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    

July 8, 2015

Hi family! Well today I am emailing from.... Tonto Basin! I have a new companion, his name is Elder Watson, he is from Kentucky and has been out about 3 months. He's tall. Elder Pyper went down to the valley furnace, but it’s not too much cooler here. Monday- Went to Young- Had a branch FHE movie night where we watched Meet the Mormons. It turned out great and there was a good turnout. Pat went, also Danna, first time she's been in the church in a long while and a lady named Carol who got baptized a year and a half ago but hasn't been active and a few other people! Tuesday- Young- Saw Van Voorst, PM couple, and set up a return appointment for service. Saw Aldo. I can’t really remember what else it was so long ago… but I remember we were busy that day! Wednesday- Young- WE had a lesson with Carol, she was the one who came to the movie night, she wants to get back into the church and we talked about temple and what she needs to do to get there, I am excited for that! We had a lesson with Pat, talked about the baptism interview, went over the questions and made some plans for her interview! Thursday- Lots of service, worked at the community center for a bit then for a nonmember, Karl. His whole family is members so he has heard most of the beliefs before and he believes it but I guess 80+ years ago he promised his mom he wouldn't change religions so we had a good chat about that and he said he would pray and see what God wants! We had a lesson with Anthony and taught him about the Book of Mormon. He's making progress. Had dinner with a member but a LA member was there and that was really good. Friday- We taught a lady named Rita we did service for a while ago, when we got there she said I don't want to become Mormon but then we still taught the restoration and by the end she committed to read the book and if God answers her prayer she would change! It was cool. Taught Anthony the Plan of Salvation. He soaked it up! Pat had her interview and passed so she is set for the 11th! Then went to Payson for district meeting, Elder Pyper and I gave a good good training on the character of Christ. Saturday- We spend the 4th in Payson at the park. There was a booth and the 4 Payson Elders plus us plus 4 sisters all did the booth, most of the day me and my comp walked about talking to families and passing out literature, then in the evening we were in charge of the booth. All in all we gave out approx. 120 Book of Mormons and contacted over 500 people! It was quite the day, we were set up at the park at 9:30 am and couldn’t take down until it was done so that was 10 and with traffic and all it was bad until like 11 after that.. Don't worry we were just doing what the district leader had permission to do. Sunday- Church was good, in the afternoon we went to Gisela and had a lesson with Michelle. Taught her more about the scriptures and read with her and her family. A neat thing that happened is one day when we first went there her uncle (who lives upstairs) opened the door and was pretty rude but we didn't care then during our lesson he got home from work and was standing in the kitchen next to us listening and by the end of the lesson was even participating a bit! He is LA. Monday- We had a lesson with john and taught him about the Sabbath day, hope we can get him back to church! Had dinner with a little group of the awesome tonto members. They thought I might get transferred so they had an early birthday for me just in case. Tuesday- Was transfers, it took a lot of the day but I got to see a lot of great missionaries for possibly the last time :( We got back and had dinner with the walls then went to Gisela and had another lesson with Michelle, we tried to show her JSPR but her TV internet wasn't working so we just did the restoration instead. ! Nephi 1:20 But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance. The mercies of the Lord are available to all, just have faith so you may be worthy and chosen of the blessings I'm glad you all had a good last week and that the 4th was good! Love, Elder Stevenson

June 29, 2015

Hey everybody, This week was pretty good, except with the iPad’s just started using it for our area book too and so every teaching appointment, lesson, sacrament, etc for the last 2 years has to be inputted. It takes forever to do just one person but we have the rest of this week to finish so it’s ok. Monday- Young- Went crawdad fishing again and caught like 50. We went with a LA and her nonmember boyfriend so that was good. After we cooked them up and had dinner and a lesson with them. We also had a lesson with a catholic lady, it was a good visit but nothing really will come of her. One cool thing was that she said she beliefs her church is wrong about infant baptism so it opened the door for us to teach her the truth. Tuesday- Young- Had a RC lesson and lunch with the Varkers. We also did service for them and did electric work for his shed, something new for me! We also had a lesson with Pat, where she is a single sister we always have to take a 3rd male with us, Tuesday morning the member we had lined up called and cancelled so we got another member short notice, well 5 minutes before the appointment he called and cancelled to so we were stuck in a rut. So we called every member we could think of and no one could help so we had to call and rescheduled for 2 hours later in hopes that we could find someone. Well we got the right member. Brother Dixon came with us and we taught the law of chastity and law of the land, both very simple for someone who's 80 but then transitioned into temple marriage and families and it was just great how the lesson played out, it was really spiritual and the Lord definitely had a plan even if we didn't see it all at first. Wednesday- District meeting as usual. Then we went to Gisela, sadly Michelle fell thru. We met a few potentials though, one real good one. His name is Tom. He was a referral we got right when we got here and we tried contacting him like 5 times but we never caught up with him, Wednesday we had some extra time so we went by and he was home and said he wants to learn and take the lessons! He's in his uppers 80's so it’s definitely the time to do or die. Thursday- Had another lesson with John, taught him the plan of salvation. A little different than what he has been taught and is used to but he was ok with it and has been reading and keeping commitments so that is good. Put in a lot of time to the area book. Friday- Worked on the area book ipad thing a bunch more, my iPad sometimes looks like a Frisbee when I have to hold it for hours ;) We had a good visit with the Jameson's Saturday- Saw the Hardies, had a good visit. Went to Gisela again. Our branch president came with for the lesson at Michelle’s, It went good and she said the closing prayer! Big step for her. Saw a few less actives- the Wynn's, Cockrums, and some more. Met a few other potentials too, a lady from Idaho who used to get visits! Had rib-eyes for dinner, it was so good. Sunday- Tonto- Church and meetings basically all day. Church was pretty good, sadly only Pat came in young. John was sick and Michelle’s dad had the car. After church there was a meeting with the stake president about the Sabbath day and keeping it holy, it was really good; similar to a training from our mission president. Then we had a lesson at the Redd’s, a LA couple we haven't met with in a while. Then we went to Payson for a stake priesthood meeting, it was really good. Monday- This morning we had another lesson with John, taught him the gospel of Jesus Christ and things really clicked. We showed him a lot of scriptures and things that helped him understand sin, repentance and baptism by the proper authority. The lord definitely keeps his promise of bringing things to remembrance when needed! Headed back to young this afternoon! 2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.... 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Have a good week of freedom! Blow something up and have fun camping Love, Elder Stevenson

June 22, 2015

Happy Father's Day!! Things here went alright this last week- Monday- Tonto. Had a lesson with a pm couple, the Richards. Took our RSP, had a good visit but they don't want to change. Then we had a lesson with Michelle and taught her following the prophet and scripture study. Tuesday- Tonto- had a lesson with John, went over the Restoration. It was actually pretty cool, at first he was trying to teach us and kept getting off subject, but we were persistent and moved through the lesson points and once we got about halfway through he really started to stop and listen and learn new things, he was amazed at some of it and knows the bible very well so is now going to learn the Book of Mormon. Found a few new people who said we can come back in an area we hadn't tracked before and had good contacts. Had a good lesson with a LA family. Met the "bible church" preacher. He invited us back, but we have to see if that's ok first. Wednesday- had ZTM in the valley, it was supposed to start at 11 but didn't and ran late so it took the better half of the day. Elder Pyper bought me cold stone cause he lost a bet we made. We got back about 5 and packed and ate quickly then went to our lesson with Karmyn but she fell thru again. Drove to Young. Thursday- Young- taught jack about prophets a little and general conference, he was real excited to listen to talks as he goes on walks through the forest. Taught Pat the law of tithing and fasting, she really like the principal of fasting and then that's what sacrament was focused on Sunday too. One cool thing about the lesson was she said I have just realized this week coffee doesn't even taste good and her coffee pot was clean and dry! And she has been drinking it daily for years, the Lord works wonders! Anthony broke his femur and had facial reconstruction from a horse accident so we didn't get to teach him, but he got home from the hospital and we helped make the long walk inside. We were driving by as he was trying to get out of the car so that was a miracle. Friday- Young- dug part of a crater for an older sister in the branch for a tree. It needed to be 3 foot by 4 foot deep and the soil was so rocky! I thought of Taylor saying faith move mountains 40 pounds at a time. I picked and my companion shoveled. We had dinner with nonmembers, authentic Indian fry bread, it was good food. We made a deal if we won horse shoes they had to come to church, sadly they won but are up for a rematch. Gave Anthony a blessing to get better. Saturday- worked more on the hole. Cleaned up a wheelchair, now Pat has one at church so she doesn't have to bring it from home and people who can't lift wheelchairs can still give her a ride. Saw some people but it didn't really turn into lessons. Sunday- Young- Pat was at church in young and John in Tonto! Kind of like Saturday, we had 2 really good chats, one with a LA member who has a family all unbaptized and another nonmember man but they both told us not right now.. 2 Nephi 33:12 And I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day. Hope your week goes great! Love, Elder Stevenson

June 15, 2015

Well this week was pretty grand! Monday- Young- We met with Pat, she set her own date for July 11th and our lesson was good, we gave her a priesthood blessing to overcome coffee and tea, it was really neat. I shared with her that story you sent mom. Saw some referrals, caught crawdads, that was pretty cool, except by the time you cut off the top and pull of the legs and shell there's not much left to eat but they sure are tasty! Had a FHE at JP's and Anthony was there, we showed the Joseph Smith video. Tuesday- Young- lots of service, built fence. It was fun though. Had a real lesson with Anthony, taught him the Restoration and he committed to read the Book of Mormon and pray and all that and agreed to baptism if he gets an answer! Wednesday- Payson to Tonto- District meeting in Payson then had exchanges, we had a lesson with a man named John. Had the most sour lemon pie in the world for dinner. But the exchange was good. Thursday- Tonto- Had the quarterly temple trip in Mesa. Got up at 4:30 cause we had to leave at 5:30, Elder Pyper had some family names so I baptized him and that was neat. Our session was at 8, it was real good. Had a big lunch after and saw lots of people! Had a less active visit to the browns. Then a really good less active visit to the Gressley's, made some goals to get back to the temple and getting back on track, then saw the other Gressley's and had a real good visit with them, hope they can get things worked out and get back to church! Friday- Tonto- Went to Gisela, had a good lesson with Michelle on the Sabbath and she committed to attending church Sunday. Met some really good potentials. Had to weekly plan and iPad train and that took a while. Saturday- Tracted for a while, went pretty good. Finally saw Lucille again, she was unloading her car and we helped set up a new A/C unit for them then had a lesson and taught her the plan of salvation, wish her chemo would be over and she could start coming to church. Also was driving past a LA's and her husband had just left her so we got another member and gave her a blessing, it was a miracle we drove by the house as she was outside. Sunday- Tonto- Church at Tonto was great, there was like 60 visitors for a family reunion, but better than that there was 5 investigators there! Karmyn and her 2 brothers Seth and Ashton showed up pretty unexpected and it was right as we decided we are going to put it in the Lord's hands and wait for a while. And Michelle came with her dad who is LA so that was great, and John who we had a lesson with earlier in the week said he felt like coming. So we had a gospel principal’s class finally in the Tonto branch, and it was full. Had a good visit at the Jameson's, got some apricots and other stuff too. It was a good week! Romans 5: 3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience. Love, Elder Stevenson

June 8, 2015

Hi family! It's great to hear from you as usual! My week was pretty good- Monday- young We went out to Haigler creek for a lesson, but the member who is a neighbor for Rita volunteered us for service instead, so we cleaned up her yard, I was a little upset cause it was supposed to be p-day and we had plans to go fishing, but I humbled myself and had charity and then we were able to have a lesson after and talk about temples and the plan of salvation. Monday night we had a lesson with Trevor on agency and choices, it went alright. Then we had a lesson/visit with Danna (la) and that was good. Tuesday- Young Started out with service, helped release a raccoon, that was cool, then split wood. Then went to a members and helped them tear down a chicken coop and move an anvil to the neighbors. Had a RC lesson. Had a lesson with Pat, it was on baptism and it was pretty great, the only bad part was she uncommitted to the 20 of this month but she committed and promised to talk with her son this week and set a date with him since he will be doing it. We have a lesson with her today, so we will see how it goes! Tried to do some family history for our temple trip coming up... Grandmas done it all! Wednesday- Payton and Tonto We had district meeting, gave a training on working the whole vineyard, it was good, but got cut short cause we were out of time. Went to Gisela. Had a lesson with Michelle again! She set a date for July 25, a ways off but that should give her enough time to start coming to church and everything. We went over to Nole’s for our lesson and he ran us off. It was quite the surprise, he basically told us his yard was more important than church and the gospel.. Sad, I gave him a copy of good, better, best and we will give him another shot in a couple weeks, and he might have just been overwhelmed. His date is off for now. Satan sure works hard on people. We also had dinner and a lesson with the Wynn’s. Thursday- Tonto Our appointments all fell thru but it was still a pretty good day, we saw a LA named Christine who is Karmyn’s grandma and had a really good chat with her. Also had a lesson with the Drummond’s. Friday- Tonto Saw the Hardy's, making progress with them! Had a lesson with sister Canady. Then went to Deer Creek and had a lesson with Dana and a LA named Larry. Saw the Browns a PMF and had a good visit, showed them mountains to climb. Saturday Great day! The Deleon’s, a family I was teaching in Scottsdale went thru the temple to receive their endowments and were sealed as a family, it was neat! One of the best days of my mission. The sealer was the old Mesa mission president. It was neat to see a lot of people from camel view ward too. I will send a picture! Sunday- Tonto Church was good except no one came in Tonto. But 3 people went in Young! After church we drove to Young, had dinner with our branch mission leader, he is getting to trust us a lot more than the previous missionaries so that's good. In answer to dads question the people we had on date that aren't right now are these- Karmyn- haven't met with her or her 2 brothers who were also on date in like 3 weeks because her grandma died and they went to Colorado. Trevor-won't have a date anymore, he was doing good, but moved out of the members home he was staying with and this last week started smoking chewing and getting high again with his mom... What a mom. But he is moving to Illinois to be with his dad in a couple weeks and that's probably not enough time to clean up and get baptized. All in all it was a pretty good week! John 16: 33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. Love, Elder Stevenson

June 1, 2015

Hello family, Happy birthday Lexi!! I barely wrote you so this may be a bit shorter, Thursday we did service- helped an older couple clean up there yard and a huge tree. Then we helped a different widow trim her weeds up. Got another flat tire, the ground was hot too! We had a real good visit with a less active couple, backstory we have tried to see them like 4 times but they always have an excuse then this time when we knocked we heard him say ok let them in today so our persistence paid off and they invited us back. We also had a couple visits with some of the 'Christian' folks in town. Not sure where that will go. Friday- some service again for a sister working toward the temple, pulled weeds and then she fed us lunch, we watched mountains to climb. Then went to Gisela, tight Nole the word of wisdom, he accepted it a lot better then what he said on the phone about the pamphlet! Just gotta kick the coffee and the rest is easy. He should be good for the 27th. Then we had another lesson with Michelle, taught her the restoration and it went good, she opened up a lot more and committed to baptism. Drove to young Saturday- made it out to a place called Haigler creek, met some people. Had to do some iPad stuff that took a while too. Found out Trevor is moving back in with his mom... She's not the best influence so hope he can stay strong, we have a lesson with him tonight. We met a less active and showed her mountains to climb, she was crying and even pretty shaky, it really hit home. Sunday- pat was at church her date is for the 20th, Trevor was too. Church was good. One of the kids had a birthday party so we went over to that and got to talk to a family we've been trying to meet with. Saw Dave who is one of the main people running the Christian fellowship church in young. Had a really good chat, he's got an open heart and hope we can pick it open more and he will give us an honest shot. It would be cool to convert him! This week we have showed mountains to climb to a lot of people so for my scripture watch it! www.lds.org mountains to climb Love Eder Stevenson