Lots of miracles!!

This past week was great, with many miracles. We set our goals high and promised ourselves we would do all we could to achieve them. In the end, the Lord blessed us greatly, and we saw incredible things happen. We met two different guys on the streets this week that have accepted the Book of Mormon and baptismal dates. One of them we taught a lesson while riding along side him on our bikes for about 10-15 minutes! It was awesome. The Lord is really preparing people and helping us to find His elect.

Our bike lights got stolen while we were like 10 feet away teaching a lesson in the ghetto. Super lame.

We had a special training from President Martinez, a councilor to President Lewis, to just the six of us Spanish missionaries. It was amazing, and we talked about the Sons of Mosiah and how they were able to have so much success. The key to the work is love. I have seen that to be very true so far in my mission.

Elder Sanhueza is an amazing soccer player (played college in Chile and wants to go pro) and he has been patiently trying to teach me tricks haha. It has been fun.

We ate dinner with the Kidds, who are the ones that own the house that we live in. They are rich. Rich, rich, rich. Their kitchen was like the size of our house. They are amazing people though, and it was awesome to go meet them and eat wonderful food.

We were very blessed this week. I know this is the Lord's work. I know He is in it. I love and miss you all! Stay safe and warm this week! It almost got up to 80 yesterday! Yaya! Till next week,

 

Elder Stone

Thankful for blessings!

Hello all!

 Well we had a good week. While it ended a little disappointing, I am grateful for what we were able to do. We tried hard to make the progress we needed this week, but it didn't quite come. Nevertheless, we are trying harder this week to hit that goal again. We know we can do it!

 We had some bad news with our investigator Lucinda, that her mother will not give her permission to be baptized, but she is fine with her hearing the lessons and going to church. We have a wonderful family that is fellowshipping her, however, and we are going to involve them and the mother heavily this week to resolve her concerns. It is sad to see someone who has a testimony be impeded from acting on it, but we are praying hard for miracles.

I love working here in Lodi. It is a place full of potential and work, and every day brings more excitement and testimony that the Lord is hastening His work. I am very grateful to be here. As we are doing our best to contact and talk to everyone we can, we are seeing the blessings of the field being already to harvest.

 We had zone conference this week, and I loved it. We had an amazing discussion with President Lewis about the Atonement. The Spirit was so strong and strengthened my testimony and my resolve to share it with everyone. I am so thankful for my Savior. Just as it says in Doctrine and Covenants 123, we should "waste and wear out our lives" in helping others come to the Gospel. I hope to be able to do that better this week. There are many who are walking in darkness, and have no idea how happy they could be. It is our job to find them and to let them know, so that later on, no one has to come to us and asks "Why didn't you let me know? Things could have been so much better." Our testimony of the Atonement and the forgiveness and blessings it brings should create a desire to share it with everyone. Everyone deserves this. Because we are all children of God, and He loves all His children.

I love you all! I hope you had a blessed week and a great Valentine's Day. Look for those missionary opportunities this week! You are all amazing. Thank you for your love and support.

 Elder Stone

Rain, rain, and more rain!!

Well this week was super interesting! On Monday night, we got stopped in the street by an insane man named Patrick. He was talking about hallucinations and riding on magic carpets with Jesus and how it was awesome...and then how he had a sucker with a worm in it that could destroy the world and told us he would give it to us because we had the faith in the Lord to be able to believe and handle it. To be able to record that experience would have been priceless.

We had a ton of appointments fall through this week, which was a bummer. But we were able to teach and find a lot of people. The biggest challenge is trying to handle and keep track and see them all! There is a lot of work to do, the field is white!

Ever since the fast started on Sunday, it has been raining all week and it will keep raining throughout this week! Which is fantastic. Riding in the rain is also a good time. 

We have been able to start teaching an awesome guy Miguel. He is 90 years old but totally doesn't look it! He is a great man with so much faith. He lost his wife a few years ago and misses her a ton. We talked about eternal families, and he told us that everyone tells him that he will see her again, but he doesn't see that in the bible. Eternal families are going to be so powerful for him, and we hope we can help him to know he will see her again.

Luz is making huge strides still, and we believe she will be able to have a date for baptism by the end of this week. She is opening up so much spiritually and socially, and she is totally on her way. She is ready!

We were super bummed that Cassandra couldn't come to church yesterday. She has been really sick all week and then they left apparently to see their grandparents on Sunday, who are also sick. We will have to move her baptismal date to March, but she is still amazing and smart and so sensitive to the spirit. We got to talk to her mother this week as well, and we are hoping that as she gets to know us better and as we start incorporating a family to fellowship them, she will soften up. She loves the teaching and all, but not quite comfortable with baptism, which is understandable. 

I hope you all had a great week. I love and appreciate you all and your support. Keep being amazing and wonderful. Look for the hand of the Lord in your life this week! He is so good to us, and we gain a knowledge of that as we look for those small miracles and trust him. Love and miss you all!

It's been a GREAT week!!

Hey all,

 This week was a good one. Elder Sanhueza arrived safely. He is a great missionary. Chilean Spanish is fast, and it is a blessing to have a native speaker to help me out a lot with the language!

We went to go see Cassandra, she is a young woman that is super smart and awesome. She felt the Spirit when they had first talked about the First Vision, and recognized it as her answer. We challenged her to a date and she fully accepted!! Right now her date is for the 23rd. The only problem is that her mother needs to give her permission...we will be working really hard with the members and her to help her with that.

Luz has also made great progress this week. She is 13 and Elder Fernandez leaving was super hard for her, so I was worried about how things would go with the new Elder, but she is opening up and making great progress. She participated really well in the lesson about the Gospel we had with her, and we have committed her to pray about a baptismal date and she is doing it! Which is wonderful. The Lord has been blessing her and her family greatly.

Damian is doing amazingly still! We are now working with Erika and hoping she will join him in the decision to enter into baptism! They had their about a month or two old baby Matias blessed yesterday! It was a very special experience. He ended up choosing me to do it, which was unexpected. I was extremely scared and prayed very hard to be able to do it correctly and with the Spirit. In the end it worked out, and I was thankful to be able to use the Priesthood in such a special way. Probably the only opportunity in the mission I will get to hold a baby as well! It was a very special experience, and I hope Damian and Erika could feel that too.

We got some rain this week, and a little more yesterday! We still need a ton more.

 I love and miss you all! Stay strong and looking for opportunities to share this wonderful Gospel. The Lord truly is hastening His work. We are so blessed to help Him in these times.

Stay safe and warm this week!
Loves,

Elder Stone