Hey Mom and Dad!
Sorry no email yesterday. On holidays we take p-day the next day. It's been a good week. I hope it was for you two as well. Mom, I got your email. I didn't get to read the whole thing but I’m printing it off to read later. I did see that you had asked about Elder Johnson. He's from Valencia, California. His first name is Cory. He's very smart in the missionary sense - he knows his scriptures, lessons, how to teach, and Spanish. He goes home at the end of this transfer... so like 4 weeks. I will definitely miss his help. We get along just fine.
I hope you two are doing fine as well as the rest of the fam. Thanks for the emails everyone! I will read them later.
It's been a good week. Elder Johnson and I had more dinner appointments with members this week than we did the whole last transfer. Finally, the Spanish elders exist in the Crowfield Ward - gotta love a delicious home-cooked meal! holla.
It's been way nice weather. It rained like crazy one day... but other than that... sunshine! And yesterday it got up to 78. The weather is weird, I know, but I’ll take 78 any day!
Our investigators are great. No updates really - just more of the same. They are progressing and the two guys that came to church really like it. Randy (the little kid) calls Elder Johnson and I “the muchacho's”. When we knocked on the Hernandez door, he answered saying "Otra vez pasaron los muchachos.” Then he held out his fist saying "Chocala!" meaning ‘Pound it!’ Seriously, we have some solid investigators. Elder Johnson and I have had some great lessons and the spirit is so strong. We have a few on date for baptism at the end of this month. I was way bummed - we had to drop Saul. He wasn't progressing and just wanted to learn about the Bible. But once again - "we'll be back..." We're always back.
Today 8 missionaries and Eddy Cabreras and his buddy are going to have a fiesta. This includes some outdoor soccer. I’m pumped. Elder Johnson and I are really trying to fit into the Spanish culture, so we bought various Mexican soccer team themed wallets. Heck yeah! Oh also... we’re holding English classes once a week too.
Alright, well I’m about out of time, but I hope to hear from you soon in response to my awesome pics. People who are not of the family... sorry I haven't written... I’m getting to it, I promise.
Love ya all,
Elder Stoneman
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Tres Familias
January 11, 2010
Mammy and Jumpy...are those the new names? haha. How are you both doing? I miss you a lot... and the rest of mah peeps... but I’m having a lot of fun. I hope all is well with you two! Mom, I glanced at your letter and congrats on the 7 1/2 year mark in the choir! Freakin sweet. I love the MoTab CDs. Hey bytheway, do you know a Robert Wood in the choir? He also plays piano up at the U. This guy is Elder Wood's dad. I sat next to Elder Wood on the flight over here. Way cool guy. He and I are also in the same district and have become way good buddies.
Oh! Last week Elder Johnson and I went to the mall to get him a new pair of shoes before going home. I kept hearing from the other elders how awkward it is going to the mall as a missionary. In my mind I was thinking... "It won't be that bad." Well, we went and 10 seconds into Sears, it was like "....uh... get me outa here...!" haha. It was alright though... I got me some soft-serve, calmed it down, strolled the mall and looked around with big eyes.... haha. I ended up buying me a sweater (bytheway... IT'S FREAKIN COLD) and I charged it onto the card and then pulled out some cash... it was just under 50, Mom.
Tenemos tres familias nuevas como investigadores. Son chidos. Y todos viven atras del Piggly Wiggly. We call them our Piggly Wiggly families. They are way cool. One of the families, the Hernandez, we found last Monday night, knocking into them. We contacted the mom and she wasn't very interested. Afterwards, Elder Johnson asked if there was anything that we could do for her because we also help/serve the people. She asked, "Like what?" and Elder Johnson said well whatever... like translating or whatever they needed. She then very humbly asked us to help her 7 year old son with his homework because it was in English and she and her husband didn't understand very well. It was a way cool experience. The kids are way cute too. There's one who's 3, his name is Randy... he's hilarious.
Francisco came to church again... even though once again we didn't get to see him all week. We just left a note telling him the right ward to go to and he CAME! Things are looking good for him.
It has been a very good week. This past week we have really upped our numbers to meet the mission standard. it's not about numbers though right? :) haha Seriously though, we have found some awesome people and taught some really great lessons.This past week we found 15 new investigators. We have quite a few of those as well as our other investigators on a baptismal date. Que chido.
Letters and pics are coming this week. Mol, I got your package. Thank you!!! Que bueno. Te amo. I’ll be scoring the pics at Walmart today and send them out to everyone. I was looking through and noticed that I don't have many of myself... I’ll apologize in advance. But the pics are still way cool and a few funny ones.
Well I’m wrapping up quick today... off to get a missionary haircut. Ohhhhh yeah!!
Love you all and look forward to the mail. Talk to you next week.
Love ya'll!
Mammy and Jumpy...are those the new names? haha. How are you both doing? I miss you a lot... and the rest of mah peeps... but I’m having a lot of fun. I hope all is well with you two! Mom, I glanced at your letter and congrats on the 7 1/2 year mark in the choir! Freakin sweet. I love the MoTab CDs. Hey bytheway, do you know a Robert Wood in the choir? He also plays piano up at the U. This guy is Elder Wood's dad. I sat next to Elder Wood on the flight over here. Way cool guy. He and I are also in the same district and have become way good buddies.
Oh! Last week Elder Johnson and I went to the mall to get him a new pair of shoes before going home. I kept hearing from the other elders how awkward it is going to the mall as a missionary. In my mind I was thinking... "It won't be that bad." Well, we went and 10 seconds into Sears, it was like "....uh... get me outa here...!" haha. It was alright though... I got me some soft-serve, calmed it down, strolled the mall and looked around with big eyes.... haha. I ended up buying me a sweater (bytheway... IT'S FREAKIN COLD) and I charged it onto the card and then pulled out some cash... it was just under 50, Mom.
Tenemos tres familias nuevas como investigadores. Son chidos. Y todos viven atras del Piggly Wiggly. We call them our Piggly Wiggly families. They are way cool. One of the families, the Hernandez, we found last Monday night, knocking into them. We contacted the mom and she wasn't very interested. Afterwards, Elder Johnson asked if there was anything that we could do for her because we also help/serve the people. She asked, "Like what?" and Elder Johnson said well whatever... like translating or whatever they needed. She then very humbly asked us to help her 7 year old son with his homework because it was in English and she and her husband didn't understand very well. It was a way cool experience. The kids are way cute too. There's one who's 3, his name is Randy... he's hilarious.
Francisco came to church again... even though once again we didn't get to see him all week. We just left a note telling him the right ward to go to and he CAME! Things are looking good for him.
It has been a very good week. This past week we have really upped our numbers to meet the mission standard. it's not about numbers though right? :) haha Seriously though, we have found some awesome people and taught some really great lessons.This past week we found 15 new investigators. We have quite a few of those as well as our other investigators on a baptismal date. Que chido.
Letters and pics are coming this week. Mol, I got your package. Thank you!!! Que bueno. Te amo. I’ll be scoring the pics at Walmart today and send them out to everyone. I was looking through and noticed that I don't have many of myself... I’ll apologize in advance. But the pics are still way cool and a few funny ones.
Well I’m wrapping up quick today... off to get a missionary haircut. Ohhhhh yeah!!
Love you all and look forward to the mail. Talk to you next week.
Love ya'll!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Scrubs and Pigs
Monday January 4, 2010
Hey all. Thank you so much for all of the Christmas/New Years lovin’. All I can say is... yup you guessed it... holla... (I figured it was appropriate from a missionary). Thank you for the packages and letters and emails. Thanks to all... here's who I can remember and give a special shout out to... Derick, Mel, Nora, Sky, Land, Mom and Dad, Ben and Me, Max, Sam, Mol, and the Goomis’es.
Things are great over here in GOOSE CREEK. Transfers were this week... Elder Johnson and I are staying together. Whew... made it through my first transfer! Seriously though I am doing well. The holidays were a lot of fun. New Years Eve we got put on "lock down" (which applies to the following holidays... New Years, 4th of July, and Halloween) meaning we go in at 6:00 pm. The other elders in our district slept over at our place and we played games... of course making sure we went to bed at 10:30... :) I think that was the first time in years that I haven't stayed up until midnight. Pretty awesome. But yeah things are great.
As for pictures... I’ll try and get them done at Wal-Mart either today or next Monday and I’ll send them.
So I gave my first talk on Sunday. Bishop Ferris cornered me. So yeah, it went well. It was the first time I didn't write out a talk word for word. I was able to just speak with notes in hand. so I felt good about it.
Quick side note: I’ve been thinking... if you all want to become more Southern.... buy scrubs... yes like what the doctors wear. They're huge down here. Sometimes literally. :) In Goose Creek alone, I’ve seen 3 scrubs OUTLETS. "Scrubs Outlet" Scrubs" and my personal favorite -"Fashion Scrubs" ... look into it.
Last Monday we went to Charleston. It was awesome. I got some good pics. We first went to Patriot Point where we toured an aircraft carrier and submarine. Then we went to what's the battery... downtown Charleston. Way cool. The architecture was sweet. We saw Fort Sumter from afar... where the first shot was fired. We drove past the slave market... We also drove past the home of the owner of Piggly Wiggly. Has anyone heard of Piggly Wiggly? It's like Smith's down here. And there are t-shirts and billboards all over saying "I’m big on the pig" haha Anyway we are driving by all of these homes and they have statues of various animals. Piggly Wiggly... no lie.. Pigs... in the entrance way. haha. So awesome. Get excited for those pics... I know I am.
Update on our investigators... we ended up dropping Lucio... Saul is doing very well... he is worried about making the commitment though. We had to change his date. Please keep him in your prayers. We found a family... finally... actually two... they're both way cool. Pray we don’t lose them. Our last pretty strong investigator is named Francisco. He even attended church on Sunday!
Well I love you all. Thanks again for all the love. It was way cool to talk to everyone on Christmas. I hope you all are doing well.
Pax
Elder A. Stoneman
Hey all. Thank you so much for all of the Christmas/New Years lovin’. All I can say is... yup you guessed it... holla... (I figured it was appropriate from a missionary). Thank you for the packages and letters and emails. Thanks to all... here's who I can remember and give a special shout out to... Derick, Mel, Nora, Sky, Land, Mom and Dad, Ben and Me, Max, Sam, Mol, and the Goomis’es.
Things are great over here in GOOSE CREEK. Transfers were this week... Elder Johnson and I are staying together. Whew... made it through my first transfer! Seriously though I am doing well. The holidays were a lot of fun. New Years Eve we got put on "lock down" (which applies to the following holidays... New Years, 4th of July, and Halloween) meaning we go in at 6:00 pm. The other elders in our district slept over at our place and we played games... of course making sure we went to bed at 10:30... :) I think that was the first time in years that I haven't stayed up until midnight. Pretty awesome. But yeah things are great.
As for pictures... I’ll try and get them done at Wal-Mart either today or next Monday and I’ll send them.
So I gave my first talk on Sunday. Bishop Ferris cornered me. So yeah, it went well. It was the first time I didn't write out a talk word for word. I was able to just speak with notes in hand. so I felt good about it.
Quick side note: I’ve been thinking... if you all want to become more Southern.... buy scrubs... yes like what the doctors wear. They're huge down here. Sometimes literally. :) In Goose Creek alone, I’ve seen 3 scrubs OUTLETS. "Scrubs Outlet" Scrubs" and my personal favorite -"Fashion Scrubs" ... look into it.
Last Monday we went to Charleston. It was awesome. I got some good pics. We first went to Patriot Point where we toured an aircraft carrier and submarine. Then we went to what's the battery... downtown Charleston. Way cool. The architecture was sweet. We saw Fort Sumter from afar... where the first shot was fired. We drove past the slave market... We also drove past the home of the owner of Piggly Wiggly. Has anyone heard of Piggly Wiggly? It's like Smith's down here. And there are t-shirts and billboards all over saying "I’m big on the pig" haha Anyway we are driving by all of these homes and they have statues of various animals. Piggly Wiggly... no lie.. Pigs... in the entrance way. haha. So awesome. Get excited for those pics... I know I am.
Update on our investigators... we ended up dropping Lucio... Saul is doing very well... he is worried about making the commitment though. We had to change his date. Please keep him in your prayers. We found a family... finally... actually two... they're both way cool. Pray we don’t lose them. Our last pretty strong investigator is named Francisco. He even attended church on Sunday!
Well I love you all. Thanks again for all the love. It was way cool to talk to everyone on Christmas. I hope you all are doing well.
Pax
Elder A. Stoneman
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Elder Johnson and I are Holiday Set!
12/21/2009
From Elder A. Stoneman
Hey so they allowed us to send a quick email out today concerning Christmas. I didn't have time to read everyone's emails but it looks like you will all be at Sam's around the time I will be calling... holla. We are going to be eating Christmas dinner at the military base like Thanksgiving with the Prichard’s'... hmmm that'd make a good title to a hip new Christmas song... haha We'll be eating around 1:30 at the base our time and I will be calling shortly after that... maybe 2:30 or 3... So that'll be around 1 ish your time. 30 to 40 minute phone call... lame. But it'll have to do. I’ll call Sam’s landline... so I can talk to my peeps. holla!!!!
Mom I got your package. Thank you! Thank you for the sweaters. The black fits perfect... I love it. Thank you for everything.
Elder Johnson’s mom sent him money to buy a Christmas tree. So we bought lights and a 4 foot fake tree... all we need is the smell... And I bought a cheap stocking and we hung up our stockings on either side of the thermostat... it's kinda like a fireplace... so we're in pretty good shape. We've put our presents under the tree. Oh! Jana! I got your package too! Thank you so much! Loved it. I put your presents under the tree and the treats in my stocking. :) A birthday/Christmas letter is on its way. So yeah. Elder Johnson and I are all holiday set. It’s going to be a good one!
Love you all! Thanks for everything - talk to you on Christmas!
Paz
From Elder A. Stoneman
Hey so they allowed us to send a quick email out today concerning Christmas. I didn't have time to read everyone's emails but it looks like you will all be at Sam's around the time I will be calling... holla. We are going to be eating Christmas dinner at the military base like Thanksgiving with the Prichard’s'... hmmm that'd make a good title to a hip new Christmas song... haha We'll be eating around 1:30 at the base our time and I will be calling shortly after that... maybe 2:30 or 3... So that'll be around 1 ish your time. 30 to 40 minute phone call... lame. But it'll have to do. I’ll call Sam’s landline... so I can talk to my peeps. holla!!!!
Mom I got your package. Thank you! Thank you for the sweaters. The black fits perfect... I love it. Thank you for everything.
Elder Johnson’s mom sent him money to buy a Christmas tree. So we bought lights and a 4 foot fake tree... all we need is the smell... And I bought a cheap stocking and we hung up our stockings on either side of the thermostat... it's kinda like a fireplace... so we're in pretty good shape. We've put our presents under the tree. Oh! Jana! I got your package too! Thank you so much! Loved it. I put your presents under the tree and the treats in my stocking. :) A birthday/Christmas letter is on its way. So yeah. Elder Johnson and I are all holiday set. It’s going to be a good one!
Love you all! Thanks for everything - talk to you on Christmas!
Paz
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
December 14, 2009
Goose Creek, South Carolina.
Walking through the streets with forest on each side is pretty sweet. Especially when it has just rained and the frogs are out. It seriously feels like the beginning of Pirates of the Caribbean.
Thanks to everyone who wrote!! Mom and Dad I got your emails. Sam! You are the bomb. Thanks for the love. I got a few handwritten letters from Land, Mom, and from the 8th ward! Thank you 8th ward - loved it. The cards and Primary poster were so nice. Thank you. And of course Margo... thank you so much for your thoughts and letter. I’m very appreciative of it and your support. Thanks for the cash. I bought some pan-dulce with it. Mexican sweet bread. So good! Thank you.
We had our ward's Christmas party this past Friday. So awesome. It's funny how all wards are the same. Our Bishop dressed as Santa, sweating bullets. The baby Jesus was a creepy little doll with blonde hair and a bad haircut. and even the uptight party host... in the least excited and uptight, weary, frustrated voice you can imagine - "HEY! ATTENTION!! HEY! we are NOW moving on to the entertainment portion of the evening!" Awesome.
Well an update on our strongest investigators - Saul and Lucio. We have 8 investigators but these two are the strongest. They are both scheduled for baptism. Saul on the 2nd of Jan and Lucio on the 26th of December. They are both really great men. They are progressing and keeping their commitments and coming to church. Things are looking great at the moment. Every time we teach and every time they come to church... they seem to get more serious about it and have a stronger desire to do better and keep commitments in preparing for their baptism. (Unfortunately, Lucio’s wife isn’t quite as receptive thus far…)
We do a lot of biking. Our area is so huge that we drive the car to a certain spot and then bike the rest of the way to our various neighborhoods. The bike is absolutely great!! Thank you Auntie Cath. :)
Best church marquee of the week:
Tues night - gospel study
Wed night - birthday party for Jesus
Well I’m off to Wally world. Thank you for everything. I will hopefully work everything out for the call on Christmas.
Love you all!!
Elder A. Stoneman
Walking through the streets with forest on each side is pretty sweet. Especially when it has just rained and the frogs are out. It seriously feels like the beginning of Pirates of the Caribbean.
Thanks to everyone who wrote!! Mom and Dad I got your emails. Sam! You are the bomb. Thanks for the love. I got a few handwritten letters from Land, Mom, and from the 8th ward! Thank you 8th ward - loved it. The cards and Primary poster were so nice. Thank you. And of course Margo... thank you so much for your thoughts and letter. I’m very appreciative of it and your support. Thanks for the cash. I bought some pan-dulce with it. Mexican sweet bread. So good! Thank you.
We had our ward's Christmas party this past Friday. So awesome. It's funny how all wards are the same. Our Bishop dressed as Santa, sweating bullets. The baby Jesus was a creepy little doll with blonde hair and a bad haircut. and even the uptight party host... in the least excited and uptight, weary, frustrated voice you can imagine - "HEY! ATTENTION!! HEY! we are NOW moving on to the entertainment portion of the evening!" Awesome.
Well an update on our strongest investigators - Saul and Lucio. We have 8 investigators but these two are the strongest. They are both scheduled for baptism. Saul on the 2nd of Jan and Lucio on the 26th of December. They are both really great men. They are progressing and keeping their commitments and coming to church. Things are looking great at the moment. Every time we teach and every time they come to church... they seem to get more serious about it and have a stronger desire to do better and keep commitments in preparing for their baptism. (Unfortunately, Lucio’s wife isn’t quite as receptive thus far…)
We do a lot of biking. Our area is so huge that we drive the car to a certain spot and then bike the rest of the way to our various neighborhoods. The bike is absolutely great!! Thank you Auntie Cath. :)
Best church marquee of the week:
Tues night - gospel study
Wed night - birthday party for Jesus
Well I’m off to Wally world. Thank you for everything. I will hopefully work everything out for the call on Christmas.
Love you all!!
Elder A. Stoneman
Friday, December 11, 2009
The News From Goose Creek
Man! What a crazy week. It went by so fast. The mission field is so great. So here it is P-day again. It seriously feels like I just emailed yesterday.
So yeah. Thanks to all who wrote. I got an email from Mom, Ben, Steve Hatch and Sky – (thanks for putting me on your email list!) So... what’s this about the Max?!? That's freakin sweet! Felicidades! Max, when Hillary swears you in.... don't let her pull a "Jeanie" and kiss you okay? haha
Mom last night I got to go to the ward and watch the Christmas Devotional. We were encouraged to bring investigators... no luck... haha but we still went. It was good though. Loved it. I even got to see my mother. dot buther. Christmas music is the bomb. In the car we listen to HIMNOS - we're on Christmas cd’s. I set up my cd player in the house and we listen to all the cd's I brought.... except (don't laugh) the showtime one... haha it's a rule... no showtune MoTab. haha
Elder Johnson is awesome. He's so hard working and pretty funny. I’m so grateful I’m with him and that I can develop the good habits I’ll need as a missionary.Llast week though was a little slow. We're still trying to find areas. We're about to 13 areas that we move around in. The areas are so spread apart that we do a lot of biking (we are limited to about 30 miles driving in the car a day)... which can be a bit nippy in the evenings. Mom I may buy a sweater at wally world today... and possibly a beanie and gloves. Elder Johnson said that Jan and Feb. get pretty chilly.
So p-days are awesome. Last week we went to office max and with the help of an angry lady we made large copies of our area map. We made our map and it's up on our wall. We've dotted investigators, leads, members, less-actives... it feels like we're planning this huge terrorist attack as we plan every night... intensely looking at our map deciding what to do and where to go. I hope no one walks in on us one night. hahaha We go to the library (bytheway I’m an official library card owner in the Berkeley library ... holla) and we get an hour on internet time. After I write this email I’m going to try and figure out sending pics. Anyway so p-day includes doing laundry (there's laundromat in our complex), wally world, weekly [planning, and possibly a ciesta. Elder Johnson and I do a lot of cooking. The ward missionary feeding coordinator has been out of town so we're not on a feeding calendar yet. but we talked to her on Sunday and she already had some ideas for this week. We've been to one member dinner appointment.
Mom and Dad you were right... there was some pretty intense rain... honestly I have never seen rain like that before EVER! The crazy thing was that it was so warm during the rain too. The day started off cold and got warm and then just dumped! Perfect weather for a... yup you guessed it... tornado. haha We were on a tornado watch! What?!??! We got a message from our district leader... about 6 hours late... saying we were on tornado watch. Then Elder Johnson and I were leaving the apartment in our car and it was just coming down like crazy... I mean dumping BUCKETS... then we got a voicemail message from our zone leaders saying, "Sister McConkie has confirmed that we are in a storm watch.... for those of you who haven't ALREADY noticed... go home..." Crazy night. that was last Wednesday. We haven't had any serious weather since... but it's been cold.
So our investigators currently are: Lucio, Saul (both came to church yesterday) Mario and Elton. Ben and max - Elton is from brazil. he speaks Portuguese and we're getting him a livro de mormon. In fact we are finding SO many Brazilians... about a fifth of our findings. Kinda crazy. so we are getting Portuguese pamphlets and BoM's etc. pretty cool.
Hey actually I’m about out of time for sending pics... next week I promise. Well I love you all. I hope to hear form you all soon. hint hint. :) Send me hard mail too. I’ve yet to get anything in my mailbox. First person gets a prize. :) Love you all and know that I’m working hard and loving it. And you're all in my prayers.
Nos vemos.
So yeah. Thanks to all who wrote. I got an email from Mom, Ben, Steve Hatch and Sky – (thanks for putting me on your email list!) So... what’s this about the Max?!? That's freakin sweet! Felicidades! Max, when Hillary swears you in.... don't let her pull a "Jeanie" and kiss you okay? haha
Mom last night I got to go to the ward and watch the Christmas Devotional. We were encouraged to bring investigators... no luck... haha but we still went. It was good though. Loved it. I even got to see my mother. dot buther. Christmas music is the bomb. In the car we listen to HIMNOS - we're on Christmas cd’s. I set up my cd player in the house and we listen to all the cd's I brought.... except (don't laugh) the showtime one... haha it's a rule... no showtune MoTab. haha
Elder Johnson is awesome. He's so hard working and pretty funny. I’m so grateful I’m with him and that I can develop the good habits I’ll need as a missionary.Llast week though was a little slow. We're still trying to find areas. We're about to 13 areas that we move around in. The areas are so spread apart that we do a lot of biking (we are limited to about 30 miles driving in the car a day)... which can be a bit nippy in the evenings. Mom I may buy a sweater at wally world today... and possibly a beanie and gloves. Elder Johnson said that Jan and Feb. get pretty chilly.
So p-days are awesome. Last week we went to office max and with the help of an angry lady we made large copies of our area map. We made our map and it's up on our wall. We've dotted investigators, leads, members, less-actives... it feels like we're planning this huge terrorist attack as we plan every night... intensely looking at our map deciding what to do and where to go. I hope no one walks in on us one night. hahaha We go to the library (bytheway I’m an official library card owner in the Berkeley library ... holla) and we get an hour on internet time. After I write this email I’m going to try and figure out sending pics. Anyway so p-day includes doing laundry (there's laundromat in our complex), wally world, weekly [planning, and possibly a ciesta. Elder Johnson and I do a lot of cooking. The ward missionary feeding coordinator has been out of town so we're not on a feeding calendar yet. but we talked to her on Sunday and she already had some ideas for this week. We've been to one member dinner appointment.
Mom and Dad you were right... there was some pretty intense rain... honestly I have never seen rain like that before EVER! The crazy thing was that it was so warm during the rain too. The day started off cold and got warm and then just dumped! Perfect weather for a... yup you guessed it... tornado. haha We were on a tornado watch! What?!??! We got a message from our district leader... about 6 hours late... saying we were on tornado watch. Then Elder Johnson and I were leaving the apartment in our car and it was just coming down like crazy... I mean dumping BUCKETS... then we got a voicemail message from our zone leaders saying, "Sister McConkie has confirmed that we are in a storm watch.... for those of you who haven't ALREADY noticed... go home..." Crazy night. that was last Wednesday. We haven't had any serious weather since... but it's been cold.
So our investigators currently are: Lucio, Saul (both came to church yesterday) Mario and Elton. Ben and max - Elton is from brazil. he speaks Portuguese and we're getting him a livro de mormon. In fact we are finding SO many Brazilians... about a fifth of our findings. Kinda crazy. so we are getting Portuguese pamphlets and BoM's etc. pretty cool.
Hey actually I’m about out of time for sending pics... next week I promise. Well I love you all. I hope to hear form you all soon. hint hint. :) Send me hard mail too. I’ve yet to get anything in my mailbox. First person gets a prize. :) Love you all and know that I’m working hard and loving it. And you're all in my prayers.
Nos vemos.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Hey Ya'll
Monday November 30, 2009
Hey ya'll. I hope everything is good. Things are awesome here. I love it and it's nice to actually be doing missionary work! I am sitting here in South Carolina writing my first email back home.... kinda weird.... but in case you were wondering - I did make it. It was a close one... the MTC almost got me but I escaped!
I landed in SC around 3:00 p.m. and it is gorgeous. Everything is so green. Oh! and there are SO many trees!! They took us to the chapel near the mission home and we were there until like 10:00. Pres McConkie... is great. He knows what's up. Awesome man. He acknowledged my letters (Mom & Dad - thanks for encouraging me to write him!) and said I was the only one who wrote frequently prior to my arrival. Sister McConkie said that she and the Pres saw you two at a play a while back at Pages. So I was greeted warmly and really felt the love from the McConkies. So awesome. We then went and stayed at the mission home overnight. We got both dinner and breakfast made by Sister McConkie.... mmmm she knows what’s up in the kitch!
The next morning we got our transfers. (So that’s the last time I saw Elder Finch.... I wonder how he's doing...?) Entonces... they announced my name... and I am serving in (drum roll) Charleston! Well technically Goose Creek just north of Charleston in the Crowfield Ward area. Interesting thing is... my trainer Elder Johnson and I were white washed in... meaning that no other Spanish elders had really been in that area for a while... so we've had to start everything from scratch. Oh! And my comp.... Elder Johnson... is awesome. He's been out 21 months. So he has 3 months left or 2 transfers, and it is very possible that we will both just stay together in this area until he leaves. So I’m very happy about that.
So the past few days we've just been contacting and finding Hispanics and getting to know the area. There are SO many churches down here. One of my favorites being titled - "The EXCITING Baptist Church on St James Ave".
Thanksgiving was fun. We went onto the military base and ate with Elder Prichard who is the senior missionary over the base. The best thing I had was almost like a pumpkin pie (it tasted like it) but it was made with yams, and it had crusted cinnamon pecans on the outside.
Okay, so apologies to all the foreign missionaries of the fam... I’ll just say it... I’m spoiled. haha I know. I realize that and I’ll try not to brag... except... I am very grateful for the luxuries we have. We do have a car. Debit cards with 135 a month. Also we have a comp cell phone. Our apartment is new... well to the mission. No missionaries had lived there before - as Elder Johnson pointed out... "...it's clean."
We've already found a bunch of areas. We have a few investigators already. In fact one came to church with us. So awesome. I went and scored some himnos from the RS room and the three of us sang the hymns in Spanish. He liked that. There aren't enough Hispanic families to have a branch so they do the translation thing with the special church equipment - it's pretty cool.
Best church quote of the week...
There was a linger longer after church with Thanksgiving dinner and they used the ovens to warm the food. One of the dishes was dripping and so it smelt like something was burning. The missionaries of course were hanging out by the kitchen and every time someone walked by they'd ask "Is something burning?" Well this sister walks down a little while later, sniffs the air a few times, and then with the thickest Southern accent you can imagine says "Oh! Are we sacrificing a Baptist?" and then just busts up laughing. Hysterical.
Well things are great here. I love everyone and I’m doing so well here in SC. My testimony has grown so much in this past week just in doing real missionary work. I love it.
Paz.
Elder A. Stoneman
Hey ya'll. I hope everything is good. Things are awesome here. I love it and it's nice to actually be doing missionary work! I am sitting here in South Carolina writing my first email back home.... kinda weird.... but in case you were wondering - I did make it. It was a close one... the MTC almost got me but I escaped!
I landed in SC around 3:00 p.m. and it is gorgeous. Everything is so green. Oh! and there are SO many trees!! They took us to the chapel near the mission home and we were there until like 10:00. Pres McConkie... is great. He knows what's up. Awesome man. He acknowledged my letters (Mom & Dad - thanks for encouraging me to write him!) and said I was the only one who wrote frequently prior to my arrival. Sister McConkie said that she and the Pres saw you two at a play a while back at Pages. So I was greeted warmly and really felt the love from the McConkies. So awesome. We then went and stayed at the mission home overnight. We got both dinner and breakfast made by Sister McConkie.... mmmm she knows what’s up in the kitch!
The next morning we got our transfers. (So that’s the last time I saw Elder Finch.... I wonder how he's doing...?) Entonces... they announced my name... and I am serving in (drum roll) Charleston! Well technically Goose Creek just north of Charleston in the Crowfield Ward area. Interesting thing is... my trainer Elder Johnson and I were white washed in... meaning that no other Spanish elders had really been in that area for a while... so we've had to start everything from scratch. Oh! And my comp.... Elder Johnson... is awesome. He's been out 21 months. So he has 3 months left or 2 transfers, and it is very possible that we will both just stay together in this area until he leaves. So I’m very happy about that.
So the past few days we've just been contacting and finding Hispanics and getting to know the area. There are SO many churches down here. One of my favorites being titled - "The EXCITING Baptist Church on St James Ave".
Thanksgiving was fun. We went onto the military base and ate with Elder Prichard who is the senior missionary over the base. The best thing I had was almost like a pumpkin pie (it tasted like it) but it was made with yams, and it had crusted cinnamon pecans on the outside.
Okay, so apologies to all the foreign missionaries of the fam... I’ll just say it... I’m spoiled. haha I know. I realize that and I’ll try not to brag... except... I am very grateful for the luxuries we have. We do have a car. Debit cards with 135 a month. Also we have a comp cell phone. Our apartment is new... well to the mission. No missionaries had lived there before - as Elder Johnson pointed out... "...it's clean."
We've already found a bunch of areas. We have a few investigators already. In fact one came to church with us. So awesome. I went and scored some himnos from the RS room and the three of us sang the hymns in Spanish. He liked that. There aren't enough Hispanic families to have a branch so they do the translation thing with the special church equipment - it's pretty cool.
Best church quote of the week...
There was a linger longer after church with Thanksgiving dinner and they used the ovens to warm the food. One of the dishes was dripping and so it smelt like something was burning. The missionaries of course were hanging out by the kitchen and every time someone walked by they'd ask "Is something burning?" Well this sister walks down a little while later, sniffs the air a few times, and then with the thickest Southern accent you can imagine says "Oh! Are we sacrificing a Baptist?" and then just busts up laughing. Hysterical.
Well things are great here. I love everyone and I’m doing so well here in SC. My testimony has grown so much in this past week just in doing real missionary work. I love it.
Paz.
Elder A. Stoneman
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