Sunday, December 5, 2010
...
Thanksgiving was GREAT! We froze playing turkey bowl at 9am. We then had lunch at the mission home with the office staff and other missionaries. President and Sister Merkley actually were in Branson. (Yes, mom that's in the mission. Maybe I'll hit it before I'm done!) After that we went with some other elders to a home of a less-active man for a while where we ate again. He had the Saints and Cowboys game on. Needless to say, we had to look through Black Friday Ads for a while to not watch the game! That was an interesting household to say the least! We then had an activity at the church with the branch. It was a "Thanksgiving Dinner." But, there was no turkey in sight. I took a picture of the plate of food that they gave us. I'll have to print it off and send it to you. There was a good turn out. Thanksgiving day just felt like a regular preparation day. But it was good.
I have to tell you a story. We had an appointment set up with Laticia and Angie on Friday night. But----- we couln't find an exchange for the life of us! We called seriously EVERYONE on the ward roster and no one could help us. It was about an hour before we were supposed to be there and I jokingly said, "Too bad President is in Branson!" Well, my companion took that and decided we were going to call President Merkley to see if he could help us. Elder Holmes called him and President said, "Ya I'm back in Tulsa. I'm ready. Do you want me to pick you up?" So we went on exchanges with President Merkley on Friday night!!!! He doesn't speak a lick of spanish, but he still sat there. He had us tell Laticia that she has a beautiful daughter and that she's lucky that she'll be bi-lingual when she grows up! She told him- in broken english- how it was a priveledge to have him in their home. It was a good experience. President told us afterwards to keep him informed on how they are doing and to get him their address. He wants to send them something for Chirstmas. He said, "It's always fun to get something in mail!" He thanked us afterwards for calling him and that he enjoyed going with us. I love President Merkley! But Laticia and her daughter Angie are both on track to be baptized on December 11th- the same day Salvador and Roxanna go thru the temple! That will be a good day!
Yes.... We heard about the Holy War. Elder Holmes doesn't let me forget about the outcome! It was a lot closer than I thought it would be. It sounds like Kyle Whittingham hired those refs! The funny thing is that hispanics don't care too much about football- it's only soccer with them. But we heard from some members in another ward about it. Needless to say Tulsa was pretty dead Saturday night. That was the night that Oklahoma and Oklahoma State played. Out here everyone is either an OU fan or an OSU fan. There's no in the middle. You love the one and hate the other. I never realized how big of a deal football is out here. It's HUGE!
Yesterday at church we had 4 investigators that showed up. So it was another good week. Each week we teach the most lessons in our district- we taught 14 this past week. Yesterday I played a musical number in Sacarement meeting and also played the piano in primary. I was assured by one of the primary kids that I did a good job. So it was a confidence boost! It's funny though--- they do everything in primary in ENGLISH! But, it made for a good day at church. Elder Holmes and I were both dragging after a LONG ER night, but all was well.
Well- I had better run. My time here is about to run out. Have a good week!
Love- Elder Stoddard
Life is Good...
Life here is a whole lot better here. Let's just say Elder Holmes and I get along SO well. Elder Holmes is from Layton Utah and is a GREAT missionary. He only has 6 weeks left before he goes home. He goes home about 5 days after Christmas. The great thing about it is that he and I are having to learn the area together! We would NOT be able to live without the GPS. But, I couldn't ask for a better companion to go through this process with. Life here is GREAT!
I totally had a paper with some things that I was going to tell you about, but I left it at the apartment. So this email may be a bit scattered.
Yesterday was a great day for us at church. We had 6 investigators show up. Laticia and Angie, Manuel, Jorge, and a couple others we found this week. This "couple" we found this past week is....... INTERESTIING..... to say the least. To back track for a second. Elder Roberts and I were trying to see a family that is Less Active but they weren't home. So as we were leaving their apartment there were about 7 Honduranian men drinking away at the bottom of the stairs. We started talking to them and it was probably the funniest conversation I've ever had in Spanish in my whole life! They all said they love Jesus and yadda yadda. So we gave them a pass along card for a Finding Faith in Christ DVD. Well a couple days went by and we recieved this referral from BYU saying someone wanted the DVD. So we went over and guess who it was? One of the Honduranians! His name is Antonio and he has been kicked out of his last apartment. So he is now living with a PURE white American lady who doesn't speak a lick of Spanish and he doesn't speak a lick of English. Any who we've been teaching them for a week and they also came to church. Quick story though- On Thursday (transfer day) I was without a companion and was in a 3 some with the other English elders that we live with. Well at noon we had an appointment with Antonio. So therefore, I was the only one in the home that spoke spanish and I had to teach him by myself. That was an experience and a half. But I KNOW that the gift of tongues is real and is possible to obtain. I know that I said some things in that home that I couldn't say now. I know that the scripture in D&C is sooooooo true. About not worrying before hand what to say but that the Lord will tell you in the very moment that you need it what to say.
Laticia and Angie are progressin along very well. They both have a date for the 11 of December. But, they're definently ready. Manuel is "progressing" he still has not yet recieved that answer about the Book of Mormon. He believes that the Bible and BOM both teach the same things of God. So why does he need another book. We are still working with him. He came to church yesterday.
On Thursday (Thanksgiving) we are going to play Turkey Bowl with one of the Wards here. (Football). Later that day we get to go to the mission home to eat Thanksgiving dinner with President and Sister Merkley. They invited all the missionaries in the area to come over. So that will be a neat experience. We also have someone from the ward signed up to feed us that day and a Branch party at the church at 7. So it will be a good day. It's definently going to be different not being at home for it this year. But, all will be well.
Elder Holmes and I had quite the experience tracting the other day. We were knocking doors and all we were finding were white people. So we decided, that if the next door wasn't "hispanic" then we were going home. We knocked on the door and a kid answered and said that, "Now's not a good time. We just had a tragedy in the family." So we asked what had happened and he said that his uncle was walking down the street in Mexico along the border and was shot and killed. So we talked with him about the Plan of Salvation on the door step. We asked if we could go in and share more about it with him. He said another day because his parents only speak Spanish. We told him how he was in luck that we speak spanish. He said, "A little or a lot?" So we went in and everyone is just bawling. It's a family of 5 or 6 and the man that was there is the brother to the guy who was killed. We shared the scripture in Alma about the spirit world. We had him read it, but he started to cry and had to have his wife finish reading it. After we shared it they thanked us and said how we had come just at the right time and that was just what they needed. We have an appointment to go back and teach them this week. It's one of the most spiritual experiences I've had while I've been here. It just reminds me that things may be tough for me to be away for so long, to not know anyone, to struggle with the language, but experiences like that add fuel to the fire of missionary desire. It's what keeps me going.
Overall, things here are going well. I LOVE serving with Elder Holmes.
But, all here is Well. Week after week we teach half of the lessons in our district. The past week our district taught 40 lessons.... we taught 18 of them. The next closest was 8 for our district. Elder Holmes and I should also be having a couple of batisms here soon. So life is definentley better. The only thing that I have to complain about is Elder Holmes is a Ute fan. And you know what this weekend is... The Holy War. Be sure to let me know who wins. Hopefully he and I will still be talking Sunday.
Well, I don't have too much time left so I had better run. Thanks again for the emails. They make my day/week.Take Care- Feliz Dia de Accione de Gracias!
Love----- Elder Stoddard
I totally had a paper with some things that I was going to tell you about, but I left it at the apartment. So this email may be a bit scattered.
Yesterday was a great day for us at church. We had 6 investigators show up. Laticia and Angie, Manuel, Jorge, and a couple others we found this week. This "couple" we found this past week is....... INTERESTIING..... to say the least. To back track for a second. Elder Roberts and I were trying to see a family that is Less Active but they weren't home. So as we were leaving their apartment there were about 7 Honduranian men drinking away at the bottom of the stairs. We started talking to them and it was probably the funniest conversation I've ever had in Spanish in my whole life! They all said they love Jesus and yadda yadda. So we gave them a pass along card for a Finding Faith in Christ DVD. Well a couple days went by and we recieved this referral from BYU saying someone wanted the DVD. So we went over and guess who it was? One of the Honduranians! His name is Antonio and he has been kicked out of his last apartment. So he is now living with a PURE white American lady who doesn't speak a lick of Spanish and he doesn't speak a lick of English. Any who we've been teaching them for a week and they also came to church. Quick story though- On Thursday (transfer day) I was without a companion and was in a 3 some with the other English elders that we live with. Well at noon we had an appointment with Antonio. So therefore, I was the only one in the home that spoke spanish and I had to teach him by myself. That was an experience and a half. But I KNOW that the gift of tongues is real and is possible to obtain. I know that I said some things in that home that I couldn't say now. I know that the scripture in D&C is sooooooo true. About not worrying before hand what to say but that the Lord will tell you in the very moment that you need it what to say.
Laticia and Angie are progressin along very well. They both have a date for the 11 of December. But, they're definently ready. Manuel is "progressing" he still has not yet recieved that answer about the Book of Mormon. He believes that the Bible and BOM both teach the same things of God. So why does he need another book. We are still working with him. He came to church yesterday.
On Thursday (Thanksgiving) we are going to play Turkey Bowl with one of the Wards here. (Football). Later that day we get to go to the mission home to eat Thanksgiving dinner with President and Sister Merkley. They invited all the missionaries in the area to come over. So that will be a neat experience. We also have someone from the ward signed up to feed us that day and a Branch party at the church at 7. So it will be a good day. It's definently going to be different not being at home for it this year. But, all will be well.
Elder Holmes and I had quite the experience tracting the other day. We were knocking doors and all we were finding were white people. So we decided, that if the next door wasn't "hispanic" then we were going home. We knocked on the door and a kid answered and said that, "Now's not a good time. We just had a tragedy in the family." So we asked what had happened and he said that his uncle was walking down the street in Mexico along the border and was shot and killed. So we talked with him about the Plan of Salvation on the door step. We asked if we could go in and share more about it with him. He said another day because his parents only speak Spanish. We told him how he was in luck that we speak spanish. He said, "A little or a lot?" So we went in and everyone is just bawling. It's a family of 5 or 6 and the man that was there is the brother to the guy who was killed. We shared the scripture in Alma about the spirit world. We had him read it, but he started to cry and had to have his wife finish reading it. After we shared it they thanked us and said how we had come just at the right time and that was just what they needed. We have an appointment to go back and teach them this week. It's one of the most spiritual experiences I've had while I've been here. It just reminds me that things may be tough for me to be away for so long, to not know anyone, to struggle with the language, but experiences like that add fuel to the fire of missionary desire. It's what keeps me going.
Overall, things here are going well. I LOVE serving with Elder Holmes.
But, all here is Well. Week after week we teach half of the lessons in our district. The past week our district taught 40 lessons.... we taught 18 of them. The next closest was 8 for our district. Elder Holmes and I should also be having a couple of batisms here soon. So life is definentley better. The only thing that I have to complain about is Elder Holmes is a Ute fan. And you know what this weekend is... The Holy War. Be sure to let me know who wins. Hopefully he and I will still be talking Sunday.
Well, I don't have too much time left so I had better run. Thanks again for the emails. They make my day/week.Take Care- Feliz Dia de Accione de Gracias!
Love----- Elder Stoddard
Staying Put...
Well.... I'm staying put in Tulsa for a while.... Probably until February. We recieved a call from the Assistants on Saturday night saying my companion is being transferred to Springdale Arkansas and I will be staying here with Elder Holmes. (Also from Layton, Ut). He has been the trainer of my MTC compainon up in Rogers Arkansas. Elder Holmes will also be the District Leader down here. The thing that scares me the most is that I will now basically have to run the area for a bit. I'm still trying to find my way around! Thank goodness that you sent out the GPS! It's a lifesaver! This next transfer will go until December 30th, but I'll most likely be here until February. Elder Holmes only has 6 weeks of his mission left and then he's done so I'll be his last companion. Since he'll only be here for 1 transfer President Merkley probably won't shotgun the area out. So that means I would stay here for a while to keep at least one familliar face with the area. (If this all makes sense!)
We had Stake Conference here this past weekend. We were able to attend the Saturday night session and the Sunday afternoon session as well. They have so many members of the stake that they have to have 2 general sessions on Sunday to accomidate everyone. One at 10 am and one at 1am. The stake president is pretty young. He has a cattle ranch and is probably in his early 40's. MAYBE if that. It was all about Putting our Faith in the Lord and coming unto Him. It was a bit not hearing from my stake president!
We also had Zone Conference on Friday. It's probably been my favorite part of the mission thus far. (Apart from singing at conference). The piano solo went well. I made it through! President Merkley gave me a hug afterwards and told me to keep it up because he'll probably use me in the future for mission tours, etc. So Erica, any music that you like or wouldn't be too dificult to learn would you mind sticking in the mail sometime? I'm sorry to bug you. I tried out the Come Thou Fount that you sent out with me, but it was a bit out of my league! We had to run to the Mission Home yesterday and President again told me how he can't get over how good the musical number was! So it seems that he liked it! But, that man is a GENIUS! I don't know if you remember but he was a pilot for Fed-Ex. (Yes I did get the Fed-Ex and garments! Thanks! All is well!) But, in one of his couple of talks that he gave he related being obedient to flying. It's too long of a story to type, but he's brilliant at how he can compare the two. He also told us how each time we enter an investigator's home we are taking the runway. By the way, guess who was at Zone Conference? Bro and Sis Clough. He's the one that used to be in our ward. I took a picture with them and am hopefully going to send some home today. Hopefully.
Well.... Miracles happen. We borrowed a DVD from President Merkley yesterday called "Journey of Faith" it is basically hard, physical evidence of the Book of Mormon. It's a documentary made by BYU basically proving that the story of Nephi and his family is true. You should try and find a copy of it and watch it sometime! We took it over to Manuel's house (along with a paper with some scriptures that President gave us to prove it's correct) as a last ditch effort with Manuel. If he didn't accept this we were going to dump him. First, when we got there Manuel was all dressed up. So we asked him, "What did you do today?" Because it's the clothes he usually wears to church. He said, "Nothing much. Just went to church." WE thought, "Crap. he's going back to his original church." So we asked him where he went and he said he went to ours! On his own! When before he told us that he wouldn't come to church unless he knew the Book of Mormon was true. We felt like jerks because we didn't invite him last time because he told us in the past that he wouldn't come to church any more. And 2 because we didn't tell him it was at 1pm so he walked in to church and saw it was English, didn't see anyone he knew, and went home! We could have died when he told us all this! But, the good thing is that something has happened to change his heart a bit. He was a totally different person yesterday. WE watched the Journey of Faith DVD with him and he said that he knows that it couldn't have been made up. That it's got to be a good book. So now we just have to help him realize what a spiritual answer to his questions about it are. But this was all a miracle. The Lord answers prayers!
WE also set a baptismal date with Laticia this past week for December 11th. She's doing GREAT! Her and her daughter came to Stake Conference yesterday and she's making a TON of friends in the Branch. We hope to set a baptismal date for her daughter to be baptized on the same day when we visit them tonight. But all with her is going well.
I CAN NOT believe that GHS is in the state championship football game. I couldn't be happier for Millward. It's about time something went his way! I believe I have his address. But if not, I may write him a quick note and mail it home. So maybe Arda can run it up to him at the school. but tell him congrats for me and keep me posted!
The weather out here is crazy. You'd think it's September or October because the leaves are just beginning to change. One day it's in the 70's and pretty warm, but the next day it's cold! I haven't been able to quite figure out the weather pattern here! But one thing is for sure. When it rains here... It rains! It was SO Loud the other night that it woke us all up in our apartment. The storms are pretty crazy. You'll be driving along and lightnig will strike th rode a few feet in front of you. But, it's not too cold here yet.
Well, my time here is about up. We have to go and return the DVD to President Merkley and my companion wants to go and see some members to say goodbye before he leaves. So it will probably be a wasted preparation day by the time it's all over with, but i'm just going along with it. Thursday couldn't get here fast enough! (That's when my new companion comes in.) But all here is well.
Take care until next Monday!
Love- Elder Stoddard
We had Stake Conference here this past weekend. We were able to attend the Saturday night session and the Sunday afternoon session as well. They have so many members of the stake that they have to have 2 general sessions on Sunday to accomidate everyone. One at 10 am and one at 1am. The stake president is pretty young. He has a cattle ranch and is probably in his early 40's. MAYBE if that. It was all about Putting our Faith in the Lord and coming unto Him. It was a bit not hearing from my stake president!
We also had Zone Conference on Friday. It's probably been my favorite part of the mission thus far. (Apart from singing at conference). The piano solo went well. I made it through! President Merkley gave me a hug afterwards and told me to keep it up because he'll probably use me in the future for mission tours, etc. So Erica, any music that you like or wouldn't be too dificult to learn would you mind sticking in the mail sometime? I'm sorry to bug you. I tried out the Come Thou Fount that you sent out with me, but it was a bit out of my league! We had to run to the Mission Home yesterday and President again told me how he can't get over how good the musical number was! So it seems that he liked it! But, that man is a GENIUS! I don't know if you remember but he was a pilot for Fed-Ex. (Yes I did get the Fed-Ex and garments! Thanks! All is well!) But, in one of his couple of talks that he gave he related being obedient to flying. It's too long of a story to type, but he's brilliant at how he can compare the two. He also told us how each time we enter an investigator's home we are taking the runway. By the way, guess who was at Zone Conference? Bro and Sis Clough. He's the one that used to be in our ward. I took a picture with them and am hopefully going to send some home today. Hopefully.
Well.... Miracles happen. We borrowed a DVD from President Merkley yesterday called "Journey of Faith" it is basically hard, physical evidence of the Book of Mormon. It's a documentary made by BYU basically proving that the story of Nephi and his family is true. You should try and find a copy of it and watch it sometime! We took it over to Manuel's house (along with a paper with some scriptures that President gave us to prove it's correct) as a last ditch effort with Manuel. If he didn't accept this we were going to dump him. First, when we got there Manuel was all dressed up. So we asked him, "What did you do today?" Because it's the clothes he usually wears to church. He said, "Nothing much. Just went to church." WE thought, "Crap. he's going back to his original church." So we asked him where he went and he said he went to ours! On his own! When before he told us that he wouldn't come to church unless he knew the Book of Mormon was true. We felt like jerks because we didn't invite him last time because he told us in the past that he wouldn't come to church any more. And 2 because we didn't tell him it was at 1pm so he walked in to church and saw it was English, didn't see anyone he knew, and went home! We could have died when he told us all this! But, the good thing is that something has happened to change his heart a bit. He was a totally different person yesterday. WE watched the Journey of Faith DVD with him and he said that he knows that it couldn't have been made up. That it's got to be a good book. So now we just have to help him realize what a spiritual answer to his questions about it are. But this was all a miracle. The Lord answers prayers!
WE also set a baptismal date with Laticia this past week for December 11th. She's doing GREAT! Her and her daughter came to Stake Conference yesterday and she's making a TON of friends in the Branch. We hope to set a baptismal date for her daughter to be baptized on the same day when we visit them tonight. But all with her is going well.
I CAN NOT believe that GHS is in the state championship football game. I couldn't be happier for Millward. It's about time something went his way! I believe I have his address. But if not, I may write him a quick note and mail it home. So maybe Arda can run it up to him at the school. but tell him congrats for me and keep me posted!
The weather out here is crazy. You'd think it's September or October because the leaves are just beginning to change. One day it's in the 70's and pretty warm, but the next day it's cold! I haven't been able to quite figure out the weather pattern here! But one thing is for sure. When it rains here... It rains! It was SO Loud the other night that it woke us all up in our apartment. The storms are pretty crazy. You'll be driving along and lightnig will strike th rode a few feet in front of you. But, it's not too cold here yet.
Well, my time here is about up. We have to go and return the DVD to President Merkley and my companion wants to go and see some members to say goodbye before he leaves. So it will probably be a wasted preparation day by the time it's all over with, but i'm just going along with it. Thursday couldn't get here fast enough! (That's when my new companion comes in.) But all here is well.
Take care until next Monday!
Love- Elder Stoddard
Another week...
THEY'RE HERE! Wow I couldn't believe my eyes when I opened the FED-EX from mom and saw pictures of the boys. Tankers! I just hope Boston doesn't get beat up for his initials (BS) and Tate doesn't get beat up for being Tate Frank! Just kidding! I'm glad all is well and that they're doing good. Hopefully they get to come home soon! How's Heidi? Where was the one picture of Jer, Heidi, the boys, Shelby and Gage at? It looked like a house? Just curious. Is Heidi still in the hospital as well? I will admit that I shed a couple of tears when I saw their pictures through FED-EX. You have no idea how much I want to just hold them! In 20 plus months! Maybe they'll be out of the hosptial by then. But don't worry about sending pictures! I love them.
Shelby and Gage- thanks for the package of the BYU pens and notebook! Thanks also for the letters! Jer- I believe it was you who said that you were looking for my apartment on Google Earth and wondered what we lived by. We live right behind the Home Depot. There's also an Ultimate Electronics, Krispy Kreme, etc right around there. Hope that helps. I'm glad you've already gotten the boys decked out in BYU stuff. I also loved the picture of the sign on their door!
Well, this week has been---- different. We're probably going to have to drop Manuel Estrada. We've already dropped his baptism date. No more on the 20th of November. Everything was going great until this past 2 weeks. I don't understand. But, the past two weeks he's gone DOWNHILL. He won't read, and has a hard heart. It's almost as if he doesn't want the Book of Mormon to be true. He wants evidence of the truthfulness of it. We've shared a ton of scriptures, personal experiences, prayed with him about it, etc but nothing works. He wouldn' come to church yesterday because he said, "Why would I go to your church if I don't believe in your book?" It's almost if he won't do his part. We are going back over there one more time to watch a DVD about the Book of Mormon with him and hopefully that helps. It's just kind of discouraging. I half wonder if he's being hassled about it by some of his co-workers. Who knows!
Laticia and Angie (Laticia's daughter) are great! They came to church yesterday and loved it again. Although we had a lesson in Sunday School about Eternal Marriage. So we may have a few questions to answer tonight! We have another appointment with them tonight and are going to try and set a date with them for 11 December. But, they are getting close and are really neat. Laticia's aunt was a nun in the Catholic church for years, but ended up joining our church. So Laticia told us that if her aunt saw something in our church that was good and changed her life becuase of it we must have something good. But they are way good. All is well with them!
Well last night was quite a humbling experience. We had just gotten out of an appointment and it was around 6:30. We had dinner with a member family at 7:00 and didn't really know what to do. So we pulled over (yes Jason we have cell phones.) and made a few phone calls to set some appointments for the next few days. We couldn't get a hold of anyone. If they did answer they said they were too busy. We had planned to go and see a family that lives right by us (the Azuara family) and I mentioned something to Elder Roberts of maybe calling them to see if they would be home at 8. He said, "No they'll be home." Well, just a couple minutes after that guess who called? Sister Azuara! She called and said that she had a friend in the hospital that needed a blessing that night and wondered if we'd come and give her one. So we agreed, but told her it would have to be around 8ish because we had dinner, etc. To make a long story short, Elder Roberts wrote down the anointing prayer for me in spanish so that I could memorize it in spanish during dinner. After dinner, we went to the hospital and gave her a blessing. (luckily I had oil on me!) I have never been so scared in my life as to do that annointing in Spanish! I ended up having to read it, but I somehow pronnounced everything right and got through it! It just goes to show that the Lord blesses you AFTER the trial of your faith!
Well, this week is transfer calls. (Saturday night). We'll know Saturday night if we are being transfered or not and who our companion will be, where we're heading, etc. So I'll let you know next Monday. Transfers aren't until NEXT Thurs (the 18th) though. So you can still send mail to the address of my apartment. I'll let you know next week though where I'll be. This Friday we have Zone Conference. The Zone Leaders called me Saturday and asked me to play a musical number for it because, "I hear you play like Mozart!" So hopefully I can resurrect my Onward Christian Soldiers from memory!
I hope everything goes alright for Kallie on Thursday. I fasted for her yesterday and she's in my prayers every morning and night. But, everything will be fine. I know it!
Dad, we have Stake Conference here this week. But we only get to go to the General Session on Sunday afternoon. We can go Saturday night, but only if we have an investigator taht wants to go. But our session isn't until 1 pm on Sunday afternoon. I don't know why, but the elders that live with us and cover the same Stake have their meeting at 10 am on Sunday. I don't know if they are splitting the spanish and english members up or what.
Well, my time here is about up. I had better run. Give the twins a squeeze for me and know that I wish I could be there but I think about them all the time! I hope everything goes alright with them! Keep me updated. Good luck with Kallie this week as well. I'll keep praying for her.
Until next Monday.
Elder Stoddard
PS. I'll keep you updated with Transfers.
Shelby and Gage- thanks for the package of the BYU pens and notebook! Thanks also for the letters! Jer- I believe it was you who said that you were looking for my apartment on Google Earth and wondered what we lived by. We live right behind the Home Depot. There's also an Ultimate Electronics, Krispy Kreme, etc right around there. Hope that helps. I'm glad you've already gotten the boys decked out in BYU stuff. I also loved the picture of the sign on their door!
Well, this week has been---- different. We're probably going to have to drop Manuel Estrada. We've already dropped his baptism date. No more on the 20th of November. Everything was going great until this past 2 weeks. I don't understand. But, the past two weeks he's gone DOWNHILL. He won't read, and has a hard heart. It's almost as if he doesn't want the Book of Mormon to be true. He wants evidence of the truthfulness of it. We've shared a ton of scriptures, personal experiences, prayed with him about it, etc but nothing works. He wouldn' come to church yesterday because he said, "Why would I go to your church if I don't believe in your book?" It's almost if he won't do his part. We are going back over there one more time to watch a DVD about the Book of Mormon with him and hopefully that helps. It's just kind of discouraging. I half wonder if he's being hassled about it by some of his co-workers. Who knows!
Laticia and Angie (Laticia's daughter) are great! They came to church yesterday and loved it again. Although we had a lesson in Sunday School about Eternal Marriage. So we may have a few questions to answer tonight! We have another appointment with them tonight and are going to try and set a date with them for 11 December. But, they are getting close and are really neat. Laticia's aunt was a nun in the Catholic church for years, but ended up joining our church. So Laticia told us that if her aunt saw something in our church that was good and changed her life becuase of it we must have something good. But they are way good. All is well with them!
Well last night was quite a humbling experience. We had just gotten out of an appointment and it was around 6:30. We had dinner with a member family at 7:00 and didn't really know what to do. So we pulled over (yes Jason we have cell phones.) and made a few phone calls to set some appointments for the next few days. We couldn't get a hold of anyone. If they did answer they said they were too busy. We had planned to go and see a family that lives right by us (the Azuara family) and I mentioned something to Elder Roberts of maybe calling them to see if they would be home at 8. He said, "No they'll be home." Well, just a couple minutes after that guess who called? Sister Azuara! She called and said that she had a friend in the hospital that needed a blessing that night and wondered if we'd come and give her one. So we agreed, but told her it would have to be around 8ish because we had dinner, etc. To make a long story short, Elder Roberts wrote down the anointing prayer for me in spanish so that I could memorize it in spanish during dinner. After dinner, we went to the hospital and gave her a blessing. (luckily I had oil on me!) I have never been so scared in my life as to do that annointing in Spanish! I ended up having to read it, but I somehow pronnounced everything right and got through it! It just goes to show that the Lord blesses you AFTER the trial of your faith!
Well, this week is transfer calls. (Saturday night). We'll know Saturday night if we are being transfered or not and who our companion will be, where we're heading, etc. So I'll let you know next Monday. Transfers aren't until NEXT Thurs (the 18th) though. So you can still send mail to the address of my apartment. I'll let you know next week though where I'll be. This Friday we have Zone Conference. The Zone Leaders called me Saturday and asked me to play a musical number for it because, "I hear you play like Mozart!" So hopefully I can resurrect my Onward Christian Soldiers from memory!
I hope everything goes alright for Kallie on Thursday. I fasted for her yesterday and she's in my prayers every morning and night. But, everything will be fine. I know it!
Dad, we have Stake Conference here this week. But we only get to go to the General Session on Sunday afternoon. We can go Saturday night, but only if we have an investigator taht wants to go. But our session isn't until 1 pm on Sunday afternoon. I don't know why, but the elders that live with us and cover the same Stake have their meeting at 10 am on Sunday. I don't know if they are splitting the spanish and english members up or what.
Well, my time here is about up. I had better run. Give the twins a squeeze for me and know that I wish I could be there but I think about them all the time! I hope everything goes alright with them! Keep me updated. Good luck with Kallie this week as well. I'll keep praying for her.
Until next Monday.
Elder Stoddard
PS. I'll keep you updated with Transfers.
Monday, November 1, 2010
3 Down and 21!
Well another week has come and gone. I'm not quite sure how I feel about that. Somedays are faster than others, but when you think about it I still have 21 months to go. This Thursday will be my 3 month mark! It's not too big of a milestone, but It's a bit of a one. This past Saturday night we got excited because we thought we got to turn our clocks back and get an extra hour of sleep, but we then found out---- not til NEXT week! Man! We are always needing extra sleep as a missionary!
Things here have been pretty good this past week. Although, we've ran into a bit of a hurdle with Manuel that we can't get him up and over yet. He LOVES his Bible and reads it 24/7. He read only 25 pages in Matthew and it has changed his life. He's only read 25 pages in the Book of Mormon and hasn't felt anything yet and now he won't read anymore. He says that he needs "evidence in the Bible that talks about the Book of Mormon." So we read Isaiah 29 with him, John 10:16, Ezekiel about the sticks, etc.... but he won't bite. We just keep bearing testimony of the Book of Mormon and gave him some of our favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon to read to hopefully strike a chord. He hasn't been to church in two weeks which is also hard. So he's kind of taken a step backwards, but we're working with him to help him with his concerns.
We have also started teaching this lady named Laticia this week and her daughter Angie. We had actually started teaching them a couple of weeks ago, but had lost contact with them because they moved, got a new job etc. But we picked them back up this week. Laticia is the sweetest mother you've ever seen. She's a single mother with 2 kids (Angie-9 and a 17 year old son who doesn't like us). She's doing all she can to keep food on the table and works like crazy as a waitress. But her kids are her pride and joy. The great thing is that her and her daughter came to church yesterday. (for the primary program.) I hoped they liked it. They sort of seemed up tight and nervous. We have another appointment with them tonight so we'll see how they felt. Sunday school was really good for Laticia to hear though. It was about the responsibilities of the members of the families. Sister Serna (sunday school teacher) kind of took her under her wing and gave Laticia a framed copy of the Family Proclomation. Laticia asked her, "Is this like the 10 commandments for the family?" So that was pretty neat. They seem pretty promising. She has even started sharing the gospel with those in her apartment complex!
With Wilfredo and Maria- we CAN NOT get them to church. Maria can not get out of bed in the mornings. She slept in til 1 oclock in the afternoon yesterday. We think that they just like us to come over and be friends. But, they don't really seem to have a desire when it comes to the church. For example- she invited us to come over on Tuesday for Tilapia with them. (Luckily I'll be on exchanges that day!) But she doesn't seem to want to put in the effort when it comes to church. They are really neat. We don't want to drop them, but we may have to. We're going to talk with them about it soon. We had an appointmenet with them last night, and it basically was a Halloween Fiesta. She just kept making Popcorn, pulling out cookies, drinks, and they didn't really want to hear anything. So that's how our Halloween went. You have NEVER seen so many trick or treaters in your life than out here. They take it as serious as Christmas! They have decorations in the yards, Orange chirstmas lights, etc. There were a ton of kids out last night.
I bet everyone in town is pretty excited again about Grace High football- how many years since they have been to state? Do they get to play on the blue turf in Boise? Tell Millward congrats for me.
I can't believe how much of a soccer fan I've become out here. The spanish people LOVE it! We play every Saturday morning with our investigators and members of the branch. It's pretty interesting. I'm definently not talented enough to play with "the big boys!"
Yesterday, we had the primary program in the branch. I couldn't understand a lot of it, but it was still pretty good. One little kid got up to the mic, saw how many people there were and then said into the mic- (to his teacher right next to him) "I can't do it!" It sure was a lot longer than the Grace 1st ward primary program!
Well- I better run. Things here are going well. I've almos made it through my first transfer. Transfers are Nov. 18th. I'll know the weekend before, but I'll probably be staying here. Thanks again for all your letters. Keep me posted with Heidi. Good luck!
Love- Elder Stoddard
Things here have been pretty good this past week. Although, we've ran into a bit of a hurdle with Manuel that we can't get him up and over yet. He LOVES his Bible and reads it 24/7. He read only 25 pages in Matthew and it has changed his life. He's only read 25 pages in the Book of Mormon and hasn't felt anything yet and now he won't read anymore. He says that he needs "evidence in the Bible that talks about the Book of Mormon." So we read Isaiah 29 with him, John 10:16, Ezekiel about the sticks, etc.... but he won't bite. We just keep bearing testimony of the Book of Mormon and gave him some of our favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon to read to hopefully strike a chord. He hasn't been to church in two weeks which is also hard. So he's kind of taken a step backwards, but we're working with him to help him with his concerns.
We have also started teaching this lady named Laticia this week and her daughter Angie. We had actually started teaching them a couple of weeks ago, but had lost contact with them because they moved, got a new job etc. But we picked them back up this week. Laticia is the sweetest mother you've ever seen. She's a single mother with 2 kids (Angie-9 and a 17 year old son who doesn't like us). She's doing all she can to keep food on the table and works like crazy as a waitress. But her kids are her pride and joy. The great thing is that her and her daughter came to church yesterday. (for the primary program.) I hoped they liked it. They sort of seemed up tight and nervous. We have another appointment with them tonight so we'll see how they felt. Sunday school was really good for Laticia to hear though. It was about the responsibilities of the members of the families. Sister Serna (sunday school teacher) kind of took her under her wing and gave Laticia a framed copy of the Family Proclomation. Laticia asked her, "Is this like the 10 commandments for the family?" So that was pretty neat. They seem pretty promising. She has even started sharing the gospel with those in her apartment complex!
With Wilfredo and Maria- we CAN NOT get them to church. Maria can not get out of bed in the mornings. She slept in til 1 oclock in the afternoon yesterday. We think that they just like us to come over and be friends. But, they don't really seem to have a desire when it comes to the church. For example- she invited us to come over on Tuesday for Tilapia with them. (Luckily I'll be on exchanges that day!) But she doesn't seem to want to put in the effort when it comes to church. They are really neat. We don't want to drop them, but we may have to. We're going to talk with them about it soon. We had an appointmenet with them last night, and it basically was a Halloween Fiesta. She just kept making Popcorn, pulling out cookies, drinks, and they didn't really want to hear anything. So that's how our Halloween went. You have NEVER seen so many trick or treaters in your life than out here. They take it as serious as Christmas! They have decorations in the yards, Orange chirstmas lights, etc. There were a ton of kids out last night.
I bet everyone in town is pretty excited again about Grace High football- how many years since they have been to state? Do they get to play on the blue turf in Boise? Tell Millward congrats for me.
I can't believe how much of a soccer fan I've become out here. The spanish people LOVE it! We play every Saturday morning with our investigators and members of the branch. It's pretty interesting. I'm definently not talented enough to play with "the big boys!"
Yesterday, we had the primary program in the branch. I couldn't understand a lot of it, but it was still pretty good. One little kid got up to the mic, saw how many people there were and then said into the mic- (to his teacher right next to him) "I can't do it!" It sure was a lot longer than the Grace 1st ward primary program!
Well- I better run. Things here are going well. I've almos made it through my first transfer. Transfers are Nov. 18th. I'll know the weekend before, but I'll probably be staying here. Thanks again for all your letters. Keep me posted with Heidi. Good luck!
Love- Elder Stoddard
My Oh My...
Well.... one week down and about 95ish to go! Things this week have been pretty good. I'm still trying to get used to everything that's going on. Luckily, we are in a CAR or else I would die riding a bike everyday. Supposedly, every spanish area here has cars and don't ride bikes much so we'll see. Speaking of bikes-yes my FINALLY came just a couple of days ago.
Right now we have 2 people with baptism dates. Jorge Huejuquilla (sp?) He's one that Elder Roberts and his companion before were teaching- so I can't really count it for me. He's lined up for the 30th of October. He said that he's going to talk to his girlfriend this week about moving out. He said he'll let us know when we go back over on Wednesday. But he's ready. He's been coming to church for 4 months straight now. They even gave him a home teaching assignment yesterday.
Manuel Estrada is the first miracle of my mission. He is the guy that we found the very first day I was here. He came to church again yesterday and has a baptism date for November 20th. He expressed concern though saying that he's committed adultrey quite a bit in the past so he doesn't believe he's good enough to join the church. We assured him though that he can be forgiven through the Atonement. He'll probably have to have an interview with Pres. Merkley before he can be baptized. I have a feeling he's going to have a hard time with the Law of chastity and Word of Wisdom. The other day we taught him about Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy and he seemed to do alright with that. So we'll see how good he does. But he loves coming to church and LOVES his Bible. He reads from the BOM and Bible every day and says he feels bad when he doesn't.
We are also working with antother couple (once again not married but living together) Wilfredo and Maria. WE can't get them to keep any of their commitments though. They won't come to church because she can't wake up in the morning, they never read on their own (even though we gave them the BOM on CD's to listen to because she can't read), etc. Everytime we go over there it almost feels like they expect us to read to them each time. They are really neat though. Maria is sooooo funny. She definently wears the pants in that house! They invited us over for dinner on Friday and she said she's going to make us the spiciest food we've ever had! Bring on Heartburn city! So if you hear from me next Monday it will be a miracle that I'm still alive!
Someone asked me if I've had to play the piano yet. Well in sacarament meeting---- no. There's an hermana in the ward that plays the simplified hymns every week. It's as if you take the symplified book and symplify it more. I play every week in priesthood however. So, I look forward to that every week. There are no spanish wards in the mission- only branches. However, the branch we are in is so big that it could become a ward, but they don't have the tithing and fast offering funds to become a ward quite yet.
I survived my first earthquake this week. I guess there was one in Oklahoma City on Wednesday- we felt the aftershock of it. It wasn't too bad. Just as we were sitting there during Companionship study our chairs started wobbling and our desk moved a bit. It was weird- but cool at the same time. Everyone that we visited that day asked us if we felt it. The hispanic people have been enthrolled with the Miners that were rescued in Chile. ( I believe that's where it was?) Have you heard anything about it? They ALWAYS had it on this past week as we went over to their homes.
The weather here is different. It's still in the 80's, and is a bit cool in the mornings. There's no humidity so that's one thing that's nice. I've noticed though that my hands get SO dry here. I'm constantly putting lotion on 24/7.
Also once again my address is:
7311 S. 99th Ave. Apt 1305
Tulsa, OK 74133.
I'm sorry if you had the wrong zip code. I hope Heidi can hold off. That's not a good sign if they are trying to jail break early! Good luck with those two in the future! Hear are a few mexican names I've heard of little kids this past week- Renzo, Jose, Josue, Jorge, Manuel, Miguel, Rico, Tomas, etc. Anyone of those will work for names.
Oh another funny thing. WE are trying to get on the good side of the parents of this 9 year old kid (Renzo). They are members, but don't want him baptized for some reason. The mother is NUTS! But we went over to meet them again after leaving them alone for a couple months and she told me I look like I'm 14. Also- everyone asks if I speak spanish because I don't say much because I get lost easily! So hopefully the gift of tongues comes soon!
My first embarrasing moment came this week- We were talking with Manuel about Bro. Americo Gutierrez who takes him to church each week. I was just trying to create small talk and asked him "Do you like Hermano Americo?" Well, I was asking if he thought he was a cool guy and got along with him. I however didn't know that your not supposed to use the verb gustar when talking about if someone likes someone else of the same gender. So basiclly I asked Manuel if he's gay. He said (and my companion had to explain later) "No! I like girls!" Manuel started rolling with laughter... Thankfully he knew what I was trying to ask... Needless to say I won't make that same mistake again! Why couldn't I have aske someone to wash their bananas instead of asking if they're gay? So, I've been a little gunshy when it comes to speaking lately.
But, for the most part things here are good. It's definently hard. My companion and I get along for the most part. WE have our differences and head butt every once in awhile but we're trying to get along.
Things here are good. Just CRAZY! I'm sorry I haven't been able to get as many letters out as I did in the MTC. Here we actually have to shop for food, and other stuff. So that takes up a bit of our day. But I LOVE getting mail. It keeps me going. The first couple weeks have been hard, but I'm hanging in there.
Well, take care until next Monday.
Love- Elder Stoddard
Right now we have 2 people with baptism dates. Jorge Huejuquilla (sp?) He's one that Elder Roberts and his companion before were teaching- so I can't really count it for me. He's lined up for the 30th of October. He said that he's going to talk to his girlfriend this week about moving out. He said he'll let us know when we go back over on Wednesday. But he's ready. He's been coming to church for 4 months straight now. They even gave him a home teaching assignment yesterday.
Manuel Estrada is the first miracle of my mission. He is the guy that we found the very first day I was here. He came to church again yesterday and has a baptism date for November 20th. He expressed concern though saying that he's committed adultrey quite a bit in the past so he doesn't believe he's good enough to join the church. We assured him though that he can be forgiven through the Atonement. He'll probably have to have an interview with Pres. Merkley before he can be baptized. I have a feeling he's going to have a hard time with the Law of chastity and Word of Wisdom. The other day we taught him about Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy and he seemed to do alright with that. So we'll see how good he does. But he loves coming to church and LOVES his Bible. He reads from the BOM and Bible every day and says he feels bad when he doesn't.
We are also working with antother couple (once again not married but living together) Wilfredo and Maria. WE can't get them to keep any of their commitments though. They won't come to church because she can't wake up in the morning, they never read on their own (even though we gave them the BOM on CD's to listen to because she can't read), etc. Everytime we go over there it almost feels like they expect us to read to them each time. They are really neat though. Maria is sooooo funny. She definently wears the pants in that house! They invited us over for dinner on Friday and she said she's going to make us the spiciest food we've ever had! Bring on Heartburn city! So if you hear from me next Monday it will be a miracle that I'm still alive!
Someone asked me if I've had to play the piano yet. Well in sacarament meeting---- no. There's an hermana in the ward that plays the simplified hymns every week. It's as if you take the symplified book and symplify it more. I play every week in priesthood however. So, I look forward to that every week. There are no spanish wards in the mission- only branches. However, the branch we are in is so big that it could become a ward, but they don't have the tithing and fast offering funds to become a ward quite yet.
I survived my first earthquake this week. I guess there was one in Oklahoma City on Wednesday- we felt the aftershock of it. It wasn't too bad. Just as we were sitting there during Companionship study our chairs started wobbling and our desk moved a bit. It was weird- but cool at the same time. Everyone that we visited that day asked us if we felt it. The hispanic people have been enthrolled with the Miners that were rescued in Chile. ( I believe that's where it was?) Have you heard anything about it? They ALWAYS had it on this past week as we went over to their homes.
The weather here is different. It's still in the 80's, and is a bit cool in the mornings. There's no humidity so that's one thing that's nice. I've noticed though that my hands get SO dry here. I'm constantly putting lotion on 24/7.
Also once again my address is:
7311 S. 99th Ave. Apt 1305
Tulsa, OK 74133.
I'm sorry if you had the wrong zip code. I hope Heidi can hold off. That's not a good sign if they are trying to jail break early! Good luck with those two in the future! Hear are a few mexican names I've heard of little kids this past week- Renzo, Jose, Josue, Jorge, Manuel, Miguel, Rico, Tomas, etc. Anyone of those will work for names.
Oh another funny thing. WE are trying to get on the good side of the parents of this 9 year old kid (Renzo). They are members, but don't want him baptized for some reason. The mother is NUTS! But we went over to meet them again after leaving them alone for a couple months and she told me I look like I'm 14. Also- everyone asks if I speak spanish because I don't say much because I get lost easily! So hopefully the gift of tongues comes soon!
My first embarrasing moment came this week- We were talking with Manuel about Bro. Americo Gutierrez who takes him to church each week. I was just trying to create small talk and asked him "Do you like Hermano Americo?" Well, I was asking if he thought he was a cool guy and got along with him. I however didn't know that your not supposed to use the verb gustar when talking about if someone likes someone else of the same gender. So basiclly I asked Manuel if he's gay. He said (and my companion had to explain later) "No! I like girls!" Manuel started rolling with laughter... Thankfully he knew what I was trying to ask... Needless to say I won't make that same mistake again! Why couldn't I have aske someone to wash their bananas instead of asking if they're gay? So, I've been a little gunshy when it comes to speaking lately.
But, for the most part things here are good. It's definently hard. My companion and I get along for the most part. WE have our differences and head butt every once in awhile but we're trying to get along.
Things here are good. Just CRAZY! I'm sorry I haven't been able to get as many letters out as I did in the MTC. Here we actually have to shop for food, and other stuff. So that takes up a bit of our day. But I LOVE getting mail. It keeps me going. The first couple weeks have been hard, but I'm hanging in there.
Well, take care until next Monday.
Love- Elder Stoddard
A Whole New World...
Sorry I'm so slow in emailing you all. We have preparation day on Monday's,, but since yesterday was Columbus Day we weren't able to email becuase the libraries were closed. By the way I'm sitting in the biggest library you've ever seen. Definently puts the good old Grace library to shame. WE only ended up staying in the mission home for one night.
I LOVE President and Sister Merkley. President doesn't believe in handshakes- only hugs. But I loved being with them for only a few short hours. We headed straight to the mission home from the airport and recieved training that night, had interviews with president, ate dinner, and headed to our new areas early the next morning around 7am. Well I'm in Tulsa for my first transfer. It's not downtown, but it's in the South part. It's the Tulsa Spanish South area. Also called Red Bud Valley. I'm still confused so I'm not sure the official name. They say it's the most-if not most 2nd most- spanish speaking area in the mission. I'm with an Elder Easton Roberts from Ogden, Utah. He seems to be a good elder. Always obedient and we spend every minute of our day doing what we should be doing. He's a health freak and we don't eat much. I miss my licorice! He's not much of a 'sweet eater.' But I've got to have my little sweet something every once in a while! But, he doesn't let me buy that kind of stuff. Oh well! He sometimes isn't the most patient with me. Hopefully that will change. But things are going alright.
So my address for the next six weeks:
7311 S. 99th E. Ave. Apt 1305
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74123
I hae NEVER seen so many churches in my life. There's one that looks like the great and spacious building, also one called GUTS church where they scare people to death to repentance. Our first day we went out tracting and guess what? We found a new investigator on the 4th door we knocked. His name is Manuel Estrada. He reminds me SO much of Chicho. WE shared the first lesson with him and gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon. WE returned Saturday and showed him the Restoration DVD and answered questions he had and he came to church on Sunday. He seems to be really promising. WE also have another investigator with a baptismal date of October 30th. He's been coming to church for 4 months now. It's just a matter of getting his girlfriend to move out.
The members in the branch are super nice. They ALWAYS feed us, but the funny thing is that I haven't gotten any authentic mexican food yet. The thing I've gotten the most of is Pizza. We've only eaten over at one members home. We usually go and pick up dinner and bring it back to the apartment because the members are busy or what not. But they are super nice and willing to help with the language. The MTC does NOT prepare you in any way to speak the language. People here speak SO fast. But I'm trying to catch as much as I can and then get teh real story from my companion later.
So far as I've been out tracting I've been sworn at, doors slammed, and gotten a double bird a few times. But I know it's all for a good cause. It's kind of hard feeling rejection for the first time. In the MTC when we would practice tracting, they would ALWAYS let us in so we never experienced rejection. The first few days here have been ROUGH. I'm not going to lie. Not getting mail, being in a new place with someone I don't know, trying to understand a language that I've only been learning for 9 weeks was rough. I believe everyone now when the say this is the HARDEST thing you will ever do. I agree! But I'm hanging in there.
It's definently a change from the MTC, that's for sure. But I will be emailing every Monday from now on. Oh, someone asked about a release date- as of now- September 19, 2012. But I'm not thinking about that right now. Just focused on the work ahead of me. I wouldn't be anywhere else at this point. I love seeing the change in people lives. Well, take care and I'll talk to you all next Monday.
Love----- Elder Stoddard
I LOVE President and Sister Merkley. President doesn't believe in handshakes- only hugs. But I loved being with them for only a few short hours. We headed straight to the mission home from the airport and recieved training that night, had interviews with president, ate dinner, and headed to our new areas early the next morning around 7am. Well I'm in Tulsa for my first transfer. It's not downtown, but it's in the South part. It's the Tulsa Spanish South area. Also called Red Bud Valley. I'm still confused so I'm not sure the official name. They say it's the most-if not most 2nd most- spanish speaking area in the mission. I'm with an Elder Easton Roberts from Ogden, Utah. He seems to be a good elder. Always obedient and we spend every minute of our day doing what we should be doing. He's a health freak and we don't eat much. I miss my licorice! He's not much of a 'sweet eater.' But I've got to have my little sweet something every once in a while! But, he doesn't let me buy that kind of stuff. Oh well! He sometimes isn't the most patient with me. Hopefully that will change. But things are going alright.
So my address for the next six weeks:
7311 S. 99th E. Ave. Apt 1305
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74123
I hae NEVER seen so many churches in my life. There's one that looks like the great and spacious building, also one called GUTS church where they scare people to death to repentance. Our first day we went out tracting and guess what? We found a new investigator on the 4th door we knocked. His name is Manuel Estrada. He reminds me SO much of Chicho. WE shared the first lesson with him and gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon. WE returned Saturday and showed him the Restoration DVD and answered questions he had and he came to church on Sunday. He seems to be really promising. WE also have another investigator with a baptismal date of October 30th. He's been coming to church for 4 months now. It's just a matter of getting his girlfriend to move out.
The members in the branch are super nice. They ALWAYS feed us, but the funny thing is that I haven't gotten any authentic mexican food yet. The thing I've gotten the most of is Pizza. We've only eaten over at one members home. We usually go and pick up dinner and bring it back to the apartment because the members are busy or what not. But they are super nice and willing to help with the language. The MTC does NOT prepare you in any way to speak the language. People here speak SO fast. But I'm trying to catch as much as I can and then get teh real story from my companion later.
So far as I've been out tracting I've been sworn at, doors slammed, and gotten a double bird a few times. But I know it's all for a good cause. It's kind of hard feeling rejection for the first time. In the MTC when we would practice tracting, they would ALWAYS let us in so we never experienced rejection. The first few days here have been ROUGH. I'm not going to lie. Not getting mail, being in a new place with someone I don't know, trying to understand a language that I've only been learning for 9 weeks was rough. I believe everyone now when the say this is the HARDEST thing you will ever do. I agree! But I'm hanging in there.
It's definently a change from the MTC, that's for sure. But I will be emailing every Monday from now on. Oh, someone asked about a release date- as of now- September 19, 2012. But I'm not thinking about that right now. Just focused on the work ahead of me. I wouldn't be anywhere else at this point. I love seeing the change in people lives. Well, take care and I'll talk to you all next Monday.
Love----- Elder Stoddard
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