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