Well well well changes...are you excited!!!!

Changes are here and well I´m staying here wwwwoooot 

I have a new companion he is from Canada his name: ELder Nielson

and I am District Leader crazy huh

Ya came as pretty a surprise to me for sure but I am exited for sure I love Rivera and I am exited to be able to help other elders in our mission. 

But that is enough of that I do not have much time but lets see this week was a tough one a tough one for sure honestly I think 2 thirds of all our lessons fell through this week for some reason or other. Right now it is the time of a giant Brazilian Holiday called Carnival which is just women in underwear or nothing dancing so everyone is on vacation pretty much and everyone of our investigators stayed up far too late saturday and destroyed our attendence in the branch. 

However we still had one heck of a charla with Juanita our best investigator for the moment. One of the most amazing charlas I think I have ever had in the mission. Our investigator Juanita has been talking to other family members about the church about all she has been learning and well she invited 5 family mebers to a lesson and we had a member and everything and we taught about the resteration and I have never had a group that big listen so intently to the message. The spirit was powerful and I think there could be an amazing new family in the branch. The intresting thing is they were all women just goes to show women are so much better than the rest of us guys. They look for the spiritual things so much more than we. 

Ok Now get this about Sebastian.. So he loves to go out and go to lessons with us and so we take him quite a bit we were trying to get him to bring a young girl to church becuase he is a studly guy but anyway. So after a couple of lessons fell through he asked us hey will you come over and help me with my Duty to God..... so we did this kid was baptised less that a year ago he lives with only his older brother who is 20 something and so we get there and he had already been doing a lot of it on his own. We asked his who he had been doing it with becuase you need more than 1 person becuase there is a part about sharing what you learn. He told us oh Mauro the only other active young man in the ward with a active family I couldn´t believe the goodness of that young guy. He has no one and is just so good by himself. I never got my Duty to god what a looser. Seba goes with a couple of other mebers and makes food and sells it so that he can go to the temple aswell. What an amazing kid no!!?? 

I gotta go I have things to do it is the last day for my comp here so I gotta go I also played with a baby pitbull ther other day

I love you all I hope you enjoy the photos I will talk to you next week 

Elder Stewart Chester

Views of Uruguay..

 

Zone conference....

But anyway some of the pictures yes I bought a sweet pancho me and my comp:)

 '

So hot I come home sweaty and drenched most days!!!

um THe picture of the kid on the couch is Sebastian the one I want Tate to marry. I´ll talk about him later.

Our Bug Strip...yuck

  and oh that is us an average day on the Bus all crammed together. We take busses everywhere.

then you´ve got pictures of Burger king wooper it may not mean anything to you guys but to us here its gold.

 Brady said there are soo many stray animals dogs and cats...it is really sad, but the only positive is that they get to play with lots of puppies and kittens...This is his companion Elder Nielsen from Alaska

those are some families in the ward that are awesome.

 

 

 

No pictures this week, maybe next week!

Well I really just want to tell you all that I love you all. I find it hard to tell you all why I am so happy all the time. I just am I love being a missionary if they ask me to go help open the China mission when I get home sorry I would have to go:) they wont do it but maybe.... 

First off next week is changes and it is going to be a really short change only 4 weeks becuase they are setting us up on the same schedual as the MTC and so we are losing 2 weeks... I have been waiting to tell you because well I dont really like it because well they are taking 2 weeks from my mission and well I want to extend my mission so we´ll see what happens there is a long time still until that time. 

any way where do you start about my week.... well we had interviews with presidente this last week tuesday and they were awesome I cannot really explain how my presidente is but all you have to do is picture one of the nicest men you know who is just filled with charity and then thats him. We spent the entire interview laughing.. you would think he would ask questions about my progress etc but just in the short 10-12 min he just talks and he asks about life and things about the mission often I feel as though he already knows he can tell in our eyes the spirit about us our love for the lord and that is how the interview is dictated. 

It is Hott!!! I mean Ben and MAtt definately have it worse but still the himidity kills It is my number 1 enemy here in the mission. everywhere you go soaked:) rained a bit though the other day so luckily its not too bad right now. 

We had a water activty the other day we used the water balloons you gave me Mom and we threw them across the feild with towells catching them back and forth. they loved it! huge success for sure. We were going to have a slip and slide but someone threw away the tarp we had bought and stuck together and so we could not make it happen the kids would´ve flipped they would´ve been so happy.

My companion killed a mouse the other day that was destroying our house. do you know one of those electric fly swatters that are like rackets? well he smacked it with the rackets and well yep killed it we had been trying to get him for a while. 

We had an amazing family home eve lesson the other day and I actually met an angel on earth her name is Victoria and she is 7 and does not have very good use of her legs she had a problem as a baby and well it  left her like that. She was the neighbor of an inactive family we are working with and we shared an awesome visual lesson with them and then watched the Scripture videos for little kids. they loved it. My comp and I  as we talked to this little girl that wants to walk so bad she has a walker thing and she walks around with the weels and support. She spoke way older than 7 and I was remainded often of president monsons talk when he went to this sick little girls house to give the blessing and they fell to the floor due to the spirit. This little girls faith was tangable made me look at life very differently I wanted to adopt her and take her home. She is an angel on earth.

WE are having some trouble with some of our investigators that just do not want to come to church so we are going to start leaving some strong commitments and then look for those the lord will put in our path. We are still teaching Juanita and she is awesome she is inviting like everyone in her family to come to church with her and to listen to the missionaries aswell. can you believe that Juanita likes like 1 street away from our house. Looks like we were ment to teach her right now.

Anyway I love you all be safe go on missions love the lord give the lord a little more each day and find those that are suffering and lift them up . Nothing is better than that in this world. 

Elder Stewart-Chester

ps. Fletch someone here in the cyber is playing mine craft game with all the cubes ya thought of you little bro

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life in riviera

 

 

Dear every one of you HOw have you been these days?

I hear that there is a bad sickness going arround down (I think he meant up:) there? anybody sick? Ok first off to answer your question mom,  no I still have not bought new shoes. I went today to look. I  took out money and everything but I just could not find anything I liked.  I am very picky when it comes to futbol shoes. But I´m looking.

My week hmmm... it was a good one. I am getting better at understanding portugues. I dont speak it very much because everyone understands spanis, but it is really fun to speak. We say it sounds like spanish with your mouth full of food hahhaa. But mostly it is fun to speak the way they accent everything. We actually found a lady who only speaks portugues yesterday tracting in a remote part of our area.  yaaaa I know my shoes are detroyed.   Its just when you have something for so long you get attached.

Sorry all the different windows I have pulled up just phych me out trying to write this email is intresting.

I think I might pull a Ben and Matt today and write something spiritual, but first I´ll tell you a little of my week.

Something that happened this week that was super well awesome was we met a professor who was communist, a very open young guy. He let us in and we had one of the craziest lessons of my mission. It was one of those lessons where at the end you wonder to yourself maybe that was why I was sent to this mission. I felt God putting words in my mouth. bringing up things I had learned from my life and it was such an insane lesson. The crazy thing was yes he was comunist but he is Christian as well. He explained about how he believed that Christ taught communism etc. We talked about the law of consecration and prophets and it went back and forth. His wife was also there listening to us both go back and forth. We talked about Dogmas and how we both were dogmatic and so much I cannot put in an email. But in the end he said ok what advice would you give me and I just stumbled through my words until god just put the words in my mouth I talked about the will of God and how that is the most important thing there is and I invited him to read the Book of MOrmon... after that he was like wow that was so clever you left me no room to say anything. He literally was one of the best informed men I have met here. It was insane He may come to our church of of these days the problem is he goes to achurch that is very different I cant really explain it well in email but they believe in letting spirits mof light almost like angels into your body. So we´ll see where it goes from there. other things that happened were it rained the day of our activity after we had filled tons of water balloons and made a slip and slide so we had to change the activity.  Then we also saved a kitten in the street on divisions. I went with an Elder that recently began his mission. a really good guy but it just reinforced the fact in my mind that I am an older elder in the mission... crazy.

I also met two elders from the brazil mission today. Twas nuts.

Anyway, I have been thinking and praying about all of you my family much especially my family that has been on the move for the bazillionth time. First I´m ok with it I get in-state tuition. But I have been praying for you all. This morning I studied up about how to feel the spirit and understand where he needs you to go. As a people I think we worry so much about this searching and searching wanting sure answers but what I have found in my mission more often than not its just thoughts that jump into your mind. I have found that God works through small and simple things. There are things I cannot wait to do now that I am here and think about all of you. First will be to teach Fletch how to become the biggest stud before he even enters into the MTC. I have learned so much I cannot wait to bless the lives of others Fletcher, Teddy, Tanner and Flynn will all be the best missionaries in their missons. I have been thinking of way to send you comfort in hard times but all I feel is the need to send my love your way. Remember its another adventure another day and more lives to impact and make a difference. We spend so much time worrying about the stupidest things in our short lives but the truth is being far away I have come to realize that I Love my family so much and should´ve spent more time with each of them. I have found the importance of each and every one of the actions we do every day and how we can make a huge difference in the life of someone else just filling them with our love.

I spoke on Sunday and almost cried in front of our branch but the tears did not fall. I talked about Presidents Monson's talk in the Priesthood session about seeing in others how they can become. I teared up talking about about the love for the mission and for the amazing experience of seeing someone change.

The CHURCH IS TRUE. I know it I live it I LOVE IT. I love my MOM I almost cry in every lesson where I talk about how she put me where I am today. I love you all. I feel your prayers I hope you feel mine. Keep your head up and love the Journey like mom says!

Those are all the fotos of me and my comp in all the greenery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

countryside in riviera

 

 

 

   Brazillian Money....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elder Stewart-Chester

Well WELL Well Can I just say I love it here

I spent the entire afternoon in Brazil eating hotdogs looking through american food and drinking Guadiana it has been a good day. I really enjoy it here. It is the first area I have been in with 4 elders and one of the elders in my house is Elder Nord who is my buddy from the CCM from Alaska. It is just great we eat great things and it helps because you can brainstorm in 4 for activities and things a long those lines.

It is pretty crazy here because everyone speaks a mixture of portugues and spanish called portuñol that sometimes kills me and I have no idea what in the world they are saying. I really need to work on my portugues. Here in Rivera half of the city is in Brazil and the other half in Uruguay so all you do is cross in the middle of a plaza and you are in brazil we are aloud to go like 6 streets in I think. But talking to cashiers on the brazil side was wow tough stuff I felt like I had just arrived here in Uruguay and did not understand spanish anymore. Its really funny even their spanish has a funny accent.

I live a little bit out of the main part of the city but it is really nice sort of like my 2nd area in salto with lots of dirt streets but its nicer and no bikes. We are acually in a branch this time and it is pretty stong. The truth is it could use some good hard wor, but I am ready for that. Here they have lots of things from the states food, electroniocs etc and they have tons of things from brazil super cheap because it is a border town. So basically I just keep running around like a little girl hugging all these cheap great things.

My comp Elder Minter is from California a city called yucapa and he is a super good guy who knows why he is here and wants to serve the lord. I find myself filled with tons of excitement that I have feltt I have lacked and fasted for in past changes.We have not too much investigators so we are in finding mode but we have found some good people and our main goals are to build the ward leave this area booming filled with success and strength in the branch.

Wow I was trying to upload pictures but it is not working so I´ll have to work on that another day. I was sad to leave Montivideo after such a short short time but I find myself better here and feel more needed in the work. My spanish has really begun to amaze me how much the lord has blessed me I speak a lot lot better then many with more time than me and I really need to thank the Lord more. I have had a pretty rough last change but i have become a way better teacher I have a long way to go but I know the lord had a reason to give me every companion I have ever received.

It was so good to talk to my family.   I havent said anything yet.  Im  not going to lie I miss them. I miss all of them all of you but itI would take a lot of bullet wounds to make me think about going home hahaha. No I love you it scares me how much you have all changed and continue to do so I am getting more and more scared for Tate to be 17 becuase that just makes her sound too old. I think of her as a 4 or 5 year old telling me that she was going to tell mom on me.  I love you Tate.

Anyway time has no friends and niether do my typing skills.  I love you all!  Be safe, love the Lord study the scriptures and understand that God understands it all thank goodness we dont have too.

"Home is Behind the Wo---rld ahead and there are many paths to tread"

Elder Stewart-Chester

Well It has been a very long tiring week with way not enough sleep

First off My Change:

I´m already leaving!!!! can you believe it not going to lie I was pretty sad

I´m going up North to where its really Hot And well I will be on the border of Brasil and Uruguay in RIVERA 

My new comp is called ELder Minter he is from the states I am pretty stoked to work super hard with him up there not too exited for the heat but I´m going to buy a giant hat and loose myself in the work I am exited to make more of a difference It felt too much like my companion had everything under control here. I am actually oppening up the area. there was only 2 missionaries before for a really big area but now they are sending us up there. I really could not believe it but hey the lords in charge. 

I forgot to tell you all about a costom the children have here.... well maybe I already did but just incase so leading up to Christmas all the children begin to ask every passerby for money. The say "Coins for Judas" because what they do us they use that monet to buy tons of fireworks and every year they burn and put fireworks inside of a dummy(judas). so every year they burn Judas here..... Not really sure Jesus Christ would enjoy that custom.

I actually went to the offices to talk to presidente who gave me my change a little early so I was able to say goodbye to a lot more people and take some pictures. I am just bummed that I never get to spend any time in an area everyone is literally astounded by my changes my comp who is finishing his mission only has 5 areas. I cannot believe first that I will have been out here a year in 10 days and second that Tate will be 17 it scares me a lot to think of myself so old. 

I have decided that this next year all I want and desire is to think of others with all my heart and mind, and to feel the spirit every day through testifying and in the end haveing the grand change of heart that is described in the Book of MOrmon. 

 

 The trash from all the fireworks from the New Years Eve Spectacle.....

 

 

I have had a couple of pretty good days since we last talked Happy New years my Newyears was pretty good could´ve been better but cant complain lots and lots of fireworks. 

 

Today was a super crazy day I am in the heart of the city right now(i took pictures for another day) we went and ate at a place called California Burrito. here in the heart there are tons of people from the states and I talked to a bunch today. It was super strange they said I have an accent on my English how terrible.:) It was super strange good thing I am going back to the Campo!!! 

Wow all those people are married...... wierd.....

I love the mission I am so tired I am sick of packing and I know that tomorrow I am going to have little to no sleep again but I will find the strength and I wont let it slow me down. I am greatful to give the lord a small sacrifice such as this. He has given me so much. I am so grateful for all of you your words of wisdom I like Ben and Matt am touched often but what you all have written me. 

Just remember I think of you often even though I am terrible at writing letters but I am going to be better at that too this year!!!!

I love you next week I will be in Rivera burning alive!!!

Elder Stewart-Chester

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