Well First I`m gonna email and then I am going to call later tonight

I forgot my agenda at home with all the notes I took about things to write about and things that I wanted to tell you about from the past week. But because my comp is disobedient I do not want to come back and waist more time here so I figure I`ll just do it now and send some more fotos.

I am super exited to speak to you all and it should be really great i hope that everything gets figured out and runs smooth sailing.

Christmas is completely different here. It was one of the hottest days I think I have experienced in my life
Yesterday not positive but it was so hot and so humid. Anyway so It does not feel like christmas. So here the traditions are more like our forth of july they get together as a family eat lots and lots of meat and potatoe salad like dishes and eat and eat and then around midnight everyone lights up the sky with bazzilions of fireworks every house all over and it just lights up the sky everywhere we watched off the roof of our house into the night. It was insane. Not going to lie its probably because I am use to back home but I would trade all this anyday for a white magical christmas with my family. I do find myself missing all you lot a lot more It has a lot to do with how trunky my comp is but what you gonna do about it.

I got a bunch of packages. I finally recieved that little foto book how flippen awesome is that little guy! and I got your letters and a package from grandma and the bishop and the awesome Valient class!! thank you so much I shared with everyone here:) The truth is I am very tired not use to staying up past 10:30 hahah

This Sunday we also had 3 baptisms here:) It was a very good service with lots of the ward showing up to give their support. Their mother did not come which is a worry of mine I want them to stay strong and active edifying the church here. My comp is more of a  baptise it kind of person. Changes are next week so i`ll be emailing tuesday. But it was a reallyy wonderful experience I had the oppotunity to baptise the two young boys 12 and almost 12 you`ll see in a foto Ill send Ezequiel and Jonathan. and my comp baptised the 13 year old girl Antonella.

This is a picture of here in "Deo" near my house and my foot when it was all messed a couple of weeks ago from the vinegar.



 After our zone confernce we had to rush off to the middle of the heart of Montevideo because Elder Montes and his area have a couple that are going to get married. So we had to go for support and to be witnesses. It was super strange to be in the big city after so long in the country. It was wierd to hear english music aswell. anyway we also entered a catholic cathedral there aswell after just to look arround and it was pretty filled with saints but beautiful in lots of ways that got us to talk about the temple and how much better it is with the couple.

Also That same day I had a huge Illergic reaction my skin was covered in red bumps and I had to call the mission nurse for the first time It was pretty uncomfortable not really sure what it was but it went away. Maybe i`ll send a foto I have to get it  from Elder Montes.

Anyway today I should watch The movie Brave today as a district I`m really exited. I heard the Hobbit is out I am super jealous and dont really want to be reminded about it.

Anyway I love you all so much and I love the Saviour. I realize as I read his teachings how much better I need to try and be and how I will never get there But one day Christ will make everything right. Sometimes I am amazed by the evil in our day  but then I remind myself that We already know who wins in the end the Saviour. I am more and more getting to the point where not obeying the lord hurts me inside. I love the saviour and I want to have the giant change of heart at the end of my mission to be the best father I can be.
I heard a song and now I say this in my prayers where he said something like "HElp me to give more of myself" and that is what I now say.

I will end with Scripture: Moroni 8: 3
I finished the Book of Mormon is spanish...... I love that book It continues to change my life everyday
I love you all terribly

Elder Stewart-Chester

welcome one and all....

Well I´d just like to say I love you all lots and lots. I am at a different cyber right now and its a lot beter but I cannot send pictures. I brought it all and everything. Anyway Christmas is in the air I am going to do Skype Christmas night 25th at about 8 o'clock my time. I am very exited did you know I cut my hair the other week shorter than it has been since that one time in UT and I was devistated hahaha.

 Anyway lets go through some key highlights this week:
First off the baptism did not go through:( but for good reason and actually it was president who denied the baptism. The problem is MArgarita the wonderful lady we are teaching, she lives in a house with her grandkids and her old partner. WE did not think it was going to be a problem because they are both pretty old and are more like siblings.  They are in the same house for the grandchildren. Her x partner was inactive from a long time ago but when the missionaries started teaching his grandson he came back in full force and is one of the best reactivated members I have seen.HE loves church. Anyway so we had some problems there and it did not go through but IT is only a mater of time and finding out what we can do for them we have a couple of solutions and we´ll just have to find the way to make it work.

Someone broke into the chapel as well and  stole a computer and an electric piano. It is sad how hard it is here to keep people from robbing things. All the windows of the church have huge bars on them and so they picked up the brick around it and took it off and broke into the secretaries office. WE think they have been in the chapel before becuase they knew exactly which window to climb in.

Fletcher...Dude remember that "Heman song" thing on You tube? Dude I heard that song here the other day on the bus and died laughing to myself:) made me trunky (miss home)

Did you know that Uruguay is over run with cats and dogs I have told you this no? well its the truth everywhere every house has like 4 dogs. But guess what that also means there are puppies and kittens everywhere here hahaha too bad they have fleas....I still play with them:) It literally is crazy though how many baby animals there are here.

Teddy and Bo guess what you know that Vegetales sing along song about the cucumber danceçing and singing. Guess what now I can sing that song and know what it says I was singing it just from memory the other day: "Mire el Pepino":)

Scripture of the week: Mormon 9:14 It talks about the impure staying impure and the clean clean. For me it reminds me of the importance of being happy in this life because the happy will be happy and the unhappy will  be even more unhappy. I will finish the book of mormon this week in Spanish how much I love that book and often find myself trying to find more time in the day to read more. I also found myself thinking of my saviour this christmas time... How much I wish he didn´t have to suffer for my mistakes but at the same time I just find so much love for him. I am amazed by his unfathomable love, stregnth and intellegence.

Anyway time is up I love you all like crazy oh my foot is fine not to worry and DAD we have DVD players in every house not to worry:) I love you all tons and tons be happy live everyday happy and make sure to tell everyone who is freaking out about the end of the world on the 21st that its all a bunch of balone.

This is a foto with Elder Viñas and our zone is Salto and photos from when I left Salto

 

 Elder McCRanny

 

Elder Stewart-Chester

"Its the most wonderful time of the year"

I’m sorry I cannot send more pictures today, next week I will. These are photos from Salto. I did not send any from here yet. The truth is I’m testing out the area to see if I can take it around with me. It looks pretty safe.  Now the only thing is one minute it's sunny the next it's pouring. The truth is I am not too far into the city, we are more on the outskirts.  Unlike the states where the inner city is the rough part here it is the outside where all the poor live. I love my area. We have like 20 lessons with a member every week because there are so many that are willing to help and lots of people to teach.

Something that me and my companion (my mom didn't correct this even though she should have-love, mom) have really begun to focus on is reactivating and we are seeing lots of fruits from our labor. This last Sunday a lot of very big recent convert family that went inactive came to church!! There is so much work to be done in reactivation here and we have set our goals high to bring many back to fill the church full once again. 

Me and my companion (mom needs to teach grammar to her sonJ)get a long really well. I tried something new this change and just worked hard to make him laugh and become his friend. I do not chew him out I just serve and do all that I can thinking about the savior. Our goal as a mission is to be one of the saviors’ friends, to serve out of love not out of duty. I love my savior. I think about his question so amazingly put by Elder Holland often "DO YOU LOVE ME?"   I think about it and then I serve all that I can. I think about it when I arrive at the house in the night, which is such a mess and there is so much to do and all I want to do is sleep and then I get to work and fight the tiredness. My foot has been causing me problems and yet I thought about serving him truly loving him and I kept going and washing and cleaning all by myself.  That day I felt his hand uplift my burdens. 

I did what Grandpa said and soaked my foot in apple vinegar boy did it hurt and then the second day I did it again and that next day my foot swelled up huge and that’s where I am at today. I soaked it in ice water last night and it helped and the swelling decreased but I just hope I did not do something wrong.

I went on diviones last week with an elder from El Salvador who was baptized at 19 he is  a powerful missionary and knows how to teach. Anyway we had a lesson with one of our investigatores Margarita who is 60 something and wants to be baptized but is quitting smoking. We had an amazing charla with her. She said that she was feeling as though God did not love her but after Elder Rivas spoke she knew He really did. Anyway she is getting baptized next week and we are exited! Lots of work is going on here. 

Scripture: 4nephi 1 15

 15 And it came to pass that there was no ^acontention in the land, because of the ^blove of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.

The Book of Mormon is amazing read it

I love you so much I don’t really feel like its Christmas time, it’s too hot:) and no family

Love you all 

Elder Stewart-Chester

 BON BON coma....

 Salto rainy!!

 SALTO!!  rain

 Making sausages......ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (love mom)

 I actually got to baptise Florencia which was wonderful as always but you know me I forgot my towell at least it is insanely hot here!!

Dec 3 (late update from mom) Well we are at that time again!

Please forgive me this thing is terrible. I am going to start emailing in the morning. Anyway ahhhhh I forgot the cord to send the pictures.... nuts. Next week I’ll spend time sending pictures. P-days are busy days where you try and cram lots in and then you have to agree with your comp and it just makes it even harder to do all you would like to.

Anyway, so where do I start.  Well I had a very spiritual experience this Tuesday on divisions with a different Elder called Elder Montes.  He is from Spain but lost his accent completely. Anyway we actually had a couple of spiritual experiences. First, we went to an 18 yr old young man’s house who had been baptized recently 8 months ago to try and teach his sister. He’s super active and actually was a corto plazo (a missionary before the mission) with my comp for two days before I got here. Well when we got there he told us that he had decided that he was going inactive. We were shocked and so we sat down and had a lesson I will never forget. We asked him why and things like that. He said it was because he was a bad person. We talked about the atonement, about never giving up about how much god loves him. I cried.  My comp cried and so did he. In the middle of the lesson I had the weirdest feeling. I literally sat back and thought to my self as I listened to myself speak. I have already heard and said all of this before in my dreams the night before. I told everyone and I was amazed. After that lesson he told us he was not going inactive. He later sent us a message telling us that he had been kneeling asking the Lord to help him repent, to help him. He said that we were his answer. My favorite part of being a missionary is following the spirit and being the answer to someone’s prayers.

Wow, O have so many things to say such little time. Fast...... my comp has P90x.  We work out. We had a baptism this last Saturday and it was really great. Our ward is wonderful and it is working well to get things moving. His name is Alexander he is the brother of a recent convert. In the baptism President Heaton came to see our baptism and well the mom of Alexander is an investigator of ours and she had not shown up yet and so I went looking for her in the car with presidente.  Ha-ha, through some rough streets with his nice car super strange to use a seatbelt.

That is all I will have time for for now forgive me.  Typing is a weakness of mine I will be talking again with Skype very soon!! So you can ask me all kinds of questions then as well.

I just want to say I love you so much. Be safe and love the lord the hard things are what mold us into what god wants us to be!

Elder Stewart-Chester

Okky Dokey folks yall ready

SO it turns out I am a really crapy Elder so I have been transferred once again.....
My Change

Cerro Barrio 16
With: Elder Vargas (Peru)
I am going down south folks to the big city Montevideo!!!! I was very much in Shock because well I am the only missionary I know with 4 areas in 7 changes. My companion I am with right now has 4 areas and he only has 6 months of his mission left. I mean wow I have only been in an area for 2 changes that is unheard-of.

Anyway folks as you can tell I am writing this super late.  I am actually already in the time we should be out working. :( the Cyber here was too full so we had to wait. So forgive me I am trying to type as fast as my skinny fingers will let me. I have so much to say lets hope I can get some of it across.

First off mom the Mp3 is fine do not spend lots of money and hide it well. Things I still need are envelopes and now futbol shoes sadly mine are super destroyed.  To send shoes you have to send one in one package one on in the other just send me a pare of dad's indoors.

I was spat at this week.... Just kept walking. Someday I will receive tons of blessings for that one. I was amazed at how well I kept my head. I am changing that's for sure.

We had two baptisms Sunday, two adorable little girls who are showing the way for their mother who needs to be married before she can be baptised. I will send pictures next week hopefully. I´m guessing the computers in Deo are better. I actually got to baptise Florencia which was wonderful as always but you know me I forgot my towel at least it is insanely hot here!!

Here in Uruguay well south America Everyone has Moto´s(motorcycles etc) and after being here so long I have the strongest desire to buy one when I get home. Something funny about motos here is they are a family vehicle. Did you know they can fit a family of 5 on those things. Hopefully I´ll take a picture. Also they use them like trucks carrying goods. Often you will see a moto go past with two men on it and one is carrying a giant wooden beam, or a piece of metal.

What do I think of the new age change of missionaries?....well its inspired!  China must be opening up soon. I think that missionaries will have to come more prepared and that their may be more problems,  but I think hopefully they will come very teachable and The work will grow.

I have thought of one thing one thing I wish I knew earlier in life. Do you want to know what that is?  Moroni´s promise. I wish someone would´ve sat me down younger and told me you Have to read this book and then ask God your life depends on it. I love the Book of Mormon I wish I had poored through the pages earlier in my life. I would´ve received so much more. My goal for the rest of my mission is to feel the spirit and teach with the spirit as much as I possibly can. It´s honestly all that matters.

I am disappointed to leave my area I had so many plans and ideas. It should only go up hill here in this area.

I love the Lord and I will go and do whatever he asks.

Les Quiero

Elder Stewart-Chester

Sent from my iPhone

Writing Next Tuesday due to changes!

Well It feels like yesterday I was just emailing. It is a good thing I write things down in my agenda because if I didnt I would be so lost right now. First off I would just like to say I love you all I´m so grateful for every person, teacher, leader, parent, sibling, I have had in my life. How lucky I am. 

Something I realize I have completely forgotten to tell you guys I´m pretty sure is  that in my old area with Elder McCraney he has baptised a couple who we were teaching over there, so Awesome. It would´ve been really cool to finish teaching them but Its just wonderful because they are such amazing people and will be a forever family. Silvia and Marcelino. Elder McCcraney always gloats to me because Silvia brings them food like every night becuase she is so wonderful. 

Ok I did not know Dakota got called to The Salt Lake City Mission!!?? 

This week has been pretty ok.... my bike is busted and it makes us work a lot slower and it bugs me. Oh so guess what Dad ELder McCraney said "Elder Stewart-Chester is the hardest working comp I have in the mission" -I know you are probably crying right now. Looks like some thigs rub off huh. 

I have been writing down Scriptures that I feel you Mom and others really would be good for you´all.

Alma 50: 23

Alma 37:37

Alma 38:5

The book of mormon has become one of my favorite books. 

We had a bunch of investigators in church this last week!!!WOOOOHH Super good for them. We are baptising two young girls of a family we are teaching next Sunday to help the desire grow in the heart of the mother. She wants to be baptised but has to be married first and if she does she loses her pension of her dead ex-boyfriend. We had two investigators we found saturday go to church Sunday. one is called Leonardo and he is 22 and we´re are praying he is a misionary to be

I have started to realize how scatter brained my letters are its mainly because of my notes I take so I can write this thing. Something that I love about the people here is they love and look after the poor. The people love and look after one another. They often give out food for free and all the time they are giving away clothes and things like that. I need to be more like them. I think I am going to work in a soup kitchen next time I am home maybe around the holidays or something.

Anyway I wish I could say so much more but I have to go I love you!!

Elder Stewart-Chester

10/29 I would send pictures but there are too many people here and they might come break into our house to get my camera later

Hello Hello well its that time of the week again. not really sure how your side is not really sure how many of you actually read my blog but isn´t my blog great people dont I have a wonderful mother to do all that for me.

Anyway how do you talk about this last week.... lets see well lets start off with the best part of it all the conference with Elder Oaks!!! yeah thats right that was this saturday and what an amazing experience. With all the missionaries from our both missions here in Uruguay we listened to one of the 12 apostles give us specific direction from God. WOW. Do you want to know what the topic was= Repentance. I know what your thinking wow your missionaries must be terrible if he came and talked to you all about repentance. But it was not about our repentance it was about making sure to teach someone in a way that they can experience true repentance in order to keep firm in the gospel until the end he told us that in the book of mormon next to the word baptism is always repentance. It is sad but far too often they`re are missionaries that just baptise to baptise. I hate it. It was a powerful conference I learned so much. Something he talked about that applies more to everyone was that being a follower of Christ means going to church every week. he talked about the importance of sacrament. It is so importantant that they as appostles even with their extremley busy scheduals have to atleast once a month partake of the sacrament in the temple. He said sometimes it is hard because you travel so much. He said if it is important as an appostle of the lord to partake it is so important for us. He said to focus on the principle that "to always have his spirit to be with you" is being cleaned because the spirit cannot dwell in unholy temples. 

Elder Viñas  and Elder Halstrom came aswell with their wives and said powerful things aswell. Something intresting that they all did was testify that Elder Oaks was an appostle and if you stepped back as I did I felt the spirit testify to me about their words. Someday you will all have to read my notes. I have a lot to work on, But I´m so grateful for his direction I would be lost without it.

I have had a couple of rough days with my companion. But it should get better from now on I hope. He has lots of exuses but  last night I told him that It was one of the saddest days of my mission becuase we did not work hard enough with the time the lord gave us. (you dont have to put this on the blog its up to you)

We have been using the marshmellows that we sent to me to make smores with investigators. I feel like it helps we are still working with some good people we just need to get them progressing. I love this area it gets better everyday. It was a really strong ward a year ago but a lot left offended and now we are starting to bring them back slowly but surely. 

It was amazing the conference I met and talked to so many missionaries how I love good missionaries its awesome to see so many great men and women who serve and love the lord. Its crazy becuase we all have similarities. 

Anyways I am out of time. The Church is true and dont you ever forget it when someone challanges you about a topic of term or something about the church just remeber to tell them that you asked God if the Book of Mormon was true and well he responded. I love you all tons 

Elder Stewart-Chester

Well what a week

Not going to lie even after P-day I am exausted. This week has taken a lot out of me and has required things of me I never thought of before. I know why I was called to this area now and why I was called to be with my companion but saddly that story will have to wait for after the mission. Lets just say I have grown a ton and worry to death about being a parent.

Lets see something pretty nutts is two nights ago I left the back door open while we slept and did not have the fan on me and was well rather eaten alive. I have counted 72 mosquito bites on just my arms haha its not that bad though atleast my bed does not have bugs. It is super hot right now and all the people talk about is "this is nothing just wait until we hit 45" which is like 115.....I am very scared. But hey its for the lord right. 

Anyway so ya I had an intersting week went on divisions with an ELder I met in the CCM from Alaska and honestly he is the manliest guy. He is 27 years old and found his way to the mission and lets just say he knows why he is here. He told me about being chased by grizzlies in Alaska and the northern lights and well now I gotta go:) hahah we´ll see. but he really is super manly he shaves with a straight razor. 

My feet have been not in the best shape but their not bad at all. I still work as hard as I can. If anything they are just annoying. 

I also had another divisions with the Zone leaders again and it was really wonderful. The only bad part is I was out of my area a lot this week. Our area is such a good one and whenever anyone comes they´re like I would love to be here. We just are struggling to get people to come to church. We´re really working on it and we are having an activity this week with a competition of desserts. It should be super good our ward use to have a lot of life and we are really trying to revive that life. 

Mom you said you like to read the scriptures I am reading well right now as a mision we are reading the Book of Mormon in 90 days and I honestly read through it like I use to fiction novels back home. I read all in spanish ad should finish well before christmas. I just read two scriptures that I loved this morning: Alma 36:3 and Alma 36:24.

Yesterday was the birthday of my companion. Not a good day for me or the lord but I got cake, 

anyway forgive me that I did not send pics. I will do soon anyway I cannot tell you how much I love you all and how much I have changed.... I love serving and I´m hoping that soon we will be doing so much service for those around us.

I Know the Church is true and so do you!!! you´ll know to when you are backed up to the wall and dont know which way to go then you´ll bare testimony and be filled with the spirit.

Elder Stewart-Chester

Ps. I have been bad at writing back letters so forgive me. I´m going to fix that hopefully next week

Shall we begin

Well I had a week.... pretty crazy lets see how much I can get in shall we.

Lets start off with a tender mercy from the lord. Tuesday nigh`t I am 100% possitive I fell asleep on my knees praying so exausted from the day but when I awoke in the morning I was lying in my bed. But I was lying the completely different way than I normally do without my pillow and as I sat down and thought and thought to myself I couldn´t remeber getting into bed just kneeling to pray. I´m sure that the lord knew that I needed a better rest and picked me up and put me in bed.

Well Some of the great parts of our week come from watching the ward come together and work! We left with all the high priests this week to visit a bunch of less active or inactive families and the Women in the ward did the same out looking and recueing the downtrodden. Well it is awesome to see families reactivate and we had a larger group of members there at church at the end of this week. Hermana Borges the lady we had the FHE with is awesome one of my favourite members here and is coming back in full force I ´m pretty sure it is her plan to go to the temple next month. She was sharing with her husband what she learned in sunday school. It was awesome to see her a lot happier and know that the church is where we belong. she has already started looking for nieghbors to have Family home evenings with so we can teach them!!! 

This week I gave my first talk in Sacrament meeting. Me and my companion were the speakers and it went really well I can feel how far my spanish has come it literally amazes me and I have only had 1 latino comp. I talked about how our ward needs to be like a family. how they need to invite families over for dinner, barbques, FHE they need to look after one another outside the church to keep people strong inside the church. I now know why we had so many families over for dinner and I now know how important it is for others. By small and simple things right! Thanks Dad for your example. I shared it with everyone in the cogregation.

Sunday morning we had an insane experience. Someone who we have visited in the past and she is such a wonderful lady but just can´t change from her old faith rember her we found her on my B-day? well we went by sunday morning becuase some of her sons and nephews wanted to go to church. we had gone by saturday in the afternoon to set it all up. Well as we biked down her street we thought wait a min we have gone to far.. we turned around searching for the first white house and then we saw where it was suppose to be. It had burned to the ground that night(I have a picture I´ll send other day). outside the house was her husband he works out in the country but after a call came into town. He explained to us that no one was harmed. that while the mother was out looking for her kids someone lit the house on fire.... The world is a very scary place. No one was harmed and we invited the father to church. (he did not come but we also offered out help in anyway possible)

This saturday we have a conference in the capital!!! with ELDER OAKS!!! I dont think I said anything before becuase it always skipps my mind. But I´m super stoked all 400 missionaries in Urugauy will be going up there.

Last but not least is the devil is really working hard agaist us. We had so many amazing people ready and so exited for church and then did...not...show.... One of our investigators obsticles is if she gets married she looses the money that she gets from her dead Ex-Boyfriend and its a substancial amout we are encouraging her to pray and ask God and then follow his will. 

But all in all the work marches forward there is a lot of amzing people here and I am so blessed to be on the mission. I havent said it enough but I have a wonderful family I am too blessed. I got a Package from you Dad and Christina thanks so much! I am going to wear one of the ties for the conference. I am a happy man. Thank all of you that send me council and advice and love I am so blessed to have you in my life. 

Anyway that is my week More or less just remeber that I am keeping a really good Journal I´m on Number 3!!! so you can read about it all someday.

I love you until next week.

ththththththats all fowlks

Elder Stewart-Chester 

Cambios 10/9/12

WELL are you ready for the suspensful changes!!!!.........I am staying here in Barrio Artigas with my companion just as I presumed. nothing to exciting goes down when you are staying in the area so it was just a normal P-day of Futból with the district then Pizza and thats pretty much it.

I recieved a bunch of mail this last week thank you all so much for finding time:) I know it´s hard.

anyway on with the week which was a really good one I mean conference was in it and can I just say wow. I really felt the power on this last conference hard. I really focused and honestly as I paused and reflected the questions I brought to conference I felt the spirit testify of the words as they said them. I want to share a bit of something Elder Viñas acctually taught us in the last zone conference that has honestly helped me understand so so much more about why we NEED to struggle in life and why we go through times of hardship. He told us that the mission is the best time we was to really get to know the savior and the time we get to know him is when we submit our will to the father and take what life gives to us know that it is for our good then we struggle learn and grow through these times and we get to know and become more like the one who asked us to follow him. It struck me so hard. I honestly have noticed that the times that I have had the hardest struggles and hardest comps I learn to exercise more patience and become more like our savior and honestly a better person.

The resounding lesson for me and what I needed to do what get down on my hands and knees and serve, serve hard. Help everyone around me. This is what the lord wants from me. I think of brother Hegawald that is who I am going to become whilling to do it all I want everyone to feel like they are my best friend. I miss him good thing We have the plan of salvation:)

I has an amazing division with the zone leaders this last week. I was with a Elder called Elder Laycock. He honestly is one of the best Elders I have ever met. He told me exactly what I needed to hear "never go through a day just to get by" wow I needed that. God knows us each really well I know that I am exactlly where I need to be in the area and zone and with the Companion that I need to become the man God wants me to be. I have so much to learn but I´m so grateful for what I have been given. I know god exists and listens and knows exactly what each of us need to be perfectly comfortable in his house in the end of all things.

I have one quick experience. I recently had a noche de Hogar(FHE) in the house of the inactives and I decided to do a story about a bunch of chickens who learn how to fly and then afterwards they come back to the earth to walk home and are hit by a truck. the moral is apply what you learn. Its really cool becuase you create a dead chicken with a towell as you talk the kids love it.

Anyway i did it onthe sperr od the moment did not have the vocab to do it and it was exactly what she needed to hear exactly it it was just amazing to me that the lord had put me there and in my weekness and unpreparedness( my comp looked at me when we got in the house and said do you have anything to share) the lord testifyied to her heart she cried as we talked about sometimes its a llittle step here then here then you are out of the church I told her it was the same way back a bunch of little steps forward and never looking back.

anyway out of time I love you all terribly good job Fletch being single and surfing all the timeis better!!

Enjoy the pictures

Elder Stewart-Chester

Well, I have no time

Well we have a lesson at 5 30 and its 5 11 right now I still have to email and also write a letter to president so I gotta keep it short please forgive me well lets talk about something that truely hit me good this week and that is the fact that god is a god of sacrifice.

Well I have for a long while been telling the lord that I will give him anything that my will is his will and well the test came to see if I really could. My old Companion Elder McCraney was talking about how the night before he felt that he had not given everything to lord and had not recieved an answer to his question. He realized that he was still holding on to R rated movies and he told me It struck me so hard and would not leave me for days. I thought to myself can I give it to the lord I found myself really wrestling with the lord as I tried to reason and explain that I did not need to make a covanant. That some R rated movies dont do anything but it came down to can I give everything to the lord. I wrestled with him on my knees that night going to bed without making the covanant hoping that when I woke and as time passed I would forget. I prayed that night if it is your will I will do please tell me if it is your revalation for me. 

That morning I woke with a troubled mind. And I recieved my answer powerfully over and over from the lord as I read Mosiah 3-5 wow Basically heavenly father said to me "you know what you need to do now do it" and so I have I knelt down that morning and gave the lord the last thing I have left. I know know that if we are to be true disciples Heavenly father will ask of us that thing which we are most reluctant to give.

The work pushes on here we have found some amazing families here. there will be more to come about them as time goes on. We might marry some families and hopefully in a years time I will be able to accompany them in the temple.

The night I gave everything to the lord I fely his love and the burning in my chest I have always longed for. The church is True its sometimes hard but the difference between a good man and a great one is the great one does the hard things.

I love you all so much forgive the shortness I hope that it lifts your higher on this rainy day here in Bario Artigas Uruguay

Elder Stewart-Chester

Changes next week p-day tuesday

Disclaimer:  forgive spelling mistakes, tone is precious for brafys mum these days and my phine makes editing tough;)

Hello one and all!!!! how the heavens are you??

well this week has been an interesting one honestly it flew by I have no idea what to say but lets talk about some good stuff now shall we first off 

darling mother I am so grateful for all the gum that gets sent here but I cant really chew gum on the streets its kinda rude so i have like stocks and stocks. And also you know all those envelopes you sent me... well they have all been sealed now by the stinking humidity! so I have to use a knife to try and open and reseal them. Next time you send some send some that have like a paper you can peal off first.

Things that I have thought would be good to have are ties because honestly one you start to get sick of all the ties you have and I can give out my older ties to people we teach and are convirted so they can look so awesome!! also beef jerky spices like ranch taco spices and oh I want the recipe for barbeque sauce.

also please keep in mind that I have changes all time and I have to carry all my stuff around all the time. Not the most fun when you have lots of stuff to lug around. 

Anyway oh those videos totally turned out well without sound but that was really cool!! 

anyway my week

Well Elsa our investigator was baptised this last Saturday and that was a good experience. Alejandro an 11yr old was not baptised we went the day after I emailed you guys and he completely changed his mind. We think he just got sick of us or his father said religion was for girlies. He is only 11 but heavenly father wanted him in the fold. The baptism was not as organized as i´d liked it to be but we had an ok turn out. It is a small ward. We also had a little girl who is the daughter of a menos active and her dad is not a member be baptised and her dad came and We are going to try and teach him. we´ll see how it goes. Elsa is hilarious we had to do the baptismal interview again because she was not baptised this last week and she also said violence was against the word of wisdom this time hahaha that last one always scatters her brain. 

We also had interviews this last week with president and it was super good we had another capacitation by our AP that is a legend in our mission for baptising like crazy and he let us feed on his ways of helping us get investigators to church. Judging by my interview with president I think that I will be staying with my companion another change. It worries me because we really do not have much to work with right now and his methods of work are not very effective but come what may and love it!

I´ve started to really think about how hard it is to raise children. What has made me think about this is being with my comp who I really dont get a long with too well and then all I want to do is help him and do what the savior would want me to. To make him a better servant. Its super hard. I´m not exited for the teenage years. It just involves lots of praying being a good example and biting my tonge a whole lot.

We also had something really cool go down this week we went on divisions with the bishopbrick and visited some menos active members who needed a little pick me up. the family that I went and visited are awesome and I felt the spirit as I shared a strory for the younger kids and they all came to church this week. I talked about the basics READING AND PRAYING it all comes down to those two when your doing those to things you can climb any moutain.

Anyway time is up

I love you all so much I´m so very greatful for all the letters and emails be happy and safe read and pray!

Elder Stewart-Chester

Spring is here!

Well one and all spring is here and it is really getting hot! Especially on the bike and everyone here keeps talking about 45 degrees cel.... like 110 fh yikes its super humid and with all the missionary garb you are like cooking meat.

I had a pretty darn good week Yesterday they had a baptism in my last ward someone who I was teaching who was super prepared and is going to be an amazing member. She brings the missionaries over there food like every night(lucky sods). I was going to go to the baptism I actually went on divisions to my old area and taught her a lesson over there and told her I was going but it turned out we were going to have a baptism over here aswell at the same time right after church so I couldnt.

The sad news was The baptism did not go through becuase  the font was freezing and our investigator is 71 and there was no way that it would be healthy for her to get in and so we prosponed it until next week with another baptism of a young 11 year old who is the brother of Carina who was baptised not too long ago. I completely forgot about the baptism in my old ward and we ended up just going to eat in the house of a member. ELder McCraney baptised her and told me the spirit was super strong. 

Elsa is the 71 year old we are teaching and she is hilarious. She really does not understand or comprehend much of the things we have taught so we´ve had to reteach her many things over and over and still in her interview she told our district lider E McCraney that Coacoa was agaist the word of wisdom and that Joseph smith was a son of god very important:) she loves the church and loves to sing all the hymns. She tells us that when she is alone in her house and she hears music she just dances all over the place. She also lives in a poorer part of town and informs us  of all the gosip that passes through. She still works and is very active.

We had a 3 Zone, Zone Conference this thurday with one of the area 70 that is actually from Uruguay that we have and it was so powerful Wow. Elder Viñas look him up in the Ensign. He talked a tone about the doctrinal base of what we do and why and who we need to be. He talked a ton about rescuing tons. It seems as though that is what the lord wants of us right now to look and rescue those who are not lost they are just hidden. Its was powerful someday you will have to ask to see my notes wait they are in spanish so you will have to ask me to translate them...What:) he did an amazing comparision with us as missionaries as those who the lord is mad with in Malicah in the old test. He is mad with them because their sacrifices are sickly they are not the best they can give. We have to give the lord the best we can give everyday.

I just ate lunch in a house of two members that moved here from spain they are super awesome and it made me think of our trip there and to Tangers what a crazy trip.

I have read Ben and Matts letters and I am filled with love and the truth is a little bit of jealousy. They´re working so hard and having such powerful experiences I wish I was there with them fighting through. I love it here I love being a missionary even when its hard and all you do is knock doors all day. I´m trying to give him my best everyday and that won´t stop now. I would love to get ELder Hasting and Elder Sommers letters home aswell and I would love to hear from my buddy E Stevens once again

I love you all Conference is coming invite your friends to listen to a living prophet who in this conference will answer every question they have ever had in there hearts. I Know i´m where I am supposed to be and the Lord has his hands in everything.

Elder Stewart-Chester

Oh mom got the G´s they will help

I don't have much time forgive me...

Ok so I had so much to do today and things went longer than usual so I do not have much time at all to talk. 

Something I forgot to tell you al last week was we had a baptism in my new area she was already ready when I got here but her name is Carina 13 yrs old and was brought to church by her best friend who was member, Our ward has a temple trip this week and I think that she will get to go with them:) which shall be really cool for her. Her brothers and sisters are in the pictures I am sending isnt that little guy awesome his name is Daniel and loves me tons he tried to give me his dinosaur as a gift the other day. He also was giving me a big hug and got so much stickyness on the shirt I had just cleaned. 

In that one photo aswell I found Mac and Cheese here in the city lets just say I know my way around Salto. 

We are working hard. It is getting so hot and humid it looks as though is about to rain and then huge amounts of humidity come and kill us. the bike makes  things harder. Was quite a bit sick this week stomach problems not good on the mission. But I got through it and am fine now. 

ok lets keep going I was thinking about the other day when I was doing baptisms for the dead in the Temple with Tate and Fletch and I got to baptise them...Wow good times. 

I am so greatful that I was worthy to be there enjoying that. I have such a different perspective now I have learned so much and the truth is changed tons too. I cannot wait to go to the temple when I get home. There is no other place like it as wierd as I was as a teen I had faith I guess I remember running off my anger in Rexburg Idaho running to the temple becuase I had faith it would calm me down. It did just that.

My comp is difficult I´m praying lots for guidance Its just hard to know what I should do and what would help be the best he can and what would not help him. Its really scaring me to be a parent now. Its a good thing we have the lord huh. 

We have a lot to do in our area. No one showed up for church this last week and if you ask me it was because we did not do enough. Its super hard theres not much I can do. We had a lot drop us this last week aswell pretty sad after she had felt the spirit so strong Sandra the lady we found on my B-day said it was impossible she could not change I committed her to pray about the Book of mormon and felt really strong the spirit and she committed  we´ll see if she will follow an answer from God because it will come it always does.  

Anyway I gotta Email presidente  I Love you all so Much Fletcher Girls are trouble stick with Magik and  D and D and just live life to its fullest right now dont give your heart away. 

I love you all so much thanks for everything I have so much so much love Thank you Grandma Jaqui for the chocolate. 

Until next week 

Elder S-C