love the atonement and everything the savior has done for me. I know that he is constantly with me and cares for me and my investigators. Because I feel the same love for them as daughters of Our heavenly father. And my spiritual Brothers and Sisters. We are all Spiritual Brothers and Sisters. and I love you all!

Much love and Fun from Foley Alabama,

Elder Stonely

Here are some fun pictures taken this week....

Big Foot?

Bike Selfie!

Some creepy thingy...

LUIZ BOSS MAN!!!

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