May 25, 2015

Hello! Today I am emailing you from... Tonto Basin! Elder Pyper and I both are staying together for another transfer here so that's pretty exciting. Here's how the last week and a half went for me- Tuesday- Tonto- Went and saw a guy who said we could go back, his name is Charlie. Taught Charlie the Restoration, it was pretty good, except for when we asked him what he saw in the first vision picture he said Han Solo in a vest looking up at Luke Skywalker and O.B.one.. Haha. It was Elder Pyper’s birthday day and one of the members had a little party for him. We had a lesson with Ramone and Jane, taught the Plan of Salvation and it went pretty well. Wednesday- Young- We sanded and painted a deck porch for a nonmember couple who were pretty cool. Then we stacked hay and had lunch and a lesson with a Recent convert couple who are awesome. We had a lesson with Pat and taught her the Sabbath day and obedience, she is doing good and making progress, we just need to get her off that coffee and tea! Got another flat tire, but this time it only took us 25 minutes to fix. Thursday- Got iPad’s! They are pretty cool. We had a mission seminar with Elder Evans of the 70 and some other people who taught us about discipleship in the digital age. The meeting was in the valley and after we got our tire fixed. By the time we got back to Young it was late but we had some great experiences of sharing the gospel throughout the day, just not in our area. Taught the Restoration to a young gal while waiting for her oil change then got another referral for someone while getting gas, then at Walmart got talking to a guy who builds temples and wants to join but his wife is Catholic and he was thrilled to have his own Book of Mormon. Also in Walmart in Payson saw Gwen who was someone I baptized like a year ago. It was pretty neat. Friday- Young- We had a lesson with Trevor about the Priesthood and how the church works. Went to the Young graduation, only 2 people graduated from high school, imagine if that’s how it was for you Lexi! They had an 8th grade and kindergarten graduation too so we saw and were seen by a lot of families which was the goal. Have some people we are going to hunt down from it. Saturday-Young- Did service for a while. Got our iPad’s set up and got the scriptures on them which are great. Had dinner and a lesson with Trevor, Jay R., JP and his family, we went over the family proclamation. JP and Christa just started temple prep classes and I am excited for them! Had a lesson with the Connor’s, but he's not ready to come back.. Sunday- Spoke in church, my topic was sustaining church leaders. I spoke for 17 minutes out of 20 but that was alright, I wrote my talk Saturday night and Sunday morning between PEC and sacrament. Pat and Trevor came to church. There was a bunch of visitors up. After church there was a child baptism and Trevor stayed for it. We had a lesson with Trevor, we went over the baptismal interview questions, and he’s all good… Except he smoked again. UGGG, I want to destroy all the Tobacco! Drove back to Tonto, saw a lion on the way. Monday- Had another lesson with Charlie, taught him the Pan of Salvation. He soaked it in and hopefully will come to church this week. Went off to Gisela with brother Wall, had a lesson with the Wynn's and taught Michelle the Plan of Salvation, she should start progressing, we just need to get her parents to come back to church they got baptized a while back. Tuesday- Saw Ramone and Jane again, when we got there they dropped us... We asked if they had read prayed and got an answer about the Book of Mormon and committed them to do so before making a final decision. Bore our testimony's to them so I guess we will see... Showed mountains to climb to a lot of people on the iPad, including Lucille who is the one with cancer going thru Chemo. She is great, the sweetest little old lady ever. When we got to her house she said do you like my hair? They had just shaved it all off. I hope she can get well so she can get baptized. Alma43:45-46 Nevertheless, the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church. And they were doing that which they felt was the duty which they owed to their God. Happy Memorial Day! Love, Elder Stevenson

May 22, 2015

Brother and Sister Stevenson: I want to pass on a wonderful compliment I received on the phone this morning regarding Elder Stevenson. He and his companion stopped on the road yesterday to help a man with a flat tire. The gentleman was so appreciative and took the time to call us and let us know what fine young men they were. They even offered him a Book of Mormon. I reminded him these incidents are not coincidental and the missionaries are always glad to help. Thank you for raising such a fine young man! He is the nicest young man. He is a hard working missionary and has an amazing testimony. May you enjoy and reap many blessings as a result of his service and your influence upon him. We love him! Sister Llewanne Bass Mission Secretary Arizona Scottsdale Mission 480-951-8098

May 18, 2015

Hey hey! This week was pretty good- Monday- Young- We had a zone activity and went to a huge cabin, the owner invented Sky Mall so he is loaded. It was the biggest place I have ever seen. We also had a FHE with Trevor and the people he lives with JP, Christa and Jay R, the lesson was on the Book of Mormon, then I introduced them to the thimble game for the activity and it was great. Tuesday- Young- Woke up to a flat tire. The worst part was getting the spare tire off, it would come from the bottom, turns out there is a little spot by the license plate, but we got it worked out. Then we had service, we helped a nonmember widow stack wood and get her place looking a little better then we also helped another nonmember couple, the Marts, worked in the garden and helped build a cucumber grower, they are awesome and we hope to start teaching them. She even introduced us to some of their friends who can use a little service. We then had a lesson with Pat, we just read the Book of Mormon with her, and she is so great. We also had a visit at the Varker’s, a recent convert couple and they fed us dinner. We contacted 5 referrals, which is ton for one day! Wednesday- We left Young and went to Payson for district meeting, it got cancelled because our district leader forgot.. but that was ok. Went to Gisela and had a lesson with Nole, We taught more about the Book of Mormon and how Joseph Smith is related to that. We also finally made contact with Ramone again and met his wife, she is living back up here now, and we have an appointment tomorrow night so hopefully we can really get the ball rolling again! Wednesday- Tonto We had a LA lesson with Sister Drummond, then got to drive down and go to the mesa temple with sister Decker. It was amazing! Elder Swaner (my last comp) and his companion were there too. Friday- Tonto- Had a lot visits, a lot of rejections, their loss. We did have one good visit though at the Browns, a PMF, at first Bill, the dad was just trying to get us to argue but then my companion bore his testimony and it really touched his heart so I bore mine too and there was definitely a different feeling in the room after, we are going to try some service work (they are farmer/ranchers) and see if that can get the door open a little wider. Saturday- We had a concrete service project planned I was excited for so I could use some of my old skills but it rained a bunch so it fell thru, we went service tracting anyways, not too much success. Worked on the new branch mission plan with Brother Wall, but it's still in the making. Saw the Bauers, a PMF. It was really good so hopefully we can get the ball rolling their too. Sunday- Church was good, Elder Pyper talked. Nole came again! He rode with the Haughts, a real old couple that are his neighbors. During sacrament Sister Haught passed out, luckily we had a Doctor from the stake pres. and a sheriff a few other people but most importantly priesthood holders. We gave her a blessing. We didn't get to meet with Karmyn, Seth and Ashton this last week, but hopefully this week. Luke 17:32 Remember Lot's wife. A simple verse, but one to ponder. Love you, have a good week Elder Stevenson

May 11, 2015

This week has been a good one! Here's the basics Last Monday (Young) evening we went to Snowflake for a baptism of someone Elder Pyper taught. It was good, Trevor came with us and we rode with a member so it gave us a good car ride to talk too. Tuesday-Young- We helped the Varkers (RC) with some service of getting a sewing machine set up and had a good visit with them. We had another lesson with Pat, we taught her the Word of Wisdom, she loves her tea and coffee but is going to start working toward overcoming. It was a good lesson though. We also saw Cliff again (he was the one who fed us dinner and is Jewish), such a neat man, has plans to read the whole Book of Mormon so that will be great. Had a lesson with Trevor and taught him the law of chastity. Wednesday- we left Young, had district meeting in Payson then Elder Cox came with us to Tonto Basin. He's awesome so it was good to be with him again, we had a real good lesson with Karmyn, she is the 16 year old we have been trying to meet with. We taught the restoration and about halfway thru she says, so what do I need to do to be baptized? It was great! She cried and could really feel the spirit, sadly her mom had the flu so she didn't join the lesson, next time. Thursday-Tonto- We had another lesson with Nole, we taught him the Plan of Salvation, he had a lot of light bulb moments! Hard to keep him focused on the doctrine and basics but we did our best. He committed to church but when we called him Saturday he was hacking up a lung and said he will be there next week. I think I mentioned his cousin who was a bishop in California, what a tremendous impact he has made in preparing Nole! Friday-tonto- We met a PM couple, the Richards, as time went on our conversation got better and we went over the articles of faith, prayed and they want us to come back! Saturday-Tonto- The stake President had us for breakfast, that was nice. Then there was a community yard sale in Deer Creek so we went around to all the people house to house and they were much nicer than just knocking on doors, a couple even said come back! We had a lesson with Sister Canady on Patriarchal blessings. Then a lesson with the Tweeds on Church.... They didn't come Sunday so they are officially dropped :( Always stinks dropping people. Sunday- Tonto- Church was pretty great! Bore my testimony. Karmyn came with her brother and they enjoyed it. After not having a YW's presidency the whole time I've been here we got one Sunday and that was the same day a YW investigator came! Not a coincidence. Trevor and Anthony and that whole group went in Young too so I was pretty happy people are finally coming to church. We went to see a LA couple and were having a pretty good talk and landed on tithing. This man had some beef with it and said "in Oklahoma if your 65 or older you don't even have to pay tithing" I replied telling him that wasn't true and in a slit second he was up out of his chair yelling get out! Don’t call me a liar! It reminded me that the wicked do take the truth to be hard. Well there is the brief rundown of my week, I'm glad you all seem to be having good weeks too! I will see you on Sunday!! Alma 26:20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain! Always seek the joy that comes from Jesus! Love, Elder Stevenson

May 4, 2015

This week has been a good one! Here's the basics Last Monday (young) evening we went to Snowflake for a baptism of someone Elder Pyper taught. It was good, Trevor came with us and we rode with a member so it gave us a good car ride to talk too. Tuesday-young- We helped the Varkers (RC) with some service of getting a sewing machine set up and had a good visit with them. We had another lesson with pat, we taught her the word of wisdom, and she loves her tea and coffee but is going to start working toward overcoming. It was a good lesson though. We also saw Cliff again (he was the one who fed us dinner and is Jewish), such a neat man, has plans to read the whole Book of Mormon so that will be great. Had a lesson with Trevor and taught him the law of chastity. Wednesday- we left Young, had district meeting in Payson then Elder Cox came with us to Tonto Basin. He's awesome so it was good to be with him again, we had a real good lesson with Karmyn, she is the 16 year old we have been trying to meet with. We taught the restoration and about halfway thru she says, so what do I need to do to be baptized? It was great! She cried and could really feel the spirit, sadly her mom had the flu so she didn't join the lesson, next time. Thursday-Tonto- We had another lesson with Nole, we taught him the Plan of Salvation, and he had a lot of light bulb moments! Hard to keep him focused on the doctrine and basics but we did our best. He committed to church but when we called him Saturday he was hacking up a lung and said he will be there next week. I think I mentioned his cousin who was a bishop in Cali, what a tremendous impact he has made in preparing Nole! Friday-Tonto- We met a Part Member couple, the Richards, as time went on our conversation got better and we went over the Articles of Faith, prayed and they want us to come back! Saturday-tonto- The stake President had us for breakfast that was nice. Then there was a community yard sale in deer creek so we went around to all the people house to house and they were much nicer than just knocking on doors, a couple even said come back! We had a lesson with Sister Canady on Patriarchal blessings. Then a lesson with the Tweeds on Church.... They didn't come Sunday so they are officially dropped :( Always stinks dropping people. Sunday- Tonto- Church was pretty great! Bore my testimony. Karmyn came with her brother and they enjoyed it. After not having an YW's presidency the whole time I've been her we got one Sunday and that was the same day an YW investigator came! Not a coincidence. Trevor and Anthony and that whole group went in Young too so I was pretty happy people are finally coming to church. We went to see a LA couple and were having a pretty good talk and landed on tithing. This man had some beef with it and said "in Oklahoma if your 65 or older you don't even have to pay tithing" I replied telling him that wasn't true and in a slit second he was up out of his chair yelling get out! Don’t call me a liar! It reminded me that the wicked do take the truth to be hard. Well there is the brief rundown of my week, I'm glad you all seem to be having good weeks too! I will see you on Sunday!! Alma 26:20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain! Always seek the joy that comes from Jesus! Love, Elder Stevenson

April 27, 2015

Hi family, This week has been ok, not as good as the last one but hopefully things will pick up again, Ramone seems to be avoiding us for some reason and cancelling. Lucille did start chemo so we aren't going to be able to meet with her either. Tuesday- I spent in Pine with Elder Watts, got to see a lot of people, it was really neat! When I left there was a RC couple who were awesome but going back and seeing how living the gospel for the last year has helped her change so much was very neat! Also saw some people who haven’t lived the gospel and how their lives are still struggling so it was just a reminder the gospel works! Wednesday- Had district meeting and met back up with Elder Pyper, we went to Tonto and Elder Obrien was with us because his companion was on other exchanges. It was an ok afternoon, lots of rejection. Our lesson fell thru with Karmen. Thursday- We went to Gisela with Brother Wall and saw a man named Nole we did service for a couple weeks back, we actually had a real good chat about the priesthood and its importance, his cousin was a bishop in Cali which was a good way to find a place to start teaching him. We helped build a ramp for a PMF who is getting to old to walk Friday- We worked more on the ramp. It was with Brother Wall and Brother Smith. Bro Smith who's 80 got mad at one point because the lady's walker was in the way and he picked it up and threw it while mumbling, I was laughing pretty hard. Met some LA's and found a family who said we can go back after the Disneyland trip. Saturday- We made Ramone cookies but when we went to take them to him he was in Phoenix, we hope we can meet with him more. Had a good little visit with a man named Nate who is 88. We talked about the Book of Mormon and he said I believe it’s true so now we just need to help him understand more about if it’s true, the rest of what we teach is true too. Sunday- Trevor came to church with the clan, we came to young yesterday afternoon. We met with Trevor and had to cancel his date because he smoked... but we gave him a blessing and some things he can do to say no. Ether 4:17 When ye shall receive this record, ye may know that the work of the Father has commenced upon the face of the land. I want to testify the work of that has commenced and the Book of Mormon is a portion of the great work! Love Elder Stevenson

April 20, 2015

April 20, 2015 Hello hello, Another good week as always, I guess I will just run through like I have been doing- Tuesday- We went to the temple with the Tonto branch temple trip! It was great, then we did service, cleaned up an old man's yard. Went to Gisela and didn't have a ton of time but did have a good LA visit of someone we are helping get back to go to the temple. Then we cruised back to Tonto and had a lesson with Ramon. It was great, we taught the Restoration and it was very good, when we extended a baptism invite asking if when he came to gain a testimony he paused for a minute..... then said "Absolutely!" I would totally do that. It was cool. His wife loved the stuff he told her about the plan of salvation too! Wednesday- We left to Heber pretty early for Zone Training Meeting, it was good. We then went to Young all the way to this morning. Had a visit with Aldo, helped him better understand why the Book of Mormon and Prayer are key. Had a lesson with Trevor and Jay R. we taught about how the Book of Mormon and Bible complement each other and used the Sermon on the mount and The sermon in the America's. Thursday- Knocked some doors, met one family we are excited for! Met a man who turned out to be a member we hadn't met yet and helped him with his garden. Had another lesson with Pat Meredith, it was good, last week she went to her grandson’s mission farewell! We taught her the Restoration and invited her to baptism, she said when I'm ready, then we taught some more and invited her again and she said she will be baptized when she gets a witness of all this! Had another lesson with Trevor, taught the gospel of Jesus Christ, he is on date for the 9th of May! Friday- Tracted for a quite a bit, had a good door step visit with a la who hasn't been for years. Taught Trevor the Word of Wisdom, he hasn't smoked for 2 months, Yippie! Saturday- Had a lesson with a la, Harold, pretty hard hearted but oh well. Met some more members, one took us out and we had a good lesson with a guy we helped who was stranded on the side of the road a while ago. Taught Trevor the 10 commandment and used Elder Ballard’s Mormon message about it. Sunday- Church was good! Trevor came and the people he lives with who are reactivating. Branch council was pretty good but we didn't get to talk about the quorum of the 12 plan like we wanted too. Had another lesson with Pat Meredith, we taught her about temples and it was really neat! Her husband dies a few years ago so we focused in on that. She committed to church next week! She was sick so we gave her a blessing and she was crying. We had dinner with a nonmember couple, one is Jewish and the other is catholic. And their friends, another couple who one claims to not be a member anymore and the other non-denominational. It made for quite the conversation, they asked us to tell them what we belief which was a perfect opportunity to bear testimony, it was mostly centered on the restoration and the spirit was very strong, they asked some questions and we talked about the great apostasy and the last dispensation, it was actually very neat. They wanted a book of Mormon too so that was good. We saw JP, and his family again and blessed the house, there is some evil spirits in there and stuff. Monday- This morning we did a little service and left young, now we are in Payson, tonight we Elder Pyper will go back to Tonto and I will be on exchanges, I get to go to pine for a couple days!! I'm way excited, the missionaries there now are white washing it and since I have served there and am in the same district I get to show him around! Matt 19:26 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. Have a wonderful week, no one told me about anyone they shared the gospel with while out of Rexburg so I'm waiting to hear something! Love, Elder Stevenson