Week 46

My Dearest Family,

WOOOOHOOOO!!!!!!! I'm in the office!!!!! I can't tell you how excited I am. I've had a BLAST this week, and I'm about to drop dead I'm so tired.

I'm in my element. I'm doing what I've ALWAYS loved to do, what's always come as just fun and natural to me. I'm behind the scenes, making things run smoothly. My analytical mind is having a hay day. MAKE THIS YOUR FINEST WORK. It's something that was said in the MTC by the mission presidency, and I can't wait to start painting my own work of art here in the office. I really feel like a tool in the Lord's hands, with a little bit of experience, but still very urefined. I know that my Father will mold me. He will teach me His ways, and I will learn at His hand. I want to work here, not in my own manner, but after His. That brings to mind a scripture, 1 Nefi 17:53 or 54. It's the Faith of Nefi, and it explains a lot better how I'm feeling. You have to follow it up with 18:1 through 3 though. That's your assignment for this week. Will you read it? If you said yes, When? I'll be waiting for a good response on the next Saturday.

I'm sooooo happy to be here. And you know the best part about it? I'M STILL A MISSIONARY!!!!! When President called me on Sunday to extend the invitation to serve as Financiero, the first thing that he told me was that I was to first be a field missionary, and THEN be an office missionary. As I work in the office, I'm to be thinking of my investigators. We leave the office at 4:30, and that leaves the BEST teaching hours for us. Once I get in the groove of things here, I'm confident that we'll be able to accomplish the same amount of proselyting work here as we've done in all of my former areas. We've got literally no one progressing here right now, but that will be changed very quickly.

P days are now on Saturdays, just because i[m in the office.

Elder Wray is my companion!!!!!! MOM!!!!! I'm super excited. Do you remember him? We passed a LOT of time together in the MTC. Him, Elder Dexter, and I. We were buds. And now look! I couldn't beleive it. It's almost not fair. I shouldn't be able to get a new companion and just jump right into being old time friends. It's so nice. We get along great, and it invites the spirit right in. He's a SUPER focused, dedicated, sincere Elder. He's really excited to get the work moving again here. They just Baptized a family last change! We want to keep that up. Elder Wray teaches from the heart. I know that we're going to see a lot of Miracles from the Lord here in Barrio Herrera.

Speaking of a Barrio.. that means Ward. And you know what Ward means. MEMBERS!!!!! WOOOHOOO!!!!!! I'm super excited. We have a capilla, we have members, what else could a missionary want?!

Ok. Tons to do. I haven't even unpacked yet. Haha. We took some Elders home this week, to the airport. It was great. We woke up at 3 in the morning to do it. Elder Rockwood, the Financiero who's training me right now, says that we learn a lot about sacrifice here. I'm ready for it. I Love it. And I love you all. Have a great week.

Elder Stewart

Week 45

Hello Family!!!! This week, more has happened than I thought possible to be able to fit into a week. President called me last night. I´m headed to the office. I´m going to be the Financiero. I can´t tell you how excited I am. It´s hard to leave Santa Rita. I´ve poured my soul into making this place grow. But I have faith that the Lord knows how I can serve Him the most.

Mom, thanks for worrying about my vitamins! I´m so glad that you love me. And Burger King! Wow! It´s a great week! Wooohooo!!! But listen. Haha. I took out twenty five bucks this morning. Elder Gleason and I bought curtains for the church on Friday. Mom. I feel like I´m in Joseph Smith´s time. The new building we´re renting is on a main street, and has glass doors. We needed something to cover it up. Elder Gleason and I went looking, and there were only two church appropriate options, and the less expensive option was, quite frankly, ugly. We´re building something for the Lord. Elder Gleason and I wanted to give it our best. So we bought the most BEAUTIFUL, super high quality fabric. A sister in the ward offered to sew everything for free. And now we´ve got curtains that look like they belong in the Temple. I´m SSSOOOO proud of it. And I´m even more proud of our members. They´re really embracing this new local. They helped with moving everything over, and Hermano Ugarte´s going to help us install the big, black, nametag... sign... thing, i don´t remember what it´s called, that has the name of the Church, tonight, above the new building. We´ve still got to paint it, it´s a terrible red and white right now, but with a little more work, our members are going to LOVE coming to church, and our investigators are going to want to come back. The old place was, well, not too great. It had TONS of mosquitos, and was in a place really hard to get to and to find. In short, Mom, let´s trade. Burger King and Vitamins for SWEET curtains, and we break even! I won´t be taking out more money though. If I´m to be the Financiero for the mission, I´ve got to show a perfect example of budgeting, and making do with what we´ve got. It´s always been something that I´ve enjoyed, working with and managing and saving money, but now I get to be serious about it, and really develop it as a talent of mine. I´m excited to see how I can help the mission serving in this capacity.

Guess what!!!! I got my package! For two days Elder Gleason, our investigators, and I, we just ate like kings. We´re talking like the King of Egypt. The King of New York. We had a hay day with it. Christmas in June. Thanks a ton mom. We saved the skittles. We´ll have a wonderful, sugar filled, 6 hour bus ride to Asunción tomorrow with Elder Snow and Elder Bazán.

George! Good to hear from you. Thanks for keeping me up to date on what´s going on in your life. Sounds like you´re really heading into some big time decisions. What an exciting time in your life! Just treat it like the mission. Keep the Lord in the first place, and everything else falls where it´s supposed to. I know you know that. I love you a lot, and hope for the best for you. Thanks for sending the Finals update. Dad´s been slacking off. Seems like he´s more interested in your college and work, and rachael´s dating, and ashley´s play. Kind of weird. He´s getting his priorities all mixed up. FINALS, FATHER, FINALS!!!!

Rachael Cherish Stewart, I sure love you. I felt downright embarrassed when I left the computer last week. I´ve been meaning to write you a few good, important things since I called home, and it´s just been escaping me. Last week I even had it written down in my agenda, and I still didn´t do it. But, we´re the best of friends. I could just give you a great big hug right now. Reading that story you sent to me really lifted my spirits. This week, the Lord blessed us a TON with a new building, with helping little 19 year olds elder Gleason and I play grown up and figure out a contract for the building, with bringing a few inactive members back to church, with a lot of things. But we had an investigator get really really sick on the day of his baptism, and then he didn´t show up on Sunday to church. We´ve had 6 awesome families that we´ve been working with, and only one of them, after this week, look like they´re going to really progress towards a baptism. We didn´t find very many new investigators, and in short, it wasn´t the best week as far as normal missionary week goes. But just pondering your message gives me a lot of hope. To know that God is using me as His instrument, even when I can´t see the immediately desired results, brings comfort to my soul. Heavenly Father loves you. Your story told me that. I Love you. I´m so glad that our Father is taking care of you when I can´t. I think the world of you. If you get married to an RM before I get home, I´ll cry. Just wait a while, ok. Fox. Hound. Over and out.

Elder STEWART

Week 44

Dear Family!!!!

Hey!!! How are you all!! There´s no question mark on my keyboard... you´ll have to excuse me.

Mother, I´m healthy and happy. We cook EVERY SINGLE MEAL for ourselves, and it is SOOOO FUN!!!!!!, and let´s be honest, there´s just not tons of time to plan out extravagant meals that cover every food group with perfection.

The weather here is getting cold. I think it was like 60 or so, and I was dying. People shake my hand and then shake the hand of elder Gleason and then ask me what´s wrong with me, because my hand´s frozen. I´m convinced that my core blood temperature has changed.

Father. It does my heart good to read your emails. When I read them I really do feel like I´m sitting in your car, going with you to buy groceries, and just having a good chat.

Matt Okelberry´s going to be one of the best missionaries I know. I had a list of 4 or 5 people that had certain qualities that I wanted to obtain before the mission. Along with Steven Stucki, Dan Mangelson, and McKay Smith, was Matt Okelberry. Matt is Firm, Steady, and Set in the decisions that he makes. Nothing and noone can shake his faith. If he feels that something´s right, he sticks to his guns. I´m just happy that I got to know him so well.

Yesterday Elder Gleason and I were fasting as a companionship to have better work con the members this month. Directly after church, the male, head of household members agreed to stay after church to hold the first OFFICIAL, in church, consejo de Barrio. Elder Snow, Elder Bazan, Elder Gleason and I, with Hnos. Wexel, Ugarte, y Pena. We discussed the future of Santa Rita, the Requirements to become a Branch, which is an assistance of 35 or more for 6 months, and the key role that those fathers have in making this dream come alive. We reaffirmed that every Friday night, the members are going to keep doing divisions with the missionaies to invite the best investigators to church. We talked about the families that weren´t in church this week, and commited Hnos. Wexel, Pena, and Ugarte to each go and talk with one of those families this week, and bring them to Church next week. Everyone left enlightened, and energized with the beautiful possibilites of the Church here in Santa Rita.

Elder Gleasons a champ. He´s not a trainee any more. I stopped training him a long time ago. We were teaching yesterday, having a rough day with the lessons. He was a little down as we were walking, and was quiet for a while. We got to a lesson, and started up, and he just took off. We taught a firey, emotional lesson, full of scriptures and testimony. The husband of Mariela, for the first time, REALLY understood what we were sharing. Elder Gleason brings the spirit with him where he goes. I love teaching with him.

Love you all!

Elder Stewart