Hello everyone! I just wanted to thank you all first for all the
birthday wishes! It really means a lot to me! Feeling a little bit of
extra love this week, you guys are the best:)

So this week was great. We had another lesson with Anita and she had
almost finished reading the whole story of when Christ visited the
Americas! It was so awesome. She says she really enjoys reading the
Book of Mormon. She really wants to know if it is true for herself so
i am really really excited for her because that is the hardest thing
sometimes, just helping them have the desire to really read and put
the effort into figuring out for them selves.

This week was really awesome! Tons of people were put into out path
which was really cool. One day in particular we had a couple hours
planned to go tracting and we only knocked like one door! People were
just outside and guess what, THEY ALL SPOKE SPANISH! That day
especially me and Hermana were really feeling the Lords hand in our
lives. Heavenly Father answers His missionaries prayers.  I mean we
did a little detective work. Missionaries are so creepy. We started
speaking to this little boy in Spanish and asked him where he lived.
Haha we were laughing as we walked away. We told him to not normally
tell strangers where he lives Hahahaha.....

So one thing with the branch that I'm in is that a lot of people have
A LOT of problems with our branch mission president. I hear all the
time all the drama and it's just sad. It's been really hard for the
branch and has hurt it a lot. There are in particular a couple big
people as in people who were really involved in the church who
completely left the church because of him. But last week a miracle
happened. It was so cool. One of them came back to church! I was just
talking to members before sacrament meeting and in they walked.  It
was so cool and the members were so excited. It brought such a
different spirit into the room and I think really gave them a lot of
hope. The lady got up and bore her testimony talking how she felt like
a lost sheep and that now she was found. She talked about how she is
learning how to love her leaders. She's scared for what she's going to
say to Heavenly Father why she didn't come to His house for all that
time. It was really cool to see and the spirit was super strong. It
took a lot of humility from them to come. Seriously such a miracle.

This week has been great and I have really felt so loved. The branch
here, there are like family to me. Like this whole week people have
made me special big dinners for my birthday with cake and treats and
everything. I have felt so loved and such love for them as well. I am
so grateful for the opportunity that I had to get to know them,
Heavenly Father has blessed me so much.


Love,

Hermana Stewart

 good week! (The subject line is what this member says EVERY time he
sees us hahah)

So we got this one guys number randomly and called him and set up an
appointment but he lives in a really creepy house so we had to make
sure we had a member because we had no idea who this guy was.  The
first night we went there we saw this one guy and we told him we were
looking for Armando and he said that he hadn't come home yet and he
refused to give us his name. We called Armando again and set up a
return appointment for the next day. Our member told us we couldn't
ever go there by ourselves because it's a really sketchy house and a
kinda sketchy guy. So he came with us again! Turns out the guy we
talked to the night before was Armando... Awkward. Hahah but we had a
really great lesson with him and his family actually! It all made
sense to them and now they really want to start coming to activities
and church! Yay!

So I'm going to Ethiopia after my mission. Met the sweetest old man
from ethiopia and he said it was going to happen so I guess it is. He
also said I could stay with his family all I would have to do is get
myself there.  He also told us he loves us, haha cutest old man. Sorry
that was random but it was just a little tender mercy one day.

Awkward story. Went to contact this lady and she was outside and I'm
pretty sure I was saying hola for a solid five minutes and she ignored
us so I just left her a pamphlet and walked away. Hahahaha what??

Our car died on Sunday. So two Hermanas were just walking along the
side of the road. Our neighbors really wanted to drive us but we told
him it was against the rules, he thinks we have too many rules(He also
wanted to pay us really bad to watch his cat). But luckily  some
members saw us and pulled over on the side of the  road.  "¡Hermanas
corran!"

Had a really great lesson with a lady named Anita. She is awesome! She
seemed kinda skeptical and not super crazy about the Book of Mormon
idea because all she had read was the bible her whole life but by the
end she was opening up to it. We left her with a copy and 3 Nefi 11,
the next day we followed up over text to see if she had read it and
she said she did and a lot more than we gave as well. She really liked
it!!! SO that was a miracle!!

Something I've really been thinking about this week is how much
Heavenly Father really wants to bless us.

52 And continue thenceforth their labor as had been promised by the
Lord, and be partakers of all blessings which were held in reserve for
them that love him.

Hola a todos!

Well this week was kind of a harder week but ended up pretty well!
This week we had been kinda having a hard time finding new people to
teach but yesterday we knocked on three doors and they all let us in
and we taught them and they became new investigators! One of them told
us the reason really they let us in was because they know Mormons are
"Buena gente" they kept saying that over and over again because one
time something happened with their car and no one pulled over to help
for a really long time until some missionaries pulled over and stayed
with them for 3 hours, talk about planting seeds!

We have had some real struggles with Yeli this week. Her husband isn't
crazy about her meeting with us so that kinda makes things hard but we
are still trying with her.

Something I really feel like I have been learning throughout my
mission is learning how to accept Gods will.  And the thing that has
really helped me do that is prayer. I'm so grateful for it.

Good timber does not grow with ease,


               The stronger wind, the stronger trees.


               The further sky, the greater length.


               The more the storm, the more the strength.


               By sun and cold, by rain and snow,


               In trees and men good timbers grow.




"I promise you that you will one day stand aside and look at your
difficult times, and you will realize that He was always there beside
you."

Sorry I really don't have any time this week because it's zone p day
so I have like no time sorry but I love you all!

Love,
Hermana Stewart

hello, my subject line is a direct quote from one of the young women in the branch..... hahaha I love her with all my heart!!!

So we finally put Yeli on date which was like the biggest miracle ever! (Shes the one that asked for Book of Mormon scriptures to read when she was sad) Okay first of all funny story with her.... her name isn't actually Yeli. We were teaching Follow the Prophet and we had just finished watching the latest talk by Thomas S. Monson and then testifing about it when Hermana Valentine said something along the lines of "Yeli will you pray to know if Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God?" And then Yeli said, "Yes, but my name isn't Yeli" I didn't know what to do in that moment hahahahhahh, I've known her for quite a while and we are really close friends..... hahaha I was just like why didn't you tell me??? Haha needless to say it was a really funny moment and I am still laughing about it. Anyway so after that whole fiasco we the spirit was really strong again and we asked her to baptized for the millionth time. I kid you not the  last time we asked she did not want to! She said that she'd already been baptized and she didn't need to get baptized and that would be like playing with God. She just didn't get the whole authority thing but this time she totally did. It was like a completely new person she readily accepted a baptisimal date! Hallelujiah! I kid you not when I say when we got in the car I screamed of happiness:) I think Hermana Valentine might think I am a little crazy hahahah!

Here's an excerpt from the talk by Elder Uchtdorf: He Will Place You on His Shoulders and Carry You Home, I would say you should all read it. It has really helped me:) Love you all!
 The sheep is worthy of divine rescue simply because it is loved by the Good Shepherd.

To me, the parable of the lost sheep is one of the most hopeful passages in all of scripture.

Our Savior, the Good Shepherd, knows and loves us. He knows and loves you.

He knows when you are lost, and He knows where you are. He knows your grief. Your silent pleadings. Your fears. Your tears.

It matters not how you became lost—whether because of your own poor choices or because of circumstances beyond your control.

What matters is that you are His child. And He loves you. He loves His children.

Love,

Hermana Stewart