Just a note!

Mom,

Please let everyone know that while I would love to write them all, I don't have enough time. I love them all and I am so thankful for their support, there is just not time to do that much! Any mail should be sent to the mission home address. I love you! You guys are always in my prayers.

Finding investigators!

Hey everyone!

 

Things are going pretty well! It was quite the week. We added more investigators. One of the things that we did this week was splits with the AP. I went out with just me and Elder Richwine, which is awesome because I know basically nothing still. No but it went pretty well. There is a trailer park in Camino, a small city about 20 minutes out, and we have had a lot of people interested there. We will be there for three different families this week. But we went down there to try to contact some people with no success. We had some time so we went tracting. I spotted a spanish looking house (you can tell by the mop or broom right outside the door and a lot of plants and ornaments, and usually they grow aloe vera), and there door was already open so they couldn't run away! Elder Richwine was a Mongue speaking missionary and now he is an AP so he speaks no Spanish. So we went and talked to them and they were really receptive and great. We gave them a restoration pamphlet and had a prayer. He gathered his whole family together for the prayer and they are just amazing. I am really excited to see them again this week. Being able to do a contact all by myself really helped me be more confident and comfortable,and I am grateful that the Lord helped me do that.

 

It was a frustrating day yesterday because we had three investigators who were going to come to church and none of them ended up coming. It was really disappointing. We could only come in contact with one of them later and he said he had to go pick something up from another town so he couldn't go. The others we don't know yet. So that was sad, but we have more appointments with them later. 

I am starting to get better adjusted to the disappointment and discouragement. I am starting to catch the spirit of the work more and keep a positive and happy attitude. I love this work and I am finding a lot of joy in it. I know this is where I need to be and I am so grateful to serve. Even through disappointment there is always hope because this message is so amazing and I just love being a part of it. It is getting better every day!

 

We are able to attend the temple four times a year I believe, which is awesome. I am so excited to see the new film and to go to the temple again. 

 

Sorry I have received the bedding and the helmet and everything! I also got Grandma M's package! I got Ashlie's package and letter also but I have not received more yet! They make me so happy and it is so exciting haha. I am not sure why they want everything sent there but they do! We live on Big Cut Road in Diamond Springs, CA. I am not sure of the house number though...it is like 4288 or something?? But yeah all mail and packages should be sent through there!

Mom, your business looks amazing?! I am so happy you can do that that is so cool. I wish you luck and that is just so awesome :) Keep me updated!

I love you guys and I miss you a lot! But I am positive that this is where I need to be, and it is stronger to me each day. Thank you for all your love and support. Send more pictures cause they are amazing :) 

Love,

 

Elder Stone

New pic's

 Elder Mena and I at the MTC!

Sweet house we live in, in Cali!

 Amazing kitchen!

Sacramento California Temple!

  Infamous couch in the MTC!

Hola from Cali!!

Hey everybody!

 

Well I am finally here in California. It is crazy. Every once in a while I have these moments where it hits me that I am really on my mission and I freak out. It just doesn't seem real! 

Well my first area is the El Dorado area. We only use a car because it is huge, the biggest in the mission. Because we are spanish speaking we cover two stakes. Right now we are mainly focusing on a city called Placerville. There is no spanish branch, just a group in church. We have to translate for them through a headset, which I am far from doing. But we will get there. This week has been crazy with a lot of things going on, such as an open house for the church on saturday. We didn't get any proselyting done that day because of it and it was pretty tiring! 

 

It has been a little hard adjusting to the mission, and it is very different than I thought it would be. It is hard, just like they say, especially when all your appointments fall through and it just feels like nobody wants to hear your message, when it is such an amazing one. So it has been pretty hard sometimes, but there's always hope and happiness because there's always the Savior. 

 

My companion is Elder Martinez, and he is from Brigham City. He has been out about 7 months, which is a pretty young trainer for spanish. He is great and I am learning a lot from him. 

 

It is interesting being in this area because it looks almost just like our mountains back home, and it is beautiful. The other areas are very busy and pretty sketchy, which is awesome. But I am really enjoying it up here and we have really incredible members. Many people go their whole mission without ever having to get dinner themselves. The members are amazing and so willing to help. 

 

There have been some rough times, and it is hard sometimes to just smile and press forward, but I am learning how, and trying my hardest to become better. 

 

Having real food has been heaven. 

 

It is awesome to hear how you guys are doing there, and how big Emily is getting. Gosh she is so cute. I miss you guys! I have not received any mail yet but I am hoping to soon. They want all mail sent to the mission home and then they will forward it to us. Just make sure you send it through US Mail, not UPS or FedEx, because then they won't forward it. 

 

Time is a lot shorter here now to write. I will try to send pictures! 

 

Something that I learned this week is that this message is really amazing and that there is nothing in comparison. It is hard to see people not accept it, or to hate what you are doing, but in the end it is always about Christ. Christ is why I am here. He is why I can smile after someone makes it clear they want nothing to do with us. I am thankful to be out here, and I am thankful to be able to serve my Savior and spread his message, and show in a very small way my appreciation for Him. 

Thank you guys for your support. I miss you and I hope all continues to go well. You are in my thoughts and in my prayers.

Love,

 

Elder Stone

Made it to California, safe and sound!

Brayden finally made it to Sacramento, California safe and sound yesterday!!  Now the real work begins!  He is excited to get started!  We will update his address as soon as we get the new one. :)  You can always send letters to the mission office address and they will be forwarded to him. :)  Good luck Brayden! You will be amazing!

(P.S. Brayden's new "P" days are on Mondays!!  Look for the updates on Mondays! :) )

Earthquakes and a new couch!

I am so excited to get out to the field so I actually have some real stuff to write about! But here were some rare unique things that happened this week ;)

 

1. So the first or second day we got here, the president of the CCM told us that there is some danger of earthquakes and there are circles over the campus where we should go in case there is one. Then he told us they only have a big one every couple decades or so, but that the last one was twenty something years ago. So that didn't make anyone feel good! So a few days ago we were just sitting in class and what sounded like a giant air mattress infator started up and we figured it was some kind of alarm. So we are looking around and people are going outside and such and getting on the circles. We walk out after about 2 or 3 minutes and laugh because everyone is so freaked out. But then apparently we find out that it is triggered by seismic activity, and that it must have just been too weak for us to feel it. So maybe in the next few days we will get a big one. ;) Nice to know about the alarm on week 6!

 

2. They are constantly doing renovations on this place to get it 'prepared'. So we tend to get a ton of random stuff, such as metal swords which now hang above our clock. We somehow obtained a sofa, and it sat on our balcony for a while. But some of the new guys thought it would be cool to steal it. So after this happened twice we decided to just put it in the front room of the apartment. The window screen had to be removed but eventually it was there, and we now have a very warm and nice front room.

 

3. The store here keeps building its inventory and I was able to buy a new tie for about 4 dollars so thats nice! Basically everything is dirt cheap.

 

4. On our tuesday night devotional, the president talked about temples, and I thought he said a cool thing. I have always liked the whole "kick satan's butt" idea, but he made a comment about how when he was first married, him and his wife determined that they would go to the temple every week, and that of course there were always so many reasons that came up not to go. But then he said they were just persistent enough that Satan decided it wasn't worth his effort and just eventually gave up. I think that is a really cool concept, and that in so many ways we can overcome Satan, and it is so important to be diligent and have faith, and that on my mission, I can learn how to discourage him as much as possible.

 

5. Nothing else really. Thank you all for your support :) You are all amazing and I love you so much.

Pictures!!

Elder Thomas and Elder Stone in front of the Mexico City Temple

 

Elder Stone and his district with the Branch President and his wife at the temple.

Elder Thomas, Stone and Sterling at the Mexico City Temple!!

Furniture store in the poor part of Mexico City.

                                                      Beautiful Mexico City Temple!!

                                                      View from dorm room at night.

Cockroaches!

Haha I loved reading your spanish letter. I could understand prettymuch all of it yes! I love how it puts Viejo for elder (viejo means old) .

 

Things are going pretty well here! There is not too much to write about because not much changes. Or more like nothing changes day to day :P

 

So far our two investigators are both commited to baptism which is fun! Our lessons have been getting better and better.

 

I feel like I am progressing in the language, and in TRC last night, we had a lesson/discussion with one of the teachers. I felt like I didn't even struggle to talk to her and talk about the scriptures and it was awesome! Our teacher, Hermano Arnold, has this amazing way of marking scriptures that allows you to pretty much have preach my gospel in them. It is so sweet and I will have to send you a picture. I used it a ton during our lesson and it helps so much.

 

We had a nice experience with 3 cockroaches the other day, in the hall, under my backpack, and another in the bathroom! They always seem to show up when I have no shoes, which makes it wonderful. They are disgusting and maybe I will send you a picture if we can find a big one!

 

I will be sending pictures today for sure, especially of the temple! It is gorgeous and I wish we could go again.

 

I am really excited to get out into the field. I know it will be hard but I want to get in the work and get out of here haha. It is crazy to thing that about a month has already gone by.

 

I hope you get more rain! We are coming out of the rainy season now which isn't too fun. It is hotter not and we haven't seen a solid storm for almost a week!

Oh I forgot.

 

During one of our lessons with Nano, he had a question about the wicked and why they get a degree of glory at all when they reject Christ and such. I didn't have a great answer, especially in spanish, so eventually I just said we would find an answer for him, but that I know God is the perfect judge. Except I messed up the word and ended up telling him that God is the perfect Jew. So yeah :P

 

More later,

 

Love you guys,

 

Elder Stone