January 26, 2014

This morning we went on a hike as a district and that's why this letter is so late but it was lots of fun!! We got kind of general directions from a member in our ward and set off :) so once we finally got to what looked like the trail head we set off hiking and hiked and hiked and it was pretty but we couldn't find the ruins and decided to turn around cause we had hiked like 2 hours in and that meant 2 hours out. and on our way back the trail didn't go to the top of the mountain and there was a big cliff on top a few of us wanted to look off so we climbed up and looked at the view and didn't get to close to the edge but still threw a few rocks off that was pretty cool, and we kept looking around and all of the sudden we saw the Spanish ruins! They were super cool. I'll send some pictures. So only 3 of us got to see it because the other 9 went back but we hike over 8 miles... still not quite like a dirt bike but hiking can be fun. So that was the adventure today.

Now as for the missionary work. On Saturday we got a call from some other missionaries saying they had a baptism and we haven’t been pushing Gwen into baptism, but we wanted her to attend one so she could see it was easy and feel the spirit. We had about an hour from the time we heard there was a baptism to when it started and had to find a ride for them and it was a half hour drive away so we called our awesome ward mission leader and he said they could give Gwen and her mom molly a ride even tho it meant being dressed and ready in 10 min. We all went and it was good for her to be there and she wouldn't tell us it was bad so that means it was good :) Haha and then the next day (here's the bigger miracle) we were talking about church to molly and Gwen and molly said maybe I’ll come (which is huge comparing a month ago) and then on Sunday they came!!!! The grandparents brought them and they also brought the dad, matt, and even though they are divorced they were all at church and all happy and it was great :) and they are definitely all a lot better spiritually from when we first started seeing them, you can just see it in their eyes. We had another lesson with Mary and Rodger this week and it went really well. We went over the plan of salvation again since last time was a little rushed and I think I already said this last week but the things just click in their heads and the wheels are spinning. When we asked if they'd pray and ask if it was true the response was "I don't need to, I already know it is true." I feel a little bad we didn't talk about baptism right then but it didn't feel right and I think that was the spirit withholding! Ha-ha I am running out of time quickly :( but I hope you all have a wonderful week and call up the local missionaries and tell them you will go on a lesson with them when they need somebody and bear your testimony, it will make your day :) 

Love you!

Elder Stevenson 

 

 

January 19, 2014

Well!... This week had its ups and downs, as for Gwen we had a lesson with her Tuesday with the crafts and hands on stuff and it went really well. She really paid attention and participated and it went well but she still said I don’t feel old enough to be baptized. then on Saturday we had a lesson at her mom’s house hoping if her mom had a positive attitude about everything then she would see the positive side of having the holy ghost and her mom helped us a little and the member we brought also helped  a lot but she just shuts down every time she hears that word and the family has really pushed her to do it but I guess she feels like she’s cornered into it and we have probably been bringing it up to much anyways so we are just going to continue to meet with her and until she brings it up we won’t, we'll just take things slow and hopefully when we or the other missionaries have a baptism next time she will be able to come and watch and see its really easy, no bad is going to come of it, and especially be able to feel the spirit and feel that she needs to do it. 

We had a lesson with Mary and Rodger this week again. We talked for a while about non church stuff just to kind of see how they were doing and how their kids/ families have been and stuff which was good cause I think it goes back to "showing and letting them know how much you care, before they care how much you know" so we talked for a while and my companion was in a hurry to leave cause he felt like we'd been there to long so the lesson ended up being rushed but we talked about the plan of salvation and the stuff we did cover was good cause they didn’t agree with their own church's beliefs on what happened after death and the stuff and it was cool to see the understanding take place in their mind and things just click! Like children that don’t get baptized and work for the dead and another chance for people that didn’t have the opportunity to hear about the gospel and it was awesome! And we have a temple (gilbert) that has just been built and the open house tours are going on and we invited them to come with us and a bunch of other people and it will be awesome when they can walk thru a temple and feel the happy peacefulness in it :) random side note... sometimes I feel like a hippie always talking about peace, love, happiness... but that’s what the gospel is really all about!! 

Sky and Katelynn are still planning on being baptized on Feb 15! We are filling out the baptismal form today and going to give it to the girls to take to their mom when they get to see her next and have her sign it so the permission is authorized. Last night we went over a few of the commandment and the reasons of the commandments and blessings from them. It really is amazing what happens when we keep all the commandments (easy as a missionary ha-ha) but in our everyday life and every "rule" out there is to help us not to hurt us or hold us back. Well, have a fantastic week and share the gospel!!

Love,

Elder Stevenson 

 

 

 

 

 

January 13, 2014

Where to begin? I guess I wrote to you Wednesday so I don't need to write to much but starting with Thursday we had a lesson planned with Gwen and we got to the house and was visiting with the family and she was still on her way home and when she got home she did not want to have a lesson she was upset cause she had to leave her mom (mom can’t be in the same house as dad/grandparents) and she was crying and upset and finally settled down and said she didn't want to be baptized cause her mom told her she wasn't ready and so in order to kind of calm her down we just talked about things she likes and rescheduled the lesson for tomorrow. well on Friday we went over to molly's, the moms and I wanted to give her an ear full, let her know what she was doing to her daughter, what she was stopping her from receiving, and had a bunch of scriptures that basically said the sins upon your head if you don't let her and talk her out of it. well we said a prayer before our visit and the instead of doing what I wanted we talked about the importance of having the gift of the holy ghost and got mom talking and sharing to us when the holy ghost has blessed her life and she has felt the impact of it in her life. And talked about faith and Alma 32 and the lesson went really good. She agreed to talking to her daughter and letting her know about the importance of the hg and totally changed her perspective on things. I learned a lesson too, I should have just planned on teaching with love from the beginning because that is what makes all the difference in teaching and I know she could feel that from us. So instead of planning on this sat for baptism we are going to plan on the 25th and hope all goes through. tomorrow as we teach were going to do a lot more hands on thinking and hope it will keep her interested and want to learn if its stuff she’s interested in and has fun doing it. 

Friday night we headed down to the valley for the tri-mission conference Saturday. We stayed with a stake president and his wife. They were super nice and Sister Palmer was a lot like you mom, she was telling me all about the Disney cruises and vacations and stuff they went on and it was funny to relate. Also Friday night since we were like 5 min from my last area I got to go see Karen and her family! It was awesome to see them again and there doing well. She’s a ward missionary now. 

Then Saturday morning we got up really early and I said it was going to be elder Holland coming but he got called away last minute on something important so elder wright of the 70 spoke to us instead. It wasn't elder Holland but it was really good. All the mission presidents and their wives bore there testimony's one of them I liked was one day as a mom she was sitting reading a book and her little girl got home from school and she asked how her day was and just kind of nodding her head and saying yeah as she talked about her day. Then the girl left and a little bit later she came back and slid a paper in front of the book covering it saying are you listening? And it made her think about that and listen to her kid. And to think about listening to the spirit, scriptures, people, investigators, comp, etc. another one of the testimony was about a bunch of wild kids running thru a store and the new employee being impatient and a little frustrated then when the new employee finds out those wild kids are relatives to the owner/boss they treat them completely opposite and meet there every need. And we need to see people as "relatives" of Christ everywhere we go. It was really good and reminded me of your store dad. Elder Wright talked a lot about our mission goal, vision of our mission and vision of our life, that we should all have one. And conversion level, converting ourselves before we try and convert others. As well as staying the same person after our mission. Aligning our will with gods will. love being the lubricant for missionary work and a lot of other stuff that was really good. I got to play the thimble game yesterday! At our dinner appointment the family was talking about it and they wanted to play so it was fun to play that again. Have a wonderful week! Lots of Love, Elder Stevenson

 

 

January 6, 2013

Well the last week and half was good, not as busy as the one before but still good. This week was transfers; I still am in pine and still with elder Oakley. On Sunday we had a ward fireside, since it was fast Sunday the ward fasted for Missionary work and then after church we had a break the fast potluck/ fireside. We actually had really good attendance and more people came then we thought. We kept the fireside short, around a half hour, my companion showed some short missionary video clips that were good, I talked about how to be a member missionary cause there's lots of people that don't know how and mostly just focused on being a light, being an example and people will wonder what’s so special about you and want to know why your happy. I didn't have any time to prepare (Fri/sat were super busy, Sunday had church meetings all day) but I just kind of spoke on what came to mind and followed the spirit and it went well. I can’t remember if I told you but we had a lesson with Gwen and she agreed to be baptized on the 18th of this month! Her mom (she doesn't live with but sees often) who isn't quite all there in the head is being a pain, so I really really hope she doesn't try and talk her daughter out of it cause on day she nice and all for it and the next complete opposite. On the bright side Gwen lives with her dad and grandparents and is with them most of the time and they have a positive influence on her life. We had dinner with a part member family one night this week and we've been over to visit a couple times but the dad will always stay in the other room and not want to visit but then when we had dinner he ate with us and it was delicious, but even better he stayed and visited and we got to know him! We didn't really force religion to much because it was our first time visiting with him and we heard previously not to force the gospel but it went really well and he said he would invite us back over and we could help him with some stuff around the house! I think he's just putting up a wall because he doesn't want to be a softie but well break it down ;)  Remember a while back the day I talked about Amanda the handicap deaf girl the ASL missionaries came up and taught? Well on Sunday during fast and testimony meeting Linda, the mom, recent convert, got up and bore her testimony and when she started talking Amanda ran up on the stage and started hugging her mom the whole time during it and it was so cool, the spirit was so strong! Mary and Rodger have been sick this week so we haven't been able to meet with them but we plan on having a lesson with them tomorrow since they should be better. A less active family came to church on Sunday and it was awesome! After working with them and getting to know them they came on just the right day, the testimony's were just what they needed to hear and had a positive effect on them, now we have to see if they will act on it. One thing I've started to notice lately and it’s always been there I just haven't noticed it so much as now, but if we don't make religious things number 1 on our list it won’t take long for it not to be on our list. If we put one thing in front of church on Sunday or sleeping in instead of reading our scriptures once, if we don't correct ourselves soon it will get pushed back a little further and further until the gospel is out of our lives. So I guess I should say thanks to you mom and dad for making me read scriptures in the morning on the days we were running late and it was going to make me late to school. Last week I forgot to tell you but I finished the Book of Mormon! And I do know that it is true, that it was written by prophets for us, this day in age so that we can stand strong and firm and not become a fallen people like the people in the book. I invite my family and those of you reading this letter to make a commitment to the lord and to yourself of how much you’re going to read by the next time we Skype and I'm going to follow up with ya and you better believe it! :)  My goal now is to read the Doctrine Covenants by the next time we talk and you can hold me to it. 

Well I hope to hear from ya, love ya,

Elder Stevenson  

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 23, 2013

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! I’ll keep this letter short cause I’m going to talk to you in a couple days but this week was good. I want to start by saying thanks for going to the baptism of Dakota this week, please continue to be her friend. This week was a really good week. We had a lesson with Gwen and her dad does want to baptize her and she does want to be baptized! So we talked a lot about the importance of baptism and why we do it and had a lesson on that since the family kind of brought it up anyways. It went well and the best part was Gwen and her dad came to church on Sunday!! I was soooo happy when they walked thru that door. The dad, Matt, works the late shift, he’s a baker and works from 12-6 every morning and it’s a challenge for church but he said he plans to keep coming back so he is getting reactivated! We also got a new investigator! (They’re hard to come by up here lol) and her name is sky. She’s also 9. her parents got slit up and all the kids went to different  houses and she is living with the old bishop so it’s really good and she wants to be baptized but the hard part is getting permission from the parents and from CPS. But we are teaching her the lessons and she is going to decide on a day and ask for permission for that day! On Sunday it was the Christmas program at church and it was pretty good. There were quite a few less actives we’ve been working with that came so that was a blessing!  scripture of the week: Mormon: 9:21 21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.

Have a good half week before I talk to you!

Love Elder Stevenson

 

December 30, 2013
 

Merry Christmas!! 

Well this week was fantastic!! there was miracles everyday of the week, it may have been gods christmas gift to me and elder oakley! haha ill start with last monday. we were having dinner at a members house and after dinner they had some friends over and invited us to stay and play games with them, so we played games and got to know them (mary and rodger), talked about religion, missions, there churches, etc. then we asked and they said we could visit them and share a message with them! so on friday we went over and started talking and taught the restoration with them! and it went well and they accepted a challenge to read from the bom and pray about it and said we can come back. Tuesday we had a lesson with Gwen and were teaching her the restoration and toward the end of the lesson a soon to be relative walked in to borrow some ingredients and ended up joining the conversation and she laid down question after question about life and god and bad things happening to good people and we answered every one of her questions and she said she would like to come and join us the next time we teach Gwen, (tomorrow). Wednesday the miracle was getting to talk to you. Thursday  we had a lesson with a less active/recent convert fam and the lady said she was talking to her mom about churches and said the were all about hell, fire and damnation but she told her about our church and that its loving and accepting and good and she said she would come check it out and let us visit! But we cant visit till the new year cause shes in the middle of moving homes. On Friday we had that lesson i was talking about earlier. on Saturday we saw a member family to let them know how a referral went and a neighbor happened to swing by and we got talking and shared a message and prayer and she said we could come visit anytime! sunday she wasnt home so were hoping to swing by tonight. (there weekeneders) so the only problem is there not always up here but hoping to move up soon. Sunday we had a lesson with 2 boys who have a hard time learning and a relative was there and was very curious about what we believe and we ended up having the first lesson with him! :) we have sky on date for baptism for febuary so we will continue teacing her and hope the parents will allow it and all will go good with cps. when we see gqen tomorrow we are going to talk about it and decide on a date for her too :) 

love you all,

Elder Stevenson    

 

 

 

December 16, 2013

 

This week was amazing. Probably one of the best weeks of my mission, not because it was easy but because everything fell into place and soooo many of my prayers were answered this week! On Tuesday we had Zone conference, where all the missionaries in the zone gather and listen to President and Sister Sweeny it was awesome. On a side note study the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 and look at all the parables in the story it’s quite amazing I won’t spoil the surprise for you. We also learned about how to stay positive and happy and that how we measure success is important because the lord asks us to open our mouths and try. Weather people listen or not isn't our success rate but if we do what is asked we are being successful. On Wednesday we went to the snowflake temple and it was great. I love being able to feel the peace in the temple and just to be happy, truly happy there’s nothing quite like it I don’t think. Good news this week we had a good discussion in ward council and talked about who we can teach and ideas for new investigators. it was really good and once everyone got thinking quite a few names came out and we have some people we can go visit now that aren't members so next week I will tell you how that went :) we went to a branch in Blue Ridge on Sunday and it was really good they only have like 20 people that go regularly it’s crazy to be in a branch and see that. One of the things that was talked about was a talk (I don’t know where from) but basically if Christ came today "am I ready?" something to think about. And get ready if you’re not! Another thing is the atonement is like a prepaid gift card, so we need to use it! Don’t just sit around and let it waste away on the shelf. So like Nephi says go and do, not sit and stew! I’m out of time, love you, and talk to you next week!

Elder Stevenson  

                                                             

December 9, 2013

 

I can finally say Merry Christmas!! This week we got snow only about 4 inches but enough to finally feel like its winter outside. i hope you were able to watch the first presidency devotional last night. It was amazing wasn't it? I kind of think the theme of it, or at least what i got, is to be like a child; be happy, be cheerful, be excited, and have a good attitude about life in general. I liked all the talks, we need to be ready to receive him come December 25, and before, and after. Receive him always like we promise to do each week. Don’t forget elder Ballard talk from conference and his challenge to reach out to someone before Christmas. I'm going to be expecting stories from each of you. There’s a book called the power of everyday missionaries by Clayton Christensen, it was mentioned in conference also. I just started reading it in my free time but you should read it to i have heard all sorts of positive things from it. We had that Christmas program this week and I was a wise man in it. It was fun. Remember me saying we were hoping to get Gwen (9) to it whose parents were less active. Well instead we got Gwen IN it! We talked to her and talked to the relief society president and got her a singing part and it was really good! Both sides of her parents (divorced but both in the ward) are happy to meet and talk with us which is a major blessing so that is a miracle. We are going to start teaching the lessons to her as soon as possible- like Tuesday/Wednesday hopefully they were all over the last few days. We also got another new investigator (they sure are hard to come by up here ha) her name is Ida. She is older and has lots of friends in the ward and when we went over to meet her she was out back cleaning up doing some last minute yard work before the snow and before she had knee surgery and she didn't really want to talk to us or let us help. Well we had a prayer before we left and then after it she’s like well you could put this vacuum together for me, so we did. And then she opened up a lot and we had a good little chat and helped do some other chores. She wasn't able to make it to that ward party because she wasn't feeling well though. It always amazes me how much we forget when we stop studying the scriptures, going to church and all that good stuff. we went to see one less active lady named Kris and took her cookies (we were told that would be the way in cause she won’t let people into her house) and she took them but wouldn't let us in, then Saturday we went back and she let us in and visited with us and wants to come back to church but what i was saying about forgetting is she was raised in the church, doesn't know the first thing about the restoration, thought we were married, and stuff like that. That’s why it’s so important we keep learning and don't stop or slow. we do a lot of service here also, everyone has a wood fireplace so we have been splitting, stacking, moving wood by the cord. Here’s a scripture of the week- I’m going to start doing this- 3 Nephi 19:26 when Christ is teaching/ministering and everyone is praying and has been praying for a while he says pray on. How important it is for each of us to pray on! "And Jesus said unto them: pray on; nevertheless they did cease to pray."  well family have a wonderful week. I love you!

Elder Stevenson