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!