Happy Easter from Laredo!!

Hello everyone and Happy Easter! I hope you all had fun like we did on Easter. It was a good day and a fun weekend. We had some great things happen in our area and have some great things happening in the district which I’m pumped for! I talked with President Trayner  Friday night and he gave me some interesting  news. He told me that I will be training this upcoming and last transfer of mine out here in the field. He also called me Sunday night and explained that there will be a new district leader coming into the district so I will help get him going and then be able to focus solely on helping my new greenie out. I’m excited for that, although I am bummed about not being a DL, I’m excited to be able to train again! I want to be able to help this new missionary out as much as I can and help him learn some of the things I learned in my mission.

Elder Barrionuevo is leaving to the valley which is a bummer, but it’ll be good for him. I will miss him, but he’ll tear it up wherever he is. It’ll be good; the transfer is coming up in a week from tomorrow. It’s crazy to think about how fast the time has flown by! I feel like I just got to Laredo, I feel like I just got into Texas. It makes me think a lot and gives me a lot of fire just to get out and work, no matter how tough it gets. This past week was great and we started to teach a couple of cool new people!

We started to teach the mom of a current investigator we have. We had some great lessons with them this week. The investigator, son, is on probation but he’s a stud and not going to give up for anything! His mom is a very humble open hearted lady who wants the best for her family. We explained how baptism into this church will bring peace in her life that she is looking to have. She is preparing for May 6th. The next lesson we went by and talked about the Book of Mormon and what it is and what it implies. We explained how it will bring her more peace in life and how it will bring them all together and all closer to God. The lesson was great and we explained the promise given in the intro of the book. We then all kneeled down and they prayed and asked God if it was true. After she prayed, we stayed on our knees and stayed quiet. The spirit was testifying strong and as we asked her what she felt, she started to cry and told us how she can’t explain what she was feeling and how she knew it was from God. Super cool! She explained how she knows it’s true. They weren’t able to make it to church because of some health issues, but we went by Sunday night and had a great lesson with them and committed them for this upcoming Sunday! They are excited.

I was excited to get your letter this week. Conference was great last week and I received lots of needed revelation. It’s great how much the church focuses on family because that is something we see out here that is struggling a lot. We teach some broken homes and families and it is sad to see, but it’s great to see how the gospel can change their lives in an instant, they just have to act on it! Like I’ve said in the past, that is the hardest thing, when people don’t accept the message we share. It makes me want to cry when these people turn away from the gospel.

So for your questions from the letter this past week. Rio Bravo is in my district but not my area, it's about a twenty min drive south. There are some members out there and some less-actives. It hasn’t been worked too much, but it is going to be worked more because the elders out there just received some referrals for people out there. There are a lot of fences out here, I think every house has a fence. If they are closed we usually bang on it with a rock and make sure no dog comes and then we head in. If it’s locked then they usually aren’t home, but we’ll knock sometimes anyway with a rock. There are dogs everywhere as well. Pretty much everyone owns a dog, and lots of them are mean. There is a high crime and drug rate out here so that’s why people keep things locked up and protected. The church we go to is in our area. We try to have lessons there as much as possible. The church in Zapata wasn’t doing so well so the missionaries were taken from there. I always wanted to go there, but it’ll be reopened soon enough. The building we go to is pretty small, we got some new trailers that we are going to start using as well. The Spanish branch here is large and they have to have classes in the hall ways and the kitchen, but that’s good, it means we are growing things out here.

We got a cool phone call this week! This couple we taught a while ago randomly called us and want to meet again. We had taught them and set BDs with them and they were all pumped and excited but then all the sudden fell off and we didn’t know what had happened with them. We were bummed and it has been about three weeks now and they called us. They explained how they missed us and want to meet now. Pretty sweet! So we are excited to see what happens today.

The district is doing well. As a DL we get the chance to interview people before they are baptized to make sure they are ready for baptism. I was able to give two interviews yesterday. I love them because the spirit is so strong. It is amazing to see these peoples testimonies and how much they have a burning desire to take the step of baptism. In our area we should be having our next baptism on April 29th. I have a goal in May to be able to baptize every week in May. Something I haven’t done and I think it would be cool to do, but of course it is all up to the Lord and His will.

It was Elder Cullen’s birthday Saturday. He is an elder in our district who lives with us. I made him a cake and we all had cake Saturday night. Then today we all went out to lunch for his birthday. We went to chili’s and it was fun. Sunday was great as well. We struggled with church attendance but we were able to get this new guy there. He is preparing for baptism and we are pumped for him. Sunday night we went by all our peeps who didn’t show up to church. At seven we went to a members house and had dinner and played with cascarones. Which are egg shells colored and filled with confetti and you run around and break them on each other’s heads and stuff. It was fun.

Trials are great and don’t forget that. That is where we become purified, that is where we get a glimpse of how the Lord sees us. The hardest part about a trial is knowing why, but when you try to find the lesson in each one, they become exciting and fun. Trials are unavoidable, it is part of life, we knew that when we agreed to come down here. The Lord knows us perfectly and knows how to refine us.

I love you all.

-Elder Stone

In Laredo, TX

 New Address:  1917 S. Milmo Ave. #8, Laredo, TX 78046

Hello everyone! What a week it has been! Right? I’m down here in the south of Laredo, in the hot on a bike in the only zone with hills and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I love being out here, I love my comp and love the missionaries in my district! We are planning to have much success in April and we are all super pumped for that! The Lord is blessing us a lot for our work out here and I’ve entered into a very prepared area with a great fireball companion who’s ready to work hard.

So Monday last week we had a bunch of new missionaries come in. They all have had great experiences in life and had great stories for being out here. I’m excited because they are the next leaders here in this mission and it's going to happen quickly! But it’s always cool to spend time with them and see them off to their new companions and new places. Then Tuesday was transfers. It was weird to actually be transferred. Usually I just see them off and make sure everything runs smoothly but now I was part of it. But it was good and I'm excited. I traveled to Laredo, about three hours, and started working with elder Barrionuevo, my new comp. He is from Miami but his parents are from Argentina. He is excited and ready to work. I live in an apartment with two other elders, Elder Breshears and Elder Cullen. They are great elders and we have a lot of fun. Then as well in our district are Elder Stevens and Elder Smith. I'ts cool because I saw four of the five other missionaries in the district come in on the airplane. I went and picked them up from the airport so it's cool to be around them and to be working with them.

Wednesday was a fuller day of work but I gave a district meeting and we went to lunch for Elder Breshear’s birthday. It was fun; the meeting was focused on the Doctrine of Christ and really setting good expectations for our investigators when we set baptismal dates with them. Then Wednesday after lunch, we went out to work. We were going by some formers (former investigators) on this street and nothing was happening. I told my comp that I felt we should knock at a certain house, so we did. We talked to this guy who was going through a rough time. He was tearing himself up inside because his ex gf had an abortion. He didn't want her to but she still did. We talked a little about how there’s a plan for each of us. Then we were able to sit down with him. We read from the scriptures and he said when he saw us walking when he drove past he said he’d hoped we’d stop by, and we did. We were able to set a bd with him and he really wants this and wants to change his life. Then we went by and taught this kid who is preparing to be baptized on April first. We talked about the restoration and it was a good lesson. He is the grandson of a recent convert out here and he is pumped for his baptism! We also taught these three girls who are preparing for baptism on the first of April as well. Their uncle is a recent convert and loves the church. They are pumped and super prepared and ready tonight when we are going to have an FHE with them and their mom so we can see if we can get her on board, but for sure to give permission for her daughters.

Thursday was a cool day and we were able to go by some cool people. One lady who they’ve been working with who has lots of questions. She just showed up to church one day and now they have been teaching. They haven’t been able to set a bd with her yet, but we taught her and her daughter again Saturday and they are now preparing for baptism on April 15th. Super pumped.

Friday was an interesting day and we had our weekly planning session. Then we went by some of our peeps and got them all excited for church. Saturday was a cool day. We had a lesson set up with the grandson of the recent convert,  and they all came to the church for the lesson but the recent convert brought her other daughter. We were teaching RL mostly and we had planned  to watch the restoration dvd with them. The daughter, Chris, was there but we watched it anyway. After we asked them about their feelings and they both said they really like it and got really into it. Chris said that she just felt a sense of excitement while watching it. We explained her feelings and where they came from and what God is saying. Then we related it back to our purpose and invited her to follow Christ. She said she would and we were promising blessings about to commit her to a date and she asked “when is the next available date?” Pretty cool! So she is on board for baptism on April 8th. Working through members is the way to go!

Sunday was what we call out here "game day" because it’s the biggest day of the week for investigators. We had a bunch of great people come to church, but we weren’t where we wanted to be. We had some people that got sick and others that had to go to the hospital. So those are fine excuses, but then some that used their agency and slept in. But that’s ok because we have them all committed for church already for next week!

Today is my first p-day with other missionaries in five and half months, so that feels pretty good. We are going out to play soccer. I love it out here in Laredo. I'm excited to be working out here. The district is ready to blow up! So watch out Satan.

-Elder Stone

McAllen, TX - March 3, 2012

My new address is:  1917 S. Milmo Ave. #8, Laredo, TX 78046

Hello everyone! This week has been interesting. I found out I was getting transferred a while ago so now everyone is asking if I’m going home and I say no just a transfer. We’ve had some cool experiences this week with some people we are teaching and we’ve found a couple new people. We found one family which is cool. Next week I won’t be emailing until the following Monday which is the 12th I think.

Last Sunday was great and we had a baptism! We also had part of this cool family come to church. The dad of the daughters wasn’t able to come this past Sunday but we had a great experience with him this past week which I’ll explain later in the letter. But the baptism went well and we had some great people who are coming to church. Then Monday came around and we didn’t have too much to do in the office or with president. We did meet with him to talk about the upcoming zone conferences and what to expect and we also talked about the trainings that the assistants will give. It should be good. Monday night we went to a recent convert’s house and had a Noche de hogar. It was fun and we talked about the Holy Ghost and read from 3 Nephi 19. Tuesday was an interesting day with a bit of trial. We are teaching this cool guy who is a mariachi and he has been progressing well. He came to church and loved church last week so Tuesday we taught him about the restoration. The lesson went well. And it was a little hard for him to grasp and we had him pray at the end and ask God if it was true. The spirit was strong and we asked him what he was feeling and he said he is feeling a no, that it’s not true. It was tough and we were devastated. The member that came out with us testified a lot. The investigator was upset because he said he wanted to believe it but can’t understand his answer. We gave him some chapters to read and explained about the spirit more and told him to read and pray and we were going to meet again.

Wednesday we had ZLC, my last one. It was good and we really tried to help keep everyone accountable for what had happened in the past month. The mission struggled a lot and came very short of their goal. But some repenting has been done and it is time to move forward. Then after Elders Maldonado and Woodman went to teach Richardo. It went great and he said he was super happy and that he received his answer and they watched the restoration DVD and the spirit was strong and Richardo, the mariachi is good to go. He is a solid guy and he is progressing well and will be baptized on March 25th. Thursday we saw a sweet miracle and had a great lesson with AG and his daughters. They are all preparing for baptism, but it might need to get pushed back a little because he works a lot and is super busy with that. He couldn’t come to church last week cuz of work. But Thursday after the training meeting we gave, a member and I went by to teach Abraham and his daughters. We were standing outside talking with Abraham and he starts telling us about how he loves the Book of Mormon and he just finds all these answers in it. He explained how he has so much desire to read it and just can’t put it down. Then he said “I’m already in the book of Jacob and just want to keep going”. WOW! I was super excited for him and we explained how that feeling of desire comes from the Holy Ghost. Then we sat down with him and his daughters and he asked us how he can best relate the Book of Mormon to life today cuz it was written so long ago. We opened up with him and the member taught him how he could do it and we read some passages and helped him relate to his life. Then he told us how he got work switched this weekend and will be coming to church with his daughters. Super amped! He said he told some lady at work about it and how he was going to the Mormon Church and the lady started saying all this bad stuff about how we were just feeding him lies. And then he told us how he got super mad at her and told her that she doesn’t know what she’s talking about or the missionaries and just told her to leave. So cool!! We explained how he would get opposition but to press on. Then he asked how he can know the answers from God. We opened to Moro. 10:4-5 and read with him. The spirit was strong and he was just like wow, every time I have a question I just look in the Book and find the answer. He was amped and they are all coming to church Sunday.

Then yesterday we helped train some new missionaries for algunos razones they can’t go to the MTC  so we train them here and they come work with us. It was hot yesterday and then today the wind blew in a nice cold front. So today it has gotten a little cooler which is nice.

And today we are planning to go get some ties. I’m going to send home a package of ties and they are marked that you all can give them away. But I’m going to send some home later that were gifts that can’t be given out.

I love you all! And hope all is well. I’m amped to go to Laredo. I’ll be in a bike area so I bought some brighter lights today and a new helmet.

-Elder Stone!

December Is Here Already!!

Hey hey hey everyone! How is everything going? I hope all is well down there, or over there, I’m more south then you all. I don’t know really know what to write today which is kind of a bummer. I’m in a weird mood.
So last Saturday was pretty cool. We started teaching a member’s niece who turns nine on December 20th. It’s exciting and she’s planning for her baptism on December 24th. She’s a very interesting girl and I have a lot of love for her. Our lessons are super fun because we have to make sure we keep her interested and learning. We are always trying to come up with new lesson plans and different things, but she is a very smart girl and she’s learning well. We are super excited for her!
Last Sunday we had a bunch of people at church, but only one of them had a BD so it was ok. Sunday night we met with president and sister Trayner. It felt like it had been a while but we met to talk about the different meetings we had coming up. As well we learned that Elder Vasquez is leaving and Elder Maldonado will be coming in to be the new assistant with me. It is exciting, but I will miss Elder Vasquez. Then Monday the work began. We went by and taught the girl again and had a fun lesson about the Holy Ghost. Where you use soap and pepper to show how the Holy Ghost helps protect us from sin. Then Tuesday we were able to get by RITA, who will be getting baptized on the 11th of December. We are super excited about that and we talked to her about Modern day profetas. It was a good lesson, but short, but she is excited for her baptism and knows that this is what our Heavenly Father wants from her.
 Wednesday was a great day! We had struggled on Monday and Tuesday to find new people to teach. Wednesday we had ZLC and we talked about our goal for the end of the year! It is a very very exciting time to be in the TMM because we are super close to our goal of 1200. This month we are planning to bring 151 souls unto Christ. It will take mucho effort! But nothing that can’t be done, because the Lord expects it of us. After ZLC we went by and had some good lessons with FIRM a guy who is getting baptized on the 24th, and the member niece. It was fun we talked with them a little about the restoration of the gospel. Then Wednesday night we planned to meet a member at the chapel. This member had brought his friend from work to church last week and now his friend is really interested. As well the member’s niece and nephew just moved down here from Laredo and are super prepared and ready to be baptized. We toured the church with all them and then had a lesson by the baptismal font about baptism. We read from Mosiah 26:21-22 and we set BDs with them for the last day of the year. It’ll be cool because we are going to help them get married and baptized, and they really want this change in their lives. So we are super excited for them! And yesterday we went by and taught them again and it’s exciting because we began to set dates for their progress in the gospel.
Its cool to read the letter from Jake and to see how the mission is over there and how well he’s doing. He has some great ideas it sounds like. I loved being a zone leader, because we did the same sort of things that Elder Lessie plans to do and we doubled the baptisms in the zone in a month. It was great! And now its time to continue to raise the vision. I think one of the most important things I’ve learned about goals on the mission is that we always need to raise the vision. If we don’t raise the vision we will never get better. And then we have to give the missionaries the faith and the encouragement, be a cheerleader, show lots of love and gain the trust. And you need to make plans to achieve a goal! It’s a recipe, everything needs to be measured out and all ingredients are needed, if we want to change the outcome, change the ingredients.
Well I love you all. I hope everyone is well. How’s Colby Kipp doing? I miss that guy. Haha I love you.
-Elder Stone

Miracles in McAllen, TX

Teaching and Baptizing in McAllen, TX


Hello everyone!

Greetings from the great state of Texas. The weather is cooling down, poco a poquito! But it’s still a little warm. It’s only supposed to be 85 the next few days, I think. We don’t get too much update for the weather, just what we hear on the radio in the gym. We go to the gym every morning.

So this past week was a quiet week. It was nice to feel as if it was a relaxing week. We never had to go to the airport or anything, except one day we got bombarded with cosas. But Monday we saw an awesome miracle with this lady we are teaching, RITA. We found her a few weeks back because her son wanted to use our phone and then we talked with her and she gave us homemade empanadas dulces. It was cool and we set up a time to stop by, but never had the chance to go by. We tried going back one time and knocked on her neighbor’s door on accident, and then started teaching the neighbor, and now she is getting baptized tomorrow, haha that’s a cool story. But with RITA, she came to church last week and loved it and the week before we set a BD with her, but it was pretty soft. Well, Monday we stopped by her house so we could walk to the member’s house nearby and have a lesson with them. As we were walking up to the door, she explained how much she liked church and how much her daughter did too. She explained how she talked with her kids about church and stuff, and then said how much she can’t wait for her baptism on Dec 11! Wow! It was so awesome to hear that because she wasn’t super solid before, but now she’s great. She talks as if she’s already a member. And she even talked about how she can’t wait to get a calling in the church and stuff. Super cool! And she has two children that we are working with as well. Super excited!

Monday we also taught BLANCA who is getting baptized tomorrow! She is super excited and super ready to change her life. She has been through a lot and wants this change very much. We had some great lessons with her and she was interviewed and passed and is ready for everything. We planned the program with her and printed it off and now it’s the home push for her. She’s getting baptized on Saturday because Sunday we are going to busy all day! There is a memorial service for Elders Walker and Strong, so we are going to be at church till 4:00, then at the memorial service till 7:30. It’s going to be interesting the memorial service. The missionaries are all going to sing “Called to Serve” in both English and Spanish and then President and Sister Trayner are going to speak. It’ll be good.

So me personally with all of this… Well I’m doing well. It’s hard sometimes when I think about things that Elder Walker and I did together, but I know he’s in a better place. Elder Vazquez struggled a little, but we are working through it. We’ve been through a lot, but things that obviously the Lord needed us to go through. It’s interesting how much the church is growing down here from this accident. People are coming up to the missionaries saying sorry about what happened and becoming interested in the church. Cool story, this lady came in the office after the accident and was all “I was taught by Elder Strong, and when he taught me I knew it was true, but never got baptized. But I want to get baptized now, can you send the missionaries over?” Super cool! Our area is a lot poorer so we haven’t gotten too many experiences like that, but last night we had a cool one. We were walking back to our car when this family was walking by and they were walking pretty fast, but we called out to them and talked to them. At first the lady was talking and still walking away a little but I said ”can we just leave you a card” and she accepted. Then she said “I heard about the accident and I’m really sorry for you all” And we said thanks and then quickly explained how the things we share have brought us comfort in this time and we understand why we are here on this earth and where we go. And we saw a change in her and she gave us her address and we are going by tomorrow to teach her and her family. So we are excited for her family! We also found this other great family who we are going by on Monday. So things are getting rolling. It’s been a little tough working wise, but things are calming down, but starting next week things are going to pick up again and the month of Diciembre will be really busy!
But, Wednesday was an interesting day. We got to the office and President asked if we could take Elder Harris down to Brownsville to see the doctor. So we waited around until he finished his interviews and went to Brownsville. It was weird because that’s where all my memories with Elder Walker are. We went to the same doctor’s office that we took Elder Walker to one time. But Elder Harris got his staples and stitches out and is doing great; he came out and worked with us that day.

Yesterday was a busy day, kind of. It was cold - it only got up to about 69. Haha, cold for here. We went out and helped some members with their car troubles, but couldn’t do much. We had a great day planned, but for some reason our whole night fell through, even the member lesson. But that happens and it's all good! And today we have a good day planned. We are going by our favorite people we are teaching. I feel like I kind of ramble in these letters, but that’s ok. Something interesting I realized is how I still learned things from Elder Strong, even after he passed away. We had to go last week and clean out the apartment and I found his journal and just opened up, I didn’t read anything, but he had written almost every day in it. And it was just an example to me and since then I’ve tried hard to write in my journal, still tough some nights because we come home exhausted, but I know I need to.

Well that’s about it for this week. I love you all! I miss you all!

-Elder Stone

Preaching the Gospel in McAllen

We've experienced some interesting things and this is going to be a sad email so fair warning.

This week we've experienced some things that only happen once in life. We were able to meet with a general authority and do some other interesting things. I’ll go through day by day on what went down and how it happened. Well last Sunday we struggled a little in church. I think we had three people come. One of the girls we are teaching is progressing very well and should be getting baptized in about two weeks, on the 20th, so a little less than two weeks. We are super excited and had a great lesson with her last night as well. But Monday came around and we were excited to pick up elder Zivic.

Monday we picked up our fresh suits right from the dry cleaners and changed and around 2:50 went to the airport and picked up Elder Zivic and his wife. It was a cool feeling seeing them walk up. He hugged President Trayner right away and then shook our hands and hugged us. It was cool. We talked all about who we are where we are from and todo. Then we split ways again for a while and finished things up in the office. Then we went back to president's house around six and had a private meeting with Elder Zivic. We sat down together and he asked a bunch of questions about the mission and the missionaries and things we are doing. It was cool to have close interaction with him. Then we went after and had a lesson with Blanca, our investigator who is getting baptized the 20th. Then Tuesday we had a zone conference with all the missionaries in the valley. About 1:30, so it was cool to be able to see everyone, including Elder Walker and Elder Strong. I remember saying hi to Elder Walker and giving him a hug before the conference started. Then we had the conference and it went super great! I was nervous at first but we gave our training in front of everyone. We talked about the mission goals for 2011 and the goals for 2012, everyone seemed super excited! And I felt we did really well. Then we went back on the stand until Elder Zivic gave his talk and training. He talked about the purpose of missionary work, and how to be the most successful we can be. In all! It was super cool. And then his second training after lunch he talk more about that and how to effectively teach. He called on a volunteer and gave a demonstration, sure enough that volunteer was Elder Walker. After the training ended we all said our goodbyes and packed up and went up to Laredo following President and Sister Trayner and the Zivics. We finally made it up to Laredo in about three hours. And Elder Zivic began to give a devotional for the members over there.

Towards the end of his talk, we got two missed calls and a text message saying that "the elders in Weslaco have been in an accident". Elder Vasquez and I got up right away and walked out to find Sister Trayner. She had stepped out too and we were talking to her about what happened and trying to find out details. All we knew is that three elders had been hit on bikes and were in the hospital now. We didn't know who or any details. We were calling around trying to find details but nothing was coming and Elder Zivic was still talking so we couldn't interrupt the meeting. Then we got a call from Elder Rios, a senior couple elder who works with the cars. He was on his way up to Laredo to do car inspections the next day. Elder Rios was freaking out on the phone saying he had to talk to president, now. We explained he was in the meeting and couldn't talk but he kept saying how two elders had died in the accident. We didn't believe it. He gave names and everything, but we still didn't believe it. President Trayner was walking in and out of the meeting and I saw him lean over to Elder and Sister Zivic and tell them something and it looked like Sister Zivic was crying, but still didn't believe it. The meeting ended and I walked up to president and asked if he knew that.. and he stopped me and said I know what happened let’s not talk about it now. And it became a reality. I walked out of the room starting to cry and Elder Vasquez came up to me and asked what happened and I couldn't talk and as I started to tell him i couldn't hold back and we both just started crying. It was tough cuz no other missionaries knew and we couldn't tell them. It took time but we collected ourselves as missionaries came up to us. And then we saw Sister Trayner running down the hall toward us where president was meeting with the Zivics. She was crying and ran into the room and shut the door and just broke down. We could hear her through the walls and it was heart breaking. We started crying more. We eventually pulled everything together, the night went on and arrangements were being made and President and Sister Trayner had to leave that night to go back to McAllen. He told us he wanted us to tell everyone the next day in the conference. We all ate dinner together and Elder Zivic hugged us and then the Trayners took us all to the hotel and then they left. We stayed in their room which was different, but cool.

The next day, Wednesday, we went and had breakfast at the hotel and then packed everything up and drove the Zivics to the chapel, we still needed to put on the conference. At that point lots of missionaries knew cuz news got out quick on television and members called. It was hard to have to deal with it and hold up strong in front of all the missionaries. Wednesday at the beginning of conference Edler Vasquez got up and explained why President and Sister Tryaner weren't there and what had happened the night before. I couldn't hold back and just started to cry again and so did everyone there. It was hard. But then Elder Zivic gave some remarks and brought the spirit really strong. He said that it is an interesting time because they just received training on how to be the best missionaries they could be and now they are preaching the gospel up there. The conference was tough, but it went well. We had all the missionaries at the end write notes for the families and Elder and Sister Zivic left to the airport. Elder Zivic gave us hugs and told us he loved us. It was cool. Then we traveled back to McAllen. We got home late, planned and went to bed.

The next day, yesterday, was super busy. We came into the office and saw Elder Harris, the other missionary. He left the hospital Tuesday nigh with some stitches. It was interesting cuz we finally found his name tag in the stuff and it had been punctured by something and had a hole in it and was all dented in almost all the way through. The name tags sit right over our hearts, so it saved his life. But we went to their apartment and collected everything to send home to the parents, it was tough.

Last night we did have a great lesson with Blanca. She was struggling on understanding the answer to her prayers. We helped her realize the importance of the BOM and how her answer was going to come. Then we all knelt and prayed and she asked if these things were true and all that. Then we sat in silence and waited. She explained that she received her answer. It was super cooool!!!!

I love you all. It’s weird because through all of this, I haven't been too upset cuz of the understanding we have from the gospel. It’s crazy how much comfort it brings, I don’t know how people do it without the knowledge we know. I miss you all and I love you all.

-Elder Stone

An AP's Life!! Greetings From McAllen Oct 22, 2011

Hey hey hey everyone! How are you all doing? Life is going great here in McAllen Texas. I love it more and more everyday!

This past week was great, well it was busy!!! We didn't have a lot of time to work our area. Tuesday three missionaries finished their missions. All three were missionaries that I had known or been around so it was weird to see them go home. But I’ll explain the week and what went down! Monday we were in the office for a lot of the morning and then we went out. We went by our buddy that is getting baptized tomorrow. He is about 70 yrs old, but he had his interview on monday and passed. So we are super excited for him. The interview took a lot longer than expected, so after we had to go meet with the departing missionaries. They come in the night before and we go to the mission home and have a devotional and dinner and stuff. Dinner was good and Sister Trayner makes great food. Then they all slept at our house that night. Tuesday came and we had breakfast together at the mission home and then took them to the airport. Like I said earlier, it was weird. It’s always a weird feeling to go to the airport. Then after we had something called the specialized sisters training. It was a training just for the sisters in the mission, but we went to help out. It was a cool training and it seemed to have helped the sisters a lot. Then after we went by and had a lesson with this lady we are teaching, OLIVIA and her family. They seemed to have liked church a lot and we recommitted them on their bd. They are working for the 13th of November. Then we quickly went to the house (the lesson ran over) and grabbed our clothes and took off towards Sinton, which is the northern most zone in the mission, about 2 and a half hours away. We stopped by a bbq place on the way and had some super good brisket sandwiches. The drive up was good and we made good time.

Wednesday we were on exchanges with some missionaries up in Sinton. It was cool and a great learning experience. I haven't ever been up to the north so it was cool to go up. The weather was nice too! Windy and only about 75-80 degrees. We worked up in Sinton all day Wednesday and came home Wednesday night. Thursday we were in the office finishing up reports and then we went out to teach ADAUTO, the older man who is getting baptized tomorrow. The lesson went great. He has trouble remember things but we made a list with the steps to prayer on them. Every time he would pray, he would just read the steps and be done. And we would try to explain to him that it comes from the heart. But finally it clicked! It was super great!!! He said his own prayer, without our help at all! The spirit was strong and I was so happy. It was great. The rest of Thursday was kind of tough, but we lasted. And it is always interesting to me when I see the Lord work. He always makes us push ourselves and push ourselves, and then when we've done most we can, He comes in and blesses us. We were having a tough day on Friday with lessons. We brought tons of members to come out and help, but our lessons fell through a bunch. But we could keep trying and pushing to go by someone and finally someone would be home. Then last lesson of the day on Friday was great. It was a member referral and the member came out to help. We had a great lesson on baptism and he said he wants to be baptized but with his whole family. So we'll see how it goes! But it is interesting how the blessings and miracles don’t come until the last push! Today is pday and we are going down to the outlet centers and getting ties and stuff, so that should be fun. Last Sunday we only had five people at church which was a bummer. The families we are teaching didn't come. But we've talked to them all now and they say they are coming tomorrow! As well we found a new great family we are working with! They should be coming to church tomorrow too! Then next week is super crowded busy!

But that’s a little of my life here in the office. The weeks can be tough and exhausting! But that’s ok, it’s all worth it! It’s hard to write emails cuz I don’t have questions to answer! So much is running through my head but I can’t put it all down without direction! But know that I love you a lot and miss you a lot! I love the mission. And maybe you could send some dried mangos? The ones from Costco? supper agradacido por eso!

-Love Elder Stone