Week 25

Family-

My dearest mother, HAHA!!!! Oh, you are so very good for me, aren`t you. There`s a reason you were, well... are, my mom. Haha, I couldn`t help but smile when I thought of you reading your books. To hear that Christ has a sense of humor that nobody could hope to match is solid. Fun to think about. Witty. Haha. I loved it. This morning, as I was studying, I accidently came across the scripture about, “What manner of man ought ye to be? Even as I am.” And it`s true. If Christ is happy, and has a sense of humor, shouldn`t we emulate that attribute too?

George!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! I`m super proud of you! Way to be. A big bad zone leader, like the Elders I live with. Wow. That`s incredible. And it`s the best kind of pride, just the fact that the Lord trusts you enough to lead his other missionaries. That just means that you`ve been working your tail off, and you`ve been super obedient. Haha, I`m really proud of you. Like Mom always says, the higher you are up in positions of the church, all it means is more service. In this work, 100% of the glory is for God. I know you already know that, and that`s why I`m happy for you. You`ve never been a selfish, prideful person. I always admired that about you. The missionaries you`re working with will recognize that about you right off the bat, that you`re just there to serve. Man, I love you. What a brother I ended up with.

The work is going soooo well. We had a super hard, discouraging week last week. But the Lord is working right alongside us here in Ybatè. He gave me a very strong testimony of that this week. I`m learning about Faith. About REAL faith. The kind that`s more than just words. The kind that doesn`t blow over the first time a tough wind comes through.

My days and weeks have become enveloped in the work. It`s an incredible feeling. My mind and heart have been set here. My week is a tough week only when the work isn`t going well. My happiest days aren`t P Days, where I get letters and emails, even though they`re great, but rather, the happiest days are when I feel like I gave the Lord everything I had, and we came out with a few lessons and a few baptismal invitations. I`m learning patience. I`m learning to be humble, and have faith that this is the Lord`s work, not mine. If I`m giving the work my all, it doesn`t matter if the numbers turn out how I wanted them to. They`ll get there eventually. Why? Because this life isn`t mine. “ Beleive in God. Beleive that there is a God.... Beleive that God comprehends things that Man can`t”. That`s a rough translation, and I don`t have my scrips with me, but you get the idea. God sees the underlying miracles, when all I can see is emptiness. God loves us. He`s got this work, this life, planned out to a T. And he loves those photo finishes. ;_). We`ve got to be tougher than those storms, those winds, and have that REAL FAITH that we`re going to come out on top. It took some rough winds to blow the brother of Jared to the Promised Land.

I love you all.

Elder Stewart