This week in Guate...

This week was a pretty good week here in the mission!  I just absolutely love where I am at and I wouldnt rather be in any other place right now.  But anyways this week we were able to have 23 people in church again... and everyone is super excited right now in Cubulco...  there are 4 groups here in Guatemala and President Curtiss said that Cubulco is the example for all the other groups.  And it is the one that has been around for the least amount of time.... so that is some great news!  We are just loving the work here in Cubulco!

One thing that I learned this week is about the importance of doing things in the way of God... not our way..  Some people like to think that they have better ideas of how things should be in church and that one thing, or another, should change.... and it just doesnt work like that.  Our Heavenly Father is so intelligent and so prepared that he has a plan for everything.. not just for us, but for the church, for the world, and everything else that we can Imagine... And when people want to change that plan, it just doesnt work.  We have to do things his way, not ours.  It is something that we have put to the test here in Cubulco.  It is amazing how well it works to follow in God´s plan.  Through strict obedience, comes rich blessings... the blessing that come from following the plan of our Heavenly Father is Eternal life, and immortality... what other blessing could we ask for... 

I have now completed 18 months... and to be honest it makes me super sad... I am not ready to go into the world and leave this spirit that I can feel from being here, doing what God wants me to do.  It literally is the best time our my life.

Love Elder Stuart  

Good week!

Well this week was a pretty good week!  The biggest thing that happened this week is that 2 members that got baptized a year ago from next sunday...  Are going to go to the temple to be sealed as a family!!!!!  It is so great!  It was great to see/hear about this because when I was here in Rabinal last year... I helped teach them sometimes... becasue every once in a while I worked in this area (Cubulco)...  So that was super great to hear!  I am wanting to ask permission from President Curtiss this week to see if I can go with them... Which would be really cool... but we will see..  So that is going to happen in February!

Some other good things that happened this week is that in church we were able to have 4 future melchizedek (spelling??) priesthood holders in church and 1 deacon.. and they have all come for like 4 weeks straight... so that means that we are progressing!  And the thing that we need to become a branch is priesthood!  So if we keep this up we are going to be a branch in a short amount of time!  So we are pretty excited for that!  

So yeah overall this week was a pretty good week! Cant wait to see what happens this week!

Love Elder Stuart

Another week in paradise!!

Well this week was halloween!  I hope that you enjoyed it!  So I dont know if you guys remember, but Rabinal is a pretty crazy place... and well the go hard with traditions... So here for Halloween, they go to the graveyard and they clean it up and they put food on the graves... Dont ask me why, because not only do I not know why, but they also dont know why they just say ¨well it is tradition so we do it¨ and well the funny thing also is that in Rabinal there are a bunch of drunks, and we saw them in the graveyard along with the dogs eating all the food!  So I ust thought that I would share that with you guys...

As for the work... IT IS GOING GREAT!  So here in Cubulco... we have to travel 39 minutes to Rabinal to go to church, and well I guess that like 2 months ago... President Curtiss sent in a request that it could become a little group.... Which means that it isnt quite a branch but we are going to be able to have our meetings in Cubulco... and there are only going to be like 10 people there including us! But we now have like 3 families that say that they will now finally get baptized now that there is a group there in Cubulco...  So we are going to see how that goes next week, because it will start the first time next week!  The only sad thing is that I wont be able to see the people from Rabinal very much anymore... but every monday and wednesday we have to pass through there to go to salama... and so maybe Ill see some people!

So the work in Cubulco is fantastic! There are many good things that are going to be happening here... First off we do have a lot of people here to teach... the only problem is that before everyone said that they just couldnt pay the fare to get to Rabinal, but now that there will be a little group here... they would like to get to know the church!  So over about this past year there have been about 5 or 6 families that were prepared by the elders to get baptized but they all said that if there were a church in Cubulco they would get baptized... so now me and elder tello are going to see how sincere those sayings were... that if they really are going to continue going to church and maybe get baptized... so I am kind of excited to see if I can do the other half of the work now.. My whole mission I have prepared people to be baptized but never seen it, so lets see if now I can be the person that finishes the work!  But we will see how that goes...

So yeah I am super excited!

Love Elder Stuart

Week 6

Well this is my last week of this change... yet another change has flown by, just 7 more!  But things went well this week, although it has gone by a Little slow, it is going by pretty smoothly.  We are hoping that we will be able to have some success this week.  We have plans for 2 baptisms this saturday, and we are really hoping that all will go smoothly with that. 

But anyways this week has been pretty interesting in the work.  We had some good things happen and well some bad things happen but overall it was a pretty decent week!  We had a really cool thing happen this week, that the father of these two kids that are going to get baptized, he was really happy that his kids get baptized, and we are hoping that eventually he will get baptized also, but in the future.  So that was pretty good.

Another good thing that happened was that we were able to have interviews with president Curtiss... and they were pretty great.  Everything is rolling along over there nice and fine. 

Another good thing that happened.... is that we were able to prepare some other people for baptism for the month of October so we are really excited for them to get baptized, but the only sad part is that I might have a change this week and I might not be here to see that... so we will see how that goes. 

And one last thing that was cool this week is that we were able to go to Tikal today!  It is basically the most popular thing to do in Guatemala.  It is a bunch of Ruins that are super big!  They are crazy big!  So that was really really cool!  It was great to go and we went with all our zone... the only problema is that my companion didnt want to go... I have absolutely no idea why, but whatever right???  We still ended up going!  So that was pretty interesting!

That is all that happened with me this week... so my scripture for you guys in Moroni 7:2... it is a Little hard to understand... but think about the will of christ and what he wants for you guys when you read it...

Love Elder Stuart

Long week...

This week was a pretty long and stressful week... but it was one of the best weeks we have had!  First off we were having a little bit of progress with our 2 investigators that are planning on getting baptized this week and they are both doing good!  We are planning on baptizing Angel and Rodrigo this week... not last week...and so we have got another long week ahead of us for all that.. but we are excited.  We are going to marry Angel on thursday... and then him and Rodrigo are going to get baptized on Saturday...  So those are our plans for this upcoming week!

But this last week was full of stuff that we did... mainly at the latter part of the week... But on Thursday we had a Zone Conference... and President Curtiss ended up showing up so that was pretty cool!  I learned a lot from that!  Then on Friday we went on divisions.. and I stayed here in La Libertad with an Elder named Elder Fitzgerald from Nicaragua... And Elder Loveland went to sayaxché with Elder Gubler... And Sayaxché was actually the last area of Elder Loveland so that was pretty cool for him!  So that was bunch of stuff to do that day... and also on Friday we had a wedding here in La Libertad for the Hermanas... And I witnessed my first wedding and it was a ton of work to prepare... and SUPER BORING... I now know that I am not a wedding person... So that was not very exciting to know that that is how this wedding is going to be this week!  Then after that on Saturday... We took Elder Fitzgerald back to his area in the morning.. and that is like an hour drive, so two both ways... and that wasnt too fun...  Then after that we had to go shopping for some clothes for some baptisms that were going to happen this week... then at about 5 we had to head back to Sayaxché for a baptismal interview... so another two hours...  and so that was just pretty crappy....  Then we went to our house and went to bed... On Sunday, we went to a baptism at 7 in the morning... and when we got there the whole church was flodded with water...so we had to clean all that up and that was kind of frustrating... so yeah basically this week was a pretty stressful week.. but we finally got through it!  

So we are super excited for this next week and we are going to have these two baptisms, so we are hoping and praying a lot for that!

Love, Elder Stuart

Members are missionaries!

This week was a pretty good week...  Well to start off, as missionaries, especially here in Guatemala or places that arent Utah, we have to focus a lot on the members,and less actives, and recent converts....  It is something super important here...  For example there hardly is a member family that doesnt have the missionaries visiting them every couple of weeks...  In Utah I remember the missionaries visiting our house 2 times, and I cant even remember their names... here people have pictures of missionaries that served in that area like 1000 years ago.. It is crazy...  But anyways, what Im trying to say by this is that I learned a big lesson about visiting the members this week...  It is something that I had done before, but I wanted to focus a ton on it this week, becasue we kind of had a  lull in the missionary work in my area... And we passed by everysingle members house, and taught them a little bit, and then asked them for references... and well we were able to get references of 12 different families...  and we were able to activate 3 less active families, and have 4 investigators in church...  and of those 4 investigators us as the missionaries didnt have to pass by to remind them about church, the members did...   So yeah that doesnt really mean a lot to those who arent missionaries, but it means that we were able to have a lot of success... and also one of the plans of the Stake President here is to divide the ward that we are in... so we need to get the attendance of the church up to 200 people at church each week and well before this last week we were at 130 and this past week we had 145... so things are going pretty good here...  

But the reason I am sharing this with you is because, the Elders arent the most Important part of missionary work.. the members are!  Without the help of the members this week we would hardly have any investigators right now, no investigators in church, and well not that many people in church...  this experience just added to my testimony that every member is a missionary...  It is a goal that I have put for myself  for after my mission is that I never stop being a missionary.. That I can visit people that arent going to church, that I can talk to all who arent members and Invite them to church with me... and things like that...  

And one last thing that I learned this week that was interesting was about the atonement of Jesus Christ... we had Interviews with president Curtiss.... and Sister Curtiss invited us to study a topic of the gospel that can help us and our investigators for three months, so that after these three months of studying, that we know more about this subject that any other person... Well I want to invite you guys to do the same...  That during this summer season, when we have a lot of free time, that you can study a suject of the gospel really well...  Also Hermana Curtiss said that yes reading the Book of Mormon, or the Bible cover to cover is good but you wont learn as much as if you study it topic by topic...  So that was something that I learned also this week that I wanted to share with you guys...  

Oh and one last thing, like Jonny said the rain here is so strong!  Especially in Coban, that is the rainy part of my mission... and well Im here during the rainy season...  And here the rain isnt something that lasts for like 1 or 2 hours, or is a drizzle... It is pure downpours for days straight, and well since im Elder Stuart and I hate wearing sweaters, I dont use sweaters or jackets... and I finish the day completely soaked from head to toe...  But it is the BEST!!  Because it has taught me a lot about diligence...  I could have gone to my house, or a members house for the day to stay out of the rain, or work... and well I chose to work...  And we received many blessing for this as a companionship...  So yeah the rain here is great, because it is a warm rain, so I dont even get cold at all, but after the rain when I get back to the house I put my shoes on the fan to dry all night... and well Every night they have been so wet, that even when I put them on the fan at 9 at night, and take them off at 10 the next morning they are still wet... so yeah it is a great experience...

Sorry for the long letter....

Elder Stuart

oh and read moroni 9:6...

[9 June 2014]

Changes!!!!!!!

This week has been a little bit crazy with changes and everything!  But my new companion is Elder Dibb.  He is from Pleasant Grove!!  It is crazy!!  We hardly ever have gringo comps in the mission, but I do, and the other part is he is new!!!  So now I have to teach him spanish too, because he doesnt know any... So yeah it is pretty crazy right now!  But it is the best!!  Also with the changes and everything, we had a Christmas conference for all the missionaries in the zones closest to Coban the past thursday.  So from the Saturday, like 8 days ago, until last friday, I didnt sleep in my house in Rabinal.  It was crazy!  But this Christmas conference was the best.  We had a spiritual thought from Pres. Curtiss and his wife, then after we got to watch Monsters University!  It was great!  

So yeah like I said I didnt sleep in my house for like 6 days, so this week was a little bit slow, because we didnt have time to work very much, but the times that we had to work were great!  We have been working really hard as a companionship to first of all teach my comp spanish, and also to follow through on the dates for baptism that we have had.  So it has been pretty great!  

I cant believe that Christmas is next week!!!  Im so excited!!!  we have Activites and stuff planned for our ward, and so Im hoping that we will be able to strengthen our ward a ton through these activities, by showing the true meaning of Christmas!  It is all about Christ.  So my scripture for this week is in Luke 2.  I like this, because it is all about the birth of Christ!

Things are going great here!  Glad to hear things are going good back at home!  

Love Elder Stuart

Photos!

President Curtiss, Elder Stuart, Sister Curtiss

First Week!

I love it here!!!!!  But Im going to start where i left off two weeks ago.  I didnt have a computer last week so i couldnt send any last week.  But here I am.  So It is a tradition in the CCM when the elders are leaving we sing called to serve in spanish as loud as we can the night before. IT WAS AWESOME.  I love the power of all the elders in one area and that is what i miss about the CCM. But other than that im glad to be out of there.  Then the next morning we woke up at five and all the elders that were going to Coban left at seven.  I t was hard to say goodbye to all the others.  I didnt think it would be but we had gotten so close in those couple weeks and it was sad to see them go.  But we were off on our four and a half hour bus ride to Coban.  It wasnt too bad, but it was pretty long.  When we got to Coban we went to the Presidents house and had lunch.  It was awesome to meet President Curtiss.  He was awesome and I cant wait to get to know him more.  But then we had to get on our way.  So we went to a chapel to learn about all the rules of the mission. This is where I learned that I was going to the Vera Paz zone and my area would be Rabinal.  That was awesome.  So we hopped on another bus to a place called salama.  We could only make it to there that day because by the time we left the church it was four and it was a three and a half hour bus ride.  So it was a lot of buses that day.  We got to Salama and that is where I met my trainer.  Elder Brito.  He is an awesome guy but he knows absolutely no english.  So it can be hard to talk to him, but I have learned so much spanish in 5 days with him.  I can say that im about 75 percent fluent.  Its awesome!!!!  So we stayed over night at the zone leaders house, and we slept on five mattresses.  But there were six missionaries, so it was a rough night.  But then the next morning we woke up at 6 and me and elder Brito were going to catch a taxi to rabinal.  That was my area.  So it took us until about 6 30 to find a taxi and we were off.  Almost...  The taxi drove for about three minutes then dropped us off.  He said that he couldnt take us to rabinal and that we would need a bus.  So we basically said thanks for nothing and walked to the bus station with all my luggage.  We made it to the bus station and we caught a bus to Rabinal at about 7 30.  So an hour and a half later we were on our way.  It was probably the coolest bus ride Ive ever been on.  It was about an hour and a half up over a mountain.  It was so cool to look over the city of coban as we left.  We arrived in Rabinal at about 9.  And then we were off to work.  We had comp study until about ten and then we went to the store so I could get some food.  Then we went to work.  We visited a lot of members houses and a few investigators houses.  It was a pretty long day so when we got back at about 9 00 I was going to take a shower.  But that was when I figured out that we dont have one...  I had to shower with a bucket.  So I said screw it and i went to study.  But then the next day I had to take my first bucket shower.  It wasnt to bad.  And now I actually quite like it after 6 days of a bucket shower.  But I love the Area here and the people are so giving.  I dont have a lot of time today so I will explain more next week when I also know a little bit more about what is going on.  But I absolutely love the work.  And a line from one of my favorite songs now, the song is by the band Jonny likes, and it says,  this is the hardest thing I have ever loved to do and it is so true.  Thanks for all of the support.  And I dont have time for a scripture this week so it will have to wait until next week.

Love Elder Jeffrey Stuart