The Next Chapter : August 2016

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

30 August 2016 - Time is Flying By

Lets see.... well another week has come and gone way to fast. This last week was a good one. We had a baptism of a little girl named Valentina... she is 10. Her mom is a member but they left attending church for a time but we found them again and she wanted to be baptized so we began preparing and getting everything ready. And she had a big fear of water but she was able to overcome it and everything went really well for her baptism. And we have another hermano that is preparing to be baptized on Sunday. His name is Cesar Diaz. His wife is a member but has been more or less active for years. Well they have been going to church on and off again. But this last week he finally made the decision to be baptized and put his own baptismal date for Sunday! Yay! Really it is a huge miracle and I am very excited for this family. And we are working really hard to be able to find others that are going to progress and that are going to be ready to be baptized. The work is moving forward.... really it is so special and it goes by way to fast but we are here trying to do everything that we can in the timing of the Lord. Really I love the mission and this time to serve and it is really changing my life and helping me to be a better person. Les amo mucho!!! Hermana Stewart

23 August 2016 - Not My Will but Thine Be Done

Buenas! Well this week was a bit of a long one for us. But it has made me reflect a lot on many things that have happened in my mission. Really sometimes it is so hard but God has a purpose in everything. Saturday was one of the longest days that I have had in my mission. We had investigator that was scheduled to have his baptismal interview on Saturday... Hermano Mynor... but he never showed up and he did not pick up his phone and he was not home... it was a little like he fell off the face of the plant. And he did not come to church on Sunday and we still have not had contact with him. Really we have no idea what happened with him but we feel that right now is not his time to fully be able to accept the Gospel in his life. And on Saturday afternoon we went to visit a family that we have been teaching Erick and Dorcus... I think that I wrote about them last week... well they were not home. So I called Hermano Erick to see what happened and when we could visit them... and well he told me that they had moved the day before and would not be returning to Linda Vista again... So in the space of 1 day we had 3 baptisms fall. And it was really hard... but I learned a really important lesson from this. During that afternoon which was one of the longest afternoons of my mission I reflected a lot and I had one thought over and over again. This is Gods will. He needed us to learn something from that experience. And it made me think a lot about just everything that has happened in my mission... and how really everything is Gods will. And on Sunday in Church the Bishop gave a talk about the will of God. And he used a lot from a article in the Liahona this month... August from Elder Bednar. And really just listening to that I felt completely at peace. Knowing that I had done all that I needed to but that it was God's will that these people were not baptized in that time. Really I know that we just need to submit our will to God's will and do the things that God wants us to do. Like Christ in the Garden of Gethsamne when he suffered for all of our sins he said ´Not my will but thine be done¨ Really that is why we are here.... to do God's will and by doing that we can grow. Really I am thankful for those experiences that I had this week and for the things that I learned that will not only apply to my mission but also to my life. And that the Atonement really is becoming real to me. It has to be personal for us and really in the last week I have come to understand it a lot better and to really feel that I am closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. And on a lighter note we are going to have a baptism this week. Hermana Valentina. She is 10 and her mom is a less active member that is reactivating. She was never baptized because her grandma got sick and so they stopped going to Church. But she is great and she has a HUGE desire to learn more about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and follow them. Yesterday she told us that she wants to be baptized on Thursday so we will be running around a little this week trying to get everything set up and ready especially because we have divisions with the Hermana Leaders today. But it will be really good. I just hope that everything goes really well because she has a huge fear of water and drowning but I know with lots of faith and prayers that everything will go really well... But I hope that you all have a great week! God loves each of you! Les amo mucho!!! Hermana Stewart

16 Aug 2016 - So We Climbed a Volcano

16 August 2016 Ups and Downs

Wow I cannot believe that another week has come and gone. This last week was a really good one. As you can see we hiked a volcano yesterday... Here in Guatemala there are like 37 volcanos and only 3 are active and we climbed up one of the 3 that are active... but do not freak out it was just a part of the way... And it was fun because there is a part that lets out hot air and we could roast marshmallows there. Which was really fun. And today are bodies hurt a little for climbing up a volcano but it was worth it especially to see the beauty that is Guatemala. It really is a very beautiful country that I love with all my heart. And well with the aspect of mission work this week we had a lot of ups and downs. It has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. This week we really came to realize that some of the Hermanas that were in our area before us were not completely obeident and it has presented some challenges for us... but we have been just trying to find what the Lord wants us to do. And little by little we are seeing progress. Last week I think I wrote y'all about a family Erick and Dorcus... well this last week we have hardly found them and they have so many doubts... more Hermana Dorcus then Hermano Erick but really Satan has been working to make it so that we cannot find them and help them which is just frustrating but that happens sometimes. Also we are teaching a man named Mynor. And he has been a investigator for 5 months but he has changed so much in the last 2 weeks and I have seen a strong desire in him and now he is preparing to be baptized this weekend. And this week as my companion listened to the Spirit we found other new investigators... Hermana Christiansen loves to contact people in the street that are smoking and to tell them to change a cigarette for a sucker. And so she started contacting a man this week... Jose Miguel and it turns out that his grandma and mom are members. So we put a appointment for later that day and we went to visit him and his mom... and his sister who is 10. Well it turns out that him and his sister are not baptized. And on Sunday his mom and sister went to Church. And right now his sister... Valentina is preparing to be baptized at the end of this month... Really it amazes me just how good the Lord is to his children. He loves us so much and he is here to always help us. And we have a great gift in our lives that is the Atonement of Jesus Christ that really helps us to become better. We have an unlimited number of second chances in our lives that help us to grow and come to be better every single day. I love that knowledge that I have... that we can be better and with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ all things are possible. We just need to put all of our faith and confidence in the Lord and we will be able to see miracles... ALWAYS! Les amo mucho!!! Hermana Stewart

9 August 2016 - The Mission Bites

So this week was a super good week for us. It was so so so full of miracles. This last week we were working in a part of our area and in the street there was a man just sitting there with his little girl. And my companion just said I am going to go talk to this man. And so we sat there in the street and taught him a lesson. And then the next day when we went back to visit him we found him in his house with his wife. And we taught them both and they accepted a baptismal date and everything. And on Sunday Hermano Erick and Hermana Dorcus went to church for the first time. I have never found an investigator that went to church the first Sunday... or atleast that I can remember. So really it was a huge miracle. And we have another investigator that we have been teaching Hermano Mynor... right now he has about 5 months of being an investigator but he has never been baptized. Well right now he just got super positive. He went to a baptismal service on Sunday and he really liked it and in the last few days he has had a whole bunch of questions for us. Really it is amazing to see how the Lord prepares people for us. It has really blown my mind. And really in the last few days I have just really been able to feel the love that God has for every single one of his children. It is huge. And in the last few days I have really felt blessed to have the opprotunity to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to help his children feel of his love and to just be able to help them to understand the will of God. Really sometimes I feel helpless in being able to help the people in their live situations but I know that the Lord can help them and he does that little by little through us. And every day we are seeing and experiencing miracles. Really I love my companion. We are completely on the same page and we have the same desires and we have just been working hard to be able to do all the Lord needs us to do. Oh yay... and about the title of this letter... well sometimes there are bites in live... and this week Hermana Stewart had a few of those... on Friday I got bit by ants or like fire ants or something not 1 but 2 times and that hurts.... for awhile it itched a lot but it went away super fast.... but that is just about the luck of Hermana Stewart but really it was a little funny... Hope that you all have a great week. Remember that God lives and loves you and that he always will be there with you to help you do all that you need too. Les amo mucho! Hermana Stewart

9 August 2016 - The Mission Bites

3 Aug 2016 - Milagros

This week was a great week. Luis and Olga were married on Saturday and baptized in Sunday. And everything really was perfect. It was amazing to be able to watch them enter the waters of baptism and really the happiness that they had this last weekend. It was a great experience. And now their family is one step closer to being together forever. It was a weekend full of many emotions for the family Samayoa and really they have become a family that will always be dear to my heart. Our ward mission leader had the opprotunity to baptize his daughter and her husband and they were so so so happy. And well I have a new companion... and she is from California. After 11 months I recieved my first northamerican companion. Her name is Hermana Christiansen and she is from California. She has 6 months in the mission right now... which is a little weird because I have so much more time than here in the mission and so I am the more experienced one. But really she is awesome. She has helped me a lot in just 1 day to have lots of faith and hope in our area and what we can do here. It is a small area and so after 3 months it is a little hard but really she is helping me a lot to do the things that we need to and we are going to be able to find lots more people to teach and to help and to baptize. I am going to try and send pictures after but I think that the internet deleted them but atleast I have some printed copíes of the pictures so it does not really freak me out too much... but yeah that is a little update on the life of hermana Stewart here in Linda Vista... Hope that you all have a great week!!!! LES AMO MUCHO! Hermana Stewart

26 July 2016 Families can be Together Forever

Another week come and gone! Wow how time flies. This week we are really excited about. Luis and Olga have their wedding on Saturday and then on Sunday they are going to be baptized! Really they have come so far and we have seen them progress so much as a family. They have a little girl that is 2 and she is the cutest little thing. She has been learning with them everyday and she even does her prayers when we come to visit and they just melt our hearts. We have been finding some really postivie people and we have been teaching another family that is part member and the husband wants to be baptized but he has felt really pressured by other missionaries in the past so we are having him put his baptismal date. Really I love being able to work with families and to be able to testify that the families can be together forever. That is a knowledge that has changed my life and made me so happy. It makes being so far away from my own family easier because I know that I am helping others to have their eternal families. Really we are just trying to keep working hard and do all that the Lord needs of us... And really I do not have anything else to write this week... sorry.... but yeah that is a little update on the life of Hermana Stewart... Have a great week! Les amo mucho! Hermana Stewart

19 July 2016 - Time keeps flying by....

So time keeps flying by super fast... sometimes I just cannot believe it. But really I am loving every second of the time that I have in the mission. It is so special. One of the things that I have been trying to do in my studies is read more from the Bible and right now I am reading in Luke. But as I finished Mark this last week I was amazed to read about the suffering of Christ in the Garden of Gethsamne. Really he knew what he would have to suffer mentally but he was not prepared for it physically and really it just amazed me that he suffered so much for us. Many times in our lives we think that what we are passing thorugh is so hard but really Christ passed through everything we feel and more. Many times in my mission and have reflected on how much Christ suffered for me. One of the things that Presidente Markham always says to us is that we are here in the mission to suffer and to make the Atonement become really. So many times in my mission I have just felt the reality of the Atonement and just how special it is. I am eternally grateful for my Savior and for everything that he did and still does for us. We are always there encircled about by his arms. We had interview with Presidente this last week and they were so great. I love being able to talk with Presidente Markham. But we talked a little bit about prayer and just how after a long hard day of work when we kneel down and begin to talk to our Heavenly Father he comes running, running to us to hear and help us. And really in that moment I felt the Spirit so strongly and I could just imagine that. What a great blessing it is to have the ability to pray and kneel down... it is how we can really talk to Heavenly Father and have this open communication with him. And he always hears and answers our prayers. Hermano Luis and Hermano Olga are preparing super well for their wedding. They are really excited. And Hermano Luis went to church for the first time on Sunday and it was great because a new member of the bishopric talked about his conversion and progression in the Church and it really helped them. And they also got to pop into a baptism of another ward to see how a baptism is which helped a lot for them to not have questions. Really I love this family so much and I am so excited to be able to watch them progress. And really I know that it was an answer to a prayer that I came here to Linda Vista to know them. I don't know if Jason will remember this but he served in the same mission as the sister of Hermana Olga. Well once in the mission she told Jason that I was going to come to Linda Vista and baptized her family... Jason said that no way would that happen... well in 2 short weeks we are going to see that fulfilled. It really amazes me how the Lord works and prepares people for us and how he answers prayers... I hope that you all have a great week. Remember that the Lord lives and loves each of you and that every day he will be there helping you to keep moving forward. Les amo un monton! Hermana Stewart

19 July 2016

So I thought this might be a little fun to send... Let's see how much Hermana Stewart has changed in 10 and a half months in the mission Guatemala Central... Well the moral of the story is that I don't look the same for anything.... and really its a little funny....

12 July 2016 - Una gringa comiendo una gringa....

1- This week I had the chance to see a Hermana from my first area... she was in the stake center catering an activity and when we passed by to get to our house in the night someone told me that she was there... And this is chicken cordon bleu... so yummy. It really was super fun to be able to see her and her daughter again. That family helped us so much there and we ate with them every Sunday... some of the best food that I have eaten in my entire mission because she is a caterer. 2- A gringa eating a gringa... so this food is called a gringa...really it is basically a quesadilla... but it was super yummy. PS funny story so we live in a resdencial that is behind the stake center... well it is faster and safer to pass through the church to get to our house and here in Central America all the churches have a gate... well we have a key to pass through there and so every night we always pass through the church... and I think that a lot of people think that we live there in the church.... LES AMOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

28 June 2016 - Gratitude

Buenas!!!! This last week has been a good one. Just working hard every single day and we have seen some great progress. Really finding some really great positive people. Really it amazes me to see how much the people need the Gospel. Really it is such an amazing thing. The Gospel. Well what is the Gospel or what is the message that we share. Really it is simple. That God loves his children and he wants every single one of them to return to him. So He has a plan for us... the Gospel that he reveals to His prophets. Well for a time the truth was lost and the people we confused but God, with all the love of a Father, restored the fullness of the Gospel through a modern prophet Joseph Smith. And really I just love being able to share this message with the people. Sometimes we just do not know why we need to knock a door or talk with someone but Heavenly Father knows. And this week we were able to be the instruments in the hands of the Lord that He needed us to be in order to bless and help His children. Really it is so special. Every single day I am thankful for this time that I have to serve as a representative of my Savior. Really it is such a precious time that day after day I am reminded is a short time. It goes by faster then I ever would have imagined to be possible. But really I know that Heavenly Father lives and loves us and that He is always watching over us, protecting us, and guiding us in every single moment. Really it is such a great blessing to know that... never forget it and just let Him help you and guide you in every moment. Les amo un monton! Hope you all have a great week and a blessed 4th of July! Hermana Stewart

22 June 2016 - Buenas...

So I know that I have now gotten really bad a writing letters but really I never know what to say now... I did not have changes and I am still here in Linda Vista with Hermana Chavez... we are looking forward to have another change here to keep working. Really the Lord is amazing and he does so many miracles in our lives... more then you could ever think possible. I have never seen the hand of the Lord in my life so much but really He really is with us in every moment of every single day. It amazes me how much He loves His children and is here to help them. It has been one of the greatest blessings of my life to be here in the mission and to have to opprotunity to work so close with so many of Gods children to help them come to Him. It iis an experience that I am never going to be able to forget. And I thank the Lord everyday for the opprotunity that He has given me to just keep working and keep changing. Really every day is a blessing. And the time likes to pass fast. Just enjoy everyday. Stop and take a chance to look around and thank God for everything that you have. Sometimes we just get so caught up in the here and now that we do not take a moment to just stop and breathe and be happy. That is something that I challenge each of you to do this week. Hope you all have a great week... sorry for my jambled up thoughts that are this letter... Les amo mucho! Hermana Stewart

14 June 2016 - Erik Fergunson

So I do not know if I have written much about Erick. But Hermano Erick is 18 and he is the nephew of a less active member that we are working with the be active. Well this week we had the great opprotuinty to watch Erick enter the waters of baptism. It was such a battle for him. Really when I came to the area I was really unsure what would happen with him... he was not keeping lots of our commitments. But about 2 weeks ago things started to change.... he really started working hard to meet this goal. He went to church 2 weeks in a row and he fought to have the permission of his parents to go (he lives with his parents and depends on them for everything and they are a little difficult sometimes) but we saw lots of miracles. And he lost one of his Books of Mormon so we gave him another one and he started reading. And he just kept keep commitment after commitment. And he had is baptismal date for the 11 of June but something came up and he was not going to be able to be baptized that day but he just told us why dont we just move it up a day. And so of course we said yes and we went crazy organizing everything. But on Friday morning we had the opprotunity to watch him enter into the waters of baptism. And really he was just so so happy. And it was such a neat experience for us. And really just every day I learn a little more about the importance of faith in every single footstep. Really with faith we can see miracles. I have seen more miracles in teh last 9 months of my life then I ever though possible. But really I know with all of my heart that God loves His children. So much...and it is unconditional. Always rememeber that and that He is there helping you with every single thing in your life. I love this Gospel with all my heart and I know with out a doubt that it is true. And on another note... next week I am going to write on Wednesday because we have cambios (changes) here in the mission. Who knows what will happen with that but we will find out on Sunday night if we have changes or not. Hope that you all have a great week! Les amo un monton! Hermana Stewart