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

Greetings from South Texas!

Hey everyone! How are you?

It's an exciting weekend because it's conference! That gives the people we are teaching four chances to come to church and it's a great time to receive revelation! Super Super excited. This past week was intense. It was pretty busy.  Monday was a little longer day where we got to work a little more. On Mondays we have a devotional where each senior couple reports on how their calling is coming along and we as well report on how the mission is doing. The mission struggled this past month and we have some ground to make up to reach our goal. President Trayner set a big goal at the beginning of the year of 1200. So we are working hard towards that and we are little behind, but nothing we can't do! So we have big goals for the last three months of the year to hit our goal! Suppper excited! But that was Monday and then we went out and worked. We had a cool FHE with a family in the Spanish ward. We talked about the Holy Ghost and read from 3 ne. 19:9 and 13 And then we played a little activity on how we need to be really alert to the promptings of the spirit. We had everyone look at us and then close their eyes and then we would change something on our clothes or something subtle. Then they would have to figure out what we changed. It's pretty fun and helps to teach the importance of being open to the spirit. Also on Monday we taught this great family, the Perez family. They are a big family and the mom and dad and one of the sons are preparing for baptism. We talked about the Holy Ghost with them as well but we did the soap and pepper lesson. Ask the missionaries to show you that one, they should know and it's super cool.

Tuesday we were in the office doing a lot of reports. We have to put in the baptismal records so people can get member numbers and begin to prepare for the temple. So it's a little tedious but it's all good. We also met with president on Tuesday to discuss about three new missionaries that came in on Wednesday. We had to change and add new areas in the mission and decide where these missionaries would go. It was cool to see how President Trayner works. It was cool also to be able to help impact the growth of the mission. We got all that situated and then went out to work.

Wednesday we didn't get to work at all. It was a little tough. But the new missionaries came in Wednesday so we went to pick them up. Then we had a little orientation and then went out to dinner. We went to Poncho's, a Mexican place. It was super good. They have something called a botana which is like extreme nachos but better. It has fajita y chicken and beans and cheese and quesadillas. Super good! Then after that we packed the car up and drove two hours north to Alice to drop the missionaries off in their new areas. After that we drove two hours across to Laredo to go on exchanges with them. It was cool to go to Laredo, that was my first time there. We tried to help them out and the missionaries over there. Then in the evening it started to pour over there! And we left about 7:15 and it was pouring rain and thunder and lightening. We drove all the way home in the pouring rain and it was cool because the lightening was intense! It would light up the sky so much it was brighter than day. It was pretty insane. It was fun though, just me and Elder Vasquez driving back. We stopped and got super good burgers at this little burger shack. We made it back by ten thirty and stopped by president's house and he gave us ice cream and cookies.

Friday we met with President and had a meeting with him about next year's calendar. Things that we hope to accomplish and some things that we are going to change. That was cool. Then we got out to work and went by some people we are teaching. We are teaching a deaf girl. Hopefully she wants to get baptized, but she's cool, a little different. We stopped by her and it was cool cuz I started to remember a lot of my ASL. I was able to speak with her a little, and she's coming to conference which is cool.

So you asked about duties as AP? Well... we do a lot of computer work in putting in people in the church records. We meet with president and talk about changes in the mission. We move stuff. We go to all zone conferences and all mission trainings. We usually train at them as well. We are going to be traveling the mission more because we are going to go on more exchanges and stuff now. We stay with other missionaries when we go travel and work with them. It's pretty cool because I get to see the whole mission. We help with transfers and drive people and spend time with the incoming and outgoing missionaries.

But I got to go! Its cooling down finally. 95! I love you all so much.
-Elder Stone

Back in McAllen Again!!! Assistant to the President!!

Hey Hey Hey everyone! How are you all doing?

This week has been crazy. I feel blessed and trusted and honored to have the calling I have now. It’s been humbling but I'm super excited to get working and help the great Texas McAllen Mission continue to grow and move forward to great heights. This truly is the Lord's work and this area truly is full of great, loving, ready people. Suuupppper Excited! I got the call from President Trayner Friday afternoon. I expected to get transferred but to where I am now, not as much. What’s super cool is I'm back with Elder Vasquez again. Super excited for that as well. We are ready to tear it up and follow the council given in D&C "Wherefore, I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despised, to thrash the nations by the power of my Spirit." I’m telling you, nineteen year old guys and 21 year old girls facing the world, we may feel weak at times. But we have to always remember this scripture and all the council given throughout the BOM and D&C. I also love the scriptures in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 definitely my favorite. But I've only been here in this area for a week and have already felt some guidance that we are going to apply into our area and into the mission.

Sunday, as I was still in Edinburg, we had a couple baptisms of a girl and her dad. It was super cool because the girl is about 15 and she wanted to give her testimony after she was baptized. But there was another baptism going on, so we had to kill a little time before the ordinance, so we called on her to get up then. She was super nervous but got up, and at first just started saying thanks to us and the church and stuff. But then the words started to really come from her heart, and she began to say how much she likes the church and how it’s helped her. She started to slow down and was all “this is weird I’m getting emotional.” The spirit was strong and it was cool that she felt it once again, but this time in a different way. It’s crazy to see the spirit work and even though we feel it a lot, it never ever gets old. Sunday night, I was picked up to come into my new area and from there the time flew and got super busy. Elder Myers, who I replaced, was finishing up packing because he was going to his new area on Tuesday. The next day, Monday, we woke up and spent some time in the office and then in the afternoon we headed off to the airport to pick up the new greenies. It was weird being there again but exciting because we have the chance to put a big impact on these new missionaries. From that point on, we spent the whole day with them. They had an orientation and then that night we went to the President's house and had a great dinner and some interviews and role-plays and things. It was fun. Tuesday morning we had breakfast with all of them at the Trayner's house and they got their calls for their first areas. Then we trained them with their new comps and then went out to work for a little. We only worked for a little, but we had a great lesson with this girl who they've been working with a while. She's been in and out of reach for the past while but we had a great lesson and we were able to set a bd with her and she's super excited! Then we went back to the Trayner's to have dinner with the departing missionaries. Wednesday morning we went back to the Trayner's and had breakfast and then took the departing missionaries to the airport. That was really weird. We sent them off on their way then met with President a little and then finally got out to work. It was a tough day.

But Thursday we worked a little more, but it was still a struggle. But then Friday we had almost a full day out in the field! We ended up finding this super cool guy. At first I was skeptical about teaching him. But we sat down and we had a good lesson. He had just moved down here because his son is pretty sick. We talked about how God will be more willing to bless him and his family. We related it back to baptism and set a bd with him. So we are super excited for him. We have another lesson with him tonight.

We go to a new gym now and it’s awesome. It’s just a big warehouse and has a bunch of free weights. We go every morning at six and I’m feeling sore which is nice. It’s better than the college because no tvs and usually in the mornings it’s just us and like one or two other people who work out. So it’s private, a little ghetto, but it gets the job done and it’s only going to be ten bucks a month, I hope.

But thanks for all the support. I need questions to answer or my mind goes blank on what to write. I have tons but I need something to jog my memory! But I’m super excited for this new calling and amazed at the trust the Lord has for me. I’m going to do everything in my power to be the best I can. That’s how I've worked my whole mission, I’m going to be the best I can be and the best the Lord expects of me.
 I love you all a ton and miss you guys a little too.

Se que la iglesia es verdadera! Se que solamente por medio del bautismo en esta iglesia vamos a poder ir a los cielos con Dios. Esta obra es la obra del Senor. He sentido el espiritu mucho en mi vida. Gracias a mis padres. Si no por ellos no iba a estar aqui. LEs amo muchisimo!

-Elder Stone

Tex Mex - Love It!!!

Hey everyone! How are you?

This past week was a very interesting week of trials, but that has to
happen sometimes. It was one of the tougher weeks of my mission. We
had two great solid baptisms lined up for yesterday both youth a girl
17, and a boy 17, but from different families. Tuesday we had great
lessons with both of them and had set up plans for them to go to an
activity Wednesday. Wednesday came and the ride for the guy couldn't
pick him up. We told the member to text the investigator and tell him.
But it had slipped the member's mind and we got a sad text from the
investigator Wednesday night. He said he didn't want to come to church
anymore or anything. We asked him why and he said because this was the
second time he got bailed on by someone from the church. We tried
talking to him, but he kept saying no and he didn't want to hear it. We
tried calling him and passing by him lots of times the next day but he
kept ignoring us and telling us to leave him alone. He was upset
because it was the second time he had been bailed on by this member,
and he had been waiting out for him all night. It killed us because it
was something so easily avoided. It was our fault and it hurts inside.
It's crazy how bad it hurts. This guy was awesome, but we are going to
keep trying and praying for a miracle.

On top of that, Wednesday night our other investigator (girl) was
getting dropped off after the activity. Her parents came out and got
mad at her and started yelling at her and stuff. She didn't want to be
there, so she started to walk to her friends house. A big hassel came
and she went to a mental hospital because of some problems she was
having. We were devastated. She wasn't supposed to get out until
today. We tried to go visit her and stop by her house and get a hold
of her but we couldn't. Sunday came around and we still hadn't heard
from her. Until around 12:30 when she called and said how she was out
of the hospital. She was devastated because she thought she couldn't
be baptized. But she asked us if she still could and we said of
course, and set things up and had the baptism. The baptism was great
and very spiritual. Her sister came and gave her support, who isn't a
member. It was a great miracle we had seen from the Lord.

But that miracle didn't happen till Sunday, and so the whole week we
were worried thinking about these two people and it made for a tough
week. On top of that, we had lots of things cancel and a guy we were
working with tell us he wanted to wait for a while for his baptism.
For some reason the Lord has been testing us. As well, the zone has
struggled this past month and we are coming short of our goal. It hurts
inside.

But some good news and a good spiritual story. Monday all of our
lessons had fallen through. We were going by some part-member families,
but they were falling through as well. As we were walking to our car,
we decided to talk to the people outside. The first few people didn't
want to listen. But then there was a girl sitting outside. At first we
were reluctant because she was a younger girl. But I said we need to
go  talk to her. So we went. She was super interested and then her mom
came out. He mom told us they had been listening to the missionaries
before in a different city. She said one day they just stopped coming
by. We talked a little and set up a return. We went by the next day
and met the dad and had a good lesson with him and the daughter. We
set bds with both of them. Then the next day we went back and talked
with them, plus the mom and the other son. We had a great lesson
and set bds with them. Then Friday we had a great lesson with all of
them and their older son and set a bd with him. We brought lots of
members and had great lessons. They are all preparing to be baptized
together as a family. We are super excited for them. Only three of
them came to church yesterday, but we have a lesson with them today
and it's going down!

That really helped pick up our spirits. As well, we had a great
spiritual lesson with this guy we met from a member's family. We had
taught him and invited him to be baptized, but he was super iffy about
it. He had come to church last week which was good and already paid
his tithing. Then Wednesday we went by to see him and had a great lesson with
him. We talked more about baptism and he was still iffy, so we decided
to take it to the Lord. We knelt down, explained the spirit and had
him pray. He asked the Lord if he should be baptized on the 18th of
September. After he prayed, the spirit was so strong and as we
invited him to be baptized he said "of course I will, I can't deny the
answer I'm getting from the Lord right now". It was a great lesson.

Overall the week ended with great miracles, but still one of the
tougher weeks of my mission. It proves that the Lord blesses those who
keep working and keep working hard. Miracles come according to our
faith in all things. The Lord is a God of miracles, don't ever forget!

I love you all,
-Elder Stone

Heat Index of 123 in South Texas!!!

This week was a great week. I've once again learned the importance and power in a fast and the importance of great fellowship. We are teaching this young woman. She is about seventeen and has had a problem with depression and different issues in her life. She was adopted and she doesn't have the best relationship with her parents. She has a care taker lady that watches over her, but it’s really sad to see because all the lady does is talk bad about her and her sister. It really tears them down. But she had a humbling experience a while back and really opened up to the gospel. She accepted a bd and has been working hard towards her date. We had a great family pick her up for church and ever since then they have bonded a ton. She has been to church a bunch now and had good times with the family and their 23 yr old daughter. The other night she committed to the baptism and then got in a huge fight with her parents. Usually she would have gone and drank, but she felt the need to text us. She also called the member family. About two min later the member family called us and said "elders we just wanted to tell you that the young woman got kicked out of her house and we are going to pick her and her sister up." They went that night and the girls stayed at the member's house. They bonded a ton and went out to the movies the next day. We were also struggling on getting the young woman’s mom and dad to sign the baptismal record. We talked to the member family about that and the mom of the members wanted to come help. Well yesterday in the evening, she called us and told us she got the paper signed for us. She had talked with the girl’s mom and had bonded with her and she gave permission. It was great.  As well, we are teaching this guy G. He’s been to church with us about five times now, but he’s super busy during the week and so it’s been tough to be able to teach him. He’s supposed to get baptized this weekend and we still have a lot to go over. We were planning to go over the restoration and Joseph Smith yesterday and we were worried cuz he had a problem with that before. So we fasted for him and yesterday right before church ended we pulled him out and had the lesson. The lesson went so great. He understood everything and basically taught us. The spirit was super strong and he's super excited for his baptism on Sunday. He's super solid. We are super amped!

All five of the girls who we baptized last week got confirmed yesterday. It was stressful cuz they almost missed it. They walked in right a second before we sang the sacrament song. The bishopric stalled and the girls were all confirmed yesterday. It was great. I confirmed two and Elder Simmons did the others. It was a great day. We also still had five people at church. We found this super cool kid R. He was super legit and we set a bd with him first lesson., The lesson was good and we committed him to church and everything. He said he'd come and we were super amped! We called him a bunch in the morning but he never picked up. Then after church he called us and said he had shown up at church in the morning, but when he walked in only wearing a regular shirt and jeans, he was embarrassed and left. Such a bummer. And that was our fault, but he has plans to come this next week so we are amped!

Sorry this is shorter, time is up! I love you all a lot!

-Elder Stone

Greetings from the Hurricane Zone - Not!

Hey Mom and Dad and Chelsea and Matthew and everyone else,(love you all)

This past week was great! We saw tons of miracles. Fasting is a great thing that the Lord lets us do. It really has helped me to understand who knows best and what's most important in life. There was big talk of a tropical storm coming in. They said it was going to hit the valley directly. We all were prepared with 72-hr kits and all, but nothing came. Just some dark clouds and a little rain. So it was a big scare for nothing, but still fun. So you always ask about new investigators. We should be finding seven new people a week, that is the standard that President Trayner has given us. We've been struggling a little and we usually find around five or six. But the good thing about this is that these people are usually very prepared. We've had great lessons with them and have been able to set bds with almost all of them.

So we saw one huge miracle with a family we are teaching. The Dad is a less active memeber, or was. And it's the same family that we fasted for to get parent permission. So, as of last Sunday and Monday, only the three older girls were going to get baptized, not the two younger ones. They didn't feel ready and they wanted to wait a few months or years first. We were bummed because we wanted the family to do it all togheter. But we prayed a lot for them and fasted for them and went over Tuesday to have a lesson. We brought a member who is an awesome member. He threw down for us! All the girls had been interviewed and only the three youngest girls were there for this lesson at first. At first the older one who was supposed to get baptized said she was worried and all this stuff. Brother G went and talked with her and cleared up all her doubts and made her know she's ready. The spirit was strong. Then he started talking to them, the two younger girls who didn’t want to be baptized yet. He talked with them about why and stuff and talked with them about why they should. He taught in parables, which is how we see success teaching. He related it to a trip to Sea World and how they wouldn't wait for that if he had free tickets to go now. The rest of the family came home in between all this, and Brother G was throwing down with everyone. The lesson came to an end and he asked, who is getting baptized on Sunday? The three older girls all said they were and then he looked at the other sister, and said what about you? and she goes "Yo Tambien" (me too) and I was shocked and amazed, and then he asked the other, and she said "yo tambien". I smiled so huge and almost started to cry. We had truly seen another miracle, even the other girls were talking like "wow she is doing it too, and stuff." We asked the Dad, he asked them again and they said yes and he signed the paper. It was amazing to see the Lord work with his children.  I remember half way through the lesson saying a silent prayer asking the Lord to soften their hearts, and He did. Then they all came to church yesterday. They usually come in normal clothes, but yesterday they all put on there fancy dresses and looked great. At their baptism, as we were waiting to start, the younger kids kept coming up to us and saying "I want to get baptized, baptize me." And we told them they had to wait a few more years. But it was amazing.

As well our great friend, “E” was baptized saturday. It was great, and he had asked me to confirm him in church the following day. It was a great blessing. My first time in Spanish, and the Lord worked the same way as He does in English. It was great, and afterward “E” stood up and shook our hands and hugged us. It was great.

We also finally had some people come to English yesterday! It was awesome - we are teaching two people in English and they both came and loved church and should be getting baptized on the 21 of August. Super amped!

So, transfers are coming up and they are going to be splitting our area. As far as we know, we are both staying here, so that'll be good. We are excited to get working. We are having tons of changes done in the zone so it'll be good. We had a goal of 18 for August, it will make us stretch, but we can do it with the Lord's help.

I love you all
-Elder Stone

July 25, 2011
Greetings from Edinburg, TX - TX McAllen Mission

Hey Hey Hey everyone!

So this past week was great in some aspects, but tough in others. For our companionship we did well. Yesterday we had twelve people at church. And out of them seven got interviewed for their baptism. So that was awesome! But we should have five baptisms at the end of this week. Our investigators are doing really well. We have one lady that was interviewed and supposed to get baptized on Sunday, but she is having doubts because of her family. All she wants is for all her family to come as well. We had a powerful lesson, and in her prayer she said she knows it's true. We are taking time out of our p-day to go teach her daughter today because she is super important to us. We did see a great miracle though, it was all because of a fast and our faith.

So this family of five we are teaching, the Dad is a less active member that has been coming back to church. The mom isn't a member, but she works a ton. We've been teaching the five girls and preparing them for baptism. We needed the dad's signature on their forms before they were interviewed. And we had talked to him about two weeks ago and he and the mom kept saying they need more time and stuff, but they don't. They know all they need to know and they've been coming to church. We were worried. We decided to fast for them again. And we came up with an idea that elder Wells, a district leader who is doing the interview, could go by and talk with the family. So Saturday we did mini exchanges, and Elder Wells went with my comp, Elder Simmons. They were there for a super long time. But they came back and the mom and dad had a change of heart and they signed the papers. It was a miracle from the Lord. The story is a lot longer but that's the short version. It was great. Also one investigator got interviewed and is getting baptized on Saturday. We are super excited for him! So we are doing well and working hard with the Lord's help. We also had a bunch of less active families come to church, which is great to see.

The zone is kind of struggling. We were supposed to have six baptisms as a zone, but only two went through. It's really disappointing that those souls fell off. The missionaries need to do all they can to make sure that doesn't happen. Right now we are a little behind on our goal, but we are looking like we will make it with a miracle. We have eight people set up to be baptized this coming week and we need nine. We have people who are ready and can be baptized, and now it's time to put our faith in the Lord and understand his will and try our hardest to do it. I'm excited!

We found a couple of really cool people this week. One guy lives in these really small ghetto apartments and cuts lawns for work and does random jobs because that's all he can do. I admire it because he is down, but not out! He is not giving up trying to find work and stuff. We've sat with him outside and we sit on these rusty fold up chairs and he sits on his porch and we have great lessons. He really wants to know and has a bd for August I. I love being down here. It's very humbling. We teach a lot outside and you get used to the heat and the sun. So many times I've taught a lesson sitting on the ground, or on a mini chair or on a bucket and I love it. The people don't have much, but whatever they have they'll try and give it to you. It's a huge learning experience. So I feel sometime my emails are really short, sorry about that. I'll try and make them longer. But i love it down here in Texas. The food is too good and i need to exercise a lot.

I love you Mom and Dad and Chelsea and Matthew and Scarlett!