Week 32: The Power of a Testimony

And the weeks go on!

Dear Friends and Family,

I marveled at how the spirit works this week. We had the opportunity to start taking the Priests in our ward out to lessons with us. There are about 8 young men total in the Foley ward, 6 of which are from Hispanic families. SOOO... we have been blessed to take many of them out with us! We had such a great experience with one of them as well. His name is Victor. He is 18 years old and is a convert to the church in 2013. He struggles with many different challenges as any teenager would, but just imagine the worst you can get and multiply it by 100. Considering his situation, it was amazing that he is so strong! Well recently he has been facing many challenges and decisions. He began to lose his testimony and fall away, which is why we decided to work with him specifically. One of Victor's many challenges was deciding whether to go on a mission, or to go to college and start changing his life around. Well the story continues till last Friday when we took him out to a lesson. We were sharing about the BOM and how one can really know that it is true, find answers and feel the spirit as they read. I turned to Victor and asked him to share his testimony. I had not told him that he was going to share anything, so he seemed very surprised that I called on him. After a couple seconds of deciding what he was gonna share, he began to bear his testimony. It was the strongest testimony of the BOM that I have heard come out of any 18 year old kid. Including mine! Later during the day, Victor stopped us in the car and told us that he knew he was going to serve a mission and that he knew that he wanted to do what we do as missionaries and help others. It was amazing to see him have this sudden change and to see the spirit work in him. He truly was the biggest missionary work we did this week. And I'm proud to say that Victor, after a year of not reading the BOM, has read his book every day since then. I cannot wait to see great things come of this young man and the others who will assist us! 

Selfie with Victor.

Eating out with Victor and friend.

Well, me and Elder Sturdevant are doing BOSS down here. He is one of the strongest missionaries I have met and I know that he will only become so much better! He continues to teach me and help me. He is pretty much training me now! I will be sad when we have to part :(

This week we have been really trying to work with the members and personally, I really have seen the need for so much missionary work down here within the ward! Elder Sturdevant and I were blessed with the opportunity to give talks in sacrament about the Sabbath day and missionary work and I wanted to share with you what we came up with earlier as we prepared. Its a bit funny cause in our talks we talked about how missionaries have this thing called the 3 S's, however we made that up the morning of are talks! But I thought we would share them anyway as they apply to any member of the Church! :)

The three S's to missionary work include:

Service:

"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." -Mosiah 2:17  

What better way to do missionary work than to serve your father in heaven? and we do that by serving others. Whether it be doing your home teaching, visiting teaching, service projects or anything else! Get out and serve!

Share:

As missionaries we are constantly sharing! We write our testimonies in BOM's and share them with people we meet and with members, we pass out cards, help share our family history stories! We are always sharing!

Go out and share with your neighbors and those who need the gospel in their life! Don't be afraid to speak up about the blessings you have received from the gospel. Don't you think others want those too?

Smile: 

"...Remember...  ...to be Spiritually-Minded Is Life Eternal."
-2 Nephi 9:39

Go out and show your smile! The best way to do missionary work is to show others the blessings that come from living the way you are all living your life! Remember, to be spiritually minded, and have the blessings of the Gospel, makes you SMILE! Always have a smile on your face, and someone is ganna wonder who you are and why you are happy!

I love you all so very much and I am grateful for all of your support back at home! I wish you all such a very merry, happy, seasony, non-seasonal week! Much love from yet again, the heart of Foley Alabama!

Elder Stonely

Birthday party!

Silly Riley.

Week 31: Follow Your Priesthood Leaders

Dear Friends and Family,

If I could share my thoughts and feelings that I have had throughout the week, I could be writing here all day. There was a lot that I learned and a lot that I am going to work on :) For starters, I have again learned a lot of lessons from my companion and I love him so dearly for teaching me these lessons and helping me out. He still doesn't know that I have learned so much, but I thought he didn't need to know and I can express my gratitude when we have to separate. He is such a great companion and I wish the best of luck for him. All my companions have been great so far!

I also wanted to share with each and every one of you just how awesome your priesthood leaders are! I had the chance to just email the mission president, talk with the bishop of the Foley ward, and this week I have an interview with the mission president too. I was thinking about all of the leaders who have affected me and who have been a huge guide in my life! And I know that they are all where they need  to be and they know what they are doing! Take their advice because its gonna help you all! I love my priesthood leaders!

And my last thought is simple today :) I was reading in Doctrine and Covenants section 121 when I read verse 45 which says, 

Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.

And I was reading this and thought that it was amazing because charity and virtue are the Christlike attributes that I have been working on and really want to improve. And I have found that when I try to be charitable and virtuous, my behavior and attitude around others really changes. And it it easier to be patient with people. I know that to be so true! and I am grateful! 

I thank you all so much for everything that you all constantly do to love and support the missionaries! And I am extremely grateful for you all :) I hope you all have a great week and enjoy your lovely snow back home! its just cold here... HAHAHA

Elder Stonely

Week 30: "Companions working side-by-side"

Dear Friends and Family,

This week I hit my 7 month mark, and it does not feel like 7 months! I feel as if I just got out here and that is a little scary. HAHA Training is going well and we are doing great in Foley. Elder Sturdevant is learning Spanish a lot faster than me I feel like. And he is definitely not scared to talk in lessons, so he will learn really fast! I am gratefull for his effort and everything he is putting forth to learn and to grow! And in fact, he has been a huge support system for me. Throughout this week there have been days and situations where I have learned from him! And it just goes to prove that no one really is the "Senior" companion. We are both equal. And Now I feel a little bit more humble as to learn from my companions.

Well this week I focused on my studies. Trying to learn more about the priesthood and the Christlike attributes. I found it very fun to find a scripture and then write my thoughts about it every day. And Now I have a whole notebook of scriptures! Every day is a day of learning and growing! And you dont have to be a missionary for that ;)

This week is short! but just trust me that it was bomb! Now its picture time! Sorry for all those who missed seeing my adventures last week! Love you all!

Elder Stonely

Week 29: "Christmas in Foley, Alabama!"

Dear Friends and Family,

This week was definitely one to remember big! (I think I say that almost every week) But this week I mean it more than the other weeks! It was a little slower as far as missionary teaching and finding, however, the spirit of Christmas was the strongest I have ever felt. We shared the New Christmas Videos the Church Produced which are so BOSS! And That was a huge spirit catcher with everyone we met. And we had great time at member houses.

The highlight of my week was skyping my family at Lucia and Ramons house (Recent Converts). I think I was just so shocked at the sight of my family that I didn't even know what to say. HAHA They told me I had a huge smile on my face and I guess now I'm feeling the after affects. HAHA Lucia and Ramon were super excited to see my family and meet them all as well! In-fact, when the time came to end the call they were the ones begging me to not end the call! They wanted me to keep talking and they wanted to watch! HAHA I thought It was a little funny. They feel like my family that I have around during this Christmas season. Best gift for any missionary is skyping or calling home! Thank you family for making the Christmas one to remember! Im glad I took Pictures! HAHA

As far as the missionary work is going, we have an investigator who is coming to church pretty regularly who I feel could have a Baptism date within the next couple weeks which is AWESOME! And the Foley Branch is no longer a Branch... ITS A WARD!!!! Everyone was super excited to have this change and to be ready. But I guess that just means more responsability for us right?? HAHA We have been doing great down here and are super excited to continue working hard! Infact... Today we have a nerf blow dart war with the District. #Missionarylife #IHATEHASHTAGS

Much Love from me, The Elder in Foley Alabama where no one knows where its at :)

Love you all!

Elder Stonely

Oh and BTW... If anyone has the urge to send candy to us, I would advise you to save it for yourselfs! the kids down here are getting a bit too sweet! Enjoy the holidays :)

Week 28: "Attitude of Gratitude"

Dear my boss Friends and Family,

Man oh man does time seem to fly by. I feel like I was just writing a weekly email and now I'm here again! Last P-day went by really fast. The three other missionaries had a lot of stuff to get done so we were running all over little Foley. But man, the week this week was almost like a roller coaster too. With ups and downs, highs and lows, fast and slow, and man just crazy! Hopefully my Spanish mind doesn't mess up the email. :)

So Tuesday we didn't have District meeting because we had a Christmas Mission Conference with 1/2 the missionaries. And man, that day was so crazy. Probably cause my routine was so thrown off. We did go to a little thrift store to do service, which was supper fun! We got there and normally when we arrive they just have like a couple shopping karts with stuff that needs to be put on the shelves and all we do is put it out so people can buy it. But this time they had like 5 shopping carts and 4 giant racks of clothes that they needed to hang up. We started with the shopping karts and put everything out, but then we got to the cloths. HAHA And let me just say, a good 90% of the clothes were woman's shirts and pants and dressed and it was hard for us two guys to determine where to put them. The person in charge ended up just giving us something and telling us exactly where to put it! we are such typical guys... The best part of the service though was seeing how happy it made the workers in the store. We walked in and they were all fighting for some reason, and by the time we left, they were all happy and they really enjoyed us coming. I think they were all stressed and overrun with their work, so we tried to just joke around and make them laugh and lighten their day by doing the service. And it worked! We left with smiles on our faces and felt really good for serving and making other peoples days better. Service is boss!

Wednesday was the mission conference, and it was very good. We had a musical program with Sister smith narrating and that was great! very spiritual. Then we had a lunch that was prepared by the Relief Society and It was AMAZING. I'm jealous because I will never be able to cook like the woman in the Relief Society. But thats ok cause i still have my mom right? Just kidding.

The rest of the week was another week and very good. I am glad for opportunities that I have been given to grow and to strengthen my testimony about the gospel. I am grateful for our mission president down here who has been called to serve us. I know he knows where I need to be and when and am grateful for him. I am even more grateful for the savior during this time of year and for all he has done for me. He truly is my greatest gift.

I hope you all enjoy your Christmas. I know I will be enjoying all of the members and the opportunity to serve them. Thank you for all your support and for everything that I have received from wonderful people back home. Have a Merry Christmas!

From the little town of Foley,

Elder Stonely

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Week 27: "Light of Christ"

Dear Friends and Family,

Out of all the weeks I have had so far this one was by far the best one. A lot happened that has confirmed to me just how true the gospel is and the eternal impact that it can have when applied and lived. There are over 10+ mini experiences that we have had as a companionship with members, investigators and with us that have really sparked my interest and I would like to share just briefly a few of them.

For starters, the last couple of weeks I had really been worrying and thinking about Ramons family (the recently baptized family) There was a lot of things that were going on and they seemed to only be taking this family farther apart. It was tearing me up to watch and feel like all I am doing was sitting and watching. So I put a lot of thought into their family. And I used the help of the Branch President. I asked other missionaries what they could do in a situation similar to theirs and then I formed a plan. The main theme that we wanted to teach to them was the basics of the gospel. Along with basic family activities. We went over and had about 3 really good lessons throughout the week that were very well needed. Overall, I have been able to see the blessings that come in a home when based upon the basics of the gospel and when simple family activities like prayer, scripture study, and FHE are put into place. I have grown a strong love for this family and for all they do and now they are stronger together then ever before. And they have a goal to go to the temple and be sealed as a family. I love the Gospel.

Second, we have recently started teaching another investigator named Gabriel. He is 26 years old and is from Mexico. When we first started teaching him he would act like a teenager at first and would be really goofy. I wondered how we would ever seriously teach him. But lesson learned, never doubt. Because we had planned to go over and teach him the gospel Saturday morning. We had our scriptures and everything ready to teach. When we got there we started teaching and the lesson went very well. Scriptures are a perfect way to bring the spirit into the lesson. With Gabriel, we explained things very simply and he understood them well. Now comes the great part, when the lesson was about to come to a close, we felt prompted to read with him Mark 10:39 which talks about baptism and how we need to be baptized like Jesus Christ. We read the passage and felt prompted to invite him to be baptized. (now at this point my mind was going insane because we have only taught him twice and we had barely introduced it) We extended the baptism commitment and without hesitation he said yes. It made me step back and think. I was so happy and just super excited! I'm still not sure really what happened there or why he so readily said yes, but I believe that he has been prepared and that the principles of the gospel were something that opened up his heart. I know the spirit was very strong and testified to him the this message was true. I am grateful for this experience.

The last topic I wanted to mention comes from a lot of different experiences. But it is the Light of Christ and the change that it makes in peoples life. We had a lot of investigators that we were teaching and a couple of times when we went over, they had family there, but weren't there themselves. So we just got to know the family members and a lot of them told us that they were interested in what we were teaching because they had been seeing the change in their families lives. And we picked up 4 new investigators just from that! Amazing right?? Blessings for those families for doing what they should be doing. And the Light of Christ really is bright!

Funny side note, this Sunday, I had to translate and there were a ton of Hispanics that showed up and it was super stressful. HAHA and not sure if the Hispanic members like stressing us out, but the teacher for gospel doctrine didn't show up so they all looked at me and said, "your turn" HAHA so yeah taught my first lesson in Spanish without any preparation. It didn't go as well as it could have... HAHA still learning!

Other than all the fun we had this week, We are continuing to push forward and forward! I have enjoyed every minute out here and it seems to be going really fast! i hope to be able to find more people and to report back to you all how amazing Foley is. Much love from the coolest and most humble missionary in the world! (HA totally a joke)

Elder Stonely

Love you all!

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Week 26: "Service is the Key to Happiness"

Dear Friends and Family,

This week has been all just adjusting. Adjusting to being a trainer and adjusting to having a new companion. It is all so great! Only thing is I hope I don't stress out my companion with too much new stuff. He is doing awesome and enjoying the mission! And I am super glad that he is my new companion.

This week I had a great birthday. It was spent serving others and enjoying time with members and helping them do missionary work. Some people would say that that is the worst way to spend your birthday, but I believe that it it the best way I could have spend my birthday! I enjoyed it so much! Its almost like every day is my birthday!

So this morning I was reading in the Book of Mormon and that is where my spiritual thought comes in today. I was reading in Alma 28. Chapter 27 is the story of Ammon leading the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi to safety which is the land of Jershon. They had established themselves and then came a period of time of war and hardship. And in chapter 28 it talks about how many souls were lost. There were people mourning the death of their family members, and then it went on to mention two important ideas. The people in this story were divided into two different groups.

"...yea, and many thousands are mourning for the loss of their kindred, because they have reason to fear, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are consigned to a state of endless wo." -Verse 11

"while many thousands of others truly mourn for the loss of their kindred, yet they rejoice and exult in the hope, and even know, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are raised to dwell at the right hand of God, in a state of never-ending happiness." -Verse 12

While I was reading these verses, I read the last verse of the chapter:

"And thus we see the great call of diligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord; and thus we see the great reason of sorrow, and also of rejoicing-- sorrow because of death and destruction among men, and joy because of the light of Christ unto life." -Verse 14

And these verses led me to think a lot. These are actually my "Ponderizing" verses. It made me think about first, the effect of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and two, How important missionaries are. There are many people in the world who are either sad, or happy. Those that are truly happy I have found to be the people who understand and apply the teachings of Jesus Christ. Homes that are centered on the Gospel and People who apply the Atonement. People who have faith in Jesus Christ, His atonement, and the Plan of Salvation. And I reflected a lot about this. And just how happy the Gospel of Jesus Christ can make people. It changes lives. And truly makes people happy.

I thought of little situations that could be found in daily life. For example, feelings of doubt or inadequacy. I thought of rough moments that I have experienced out here and moments of rejection. I thought of how I handled these situations and the outcome of each. And for me I noticed that when I was thinking about Jesus Christ and using his atonement and trying to serve others and be like him, none of the negativity seemed to bother me. Though When I started to dwell on the thoughts of doubt and inadequacy, I felt like the people who had "reason to fear."

Overall, because I am not sure just how clear the last couple paragraphs were, I have found through these scriptures, that if I wanted to be happy, it was only going to be through the "light of Christ." It is simply said in verse 14, as the reason for rejoicing. And I am glad that I have this opportunity to take this "light" to people in darkness.

I am grateful for all of those whom I have come in contact who have blessed my life in some way or another. There are many people who don't know the impact that they have had on who I am. I am grateful for my Savior who constantly is helping me become better. And I look forward to the day where I can great my Brother and Heavenly Father. I love you all! Enjoy this upcoming week :)

Elder Stonely

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