August 29, 2016 - Week 62

Mom,


Hey what's up Mom, how are you? I'm so happy to see that you guys had an action packed week in Utah, what a cool experience that Lauren and you all shared at the white coat ceremony! And I heard from Tommy that the first week at law school was made a little bit more difficult without a home base in Provo, but I'm so glad to hear that both of them are loving their grad schools! Also that is very impressive what you and Alyssa are doing every morning. Really the only challenging part about an early morning are the first few moments getting out of bed. But I'm really happy you guys are doing that!!


So the first week of being here with Elder Osborn went fantastic, and it finished with the best possible outcome... A baptism with 4 new investigators in church who will be baptized in September!! Our investigator was unsure about whether she wanted to be baptized or not, and on Wednesday we went to her house and had the strong impression to just simply teach her and testify to her about the atonement of Jesus Christ, and then let her decide what she needed to do. And she told us she wanted to be baptized. It is so amazing. I saw a video today of when the church just started out, and how it was just barely surviving, but God inspired His children in order to fulfill His eternal purposes. Each day I see more and more evidence of the fact that the movement and spreading of the true and restored gospel of Jesus Christ will go forward. It's amazing every day how many people have been prepared to hear this message, and then to act on it. I feel so blessed to be a witness to the marvelous work.


It has been so fun to be with Elder Osborn for this week, and I hope for many more. We have sooo much to talk about, and a lot of common experiences, but also a lot that he can teach me about. For example, he plays guitar super good, and actually has one here. So he´s taught me a lot about the music scene and its really interesting. People here are sometimes a little taken aback to see two super white, blonde haired, blue eyed Americans in Navojoa but we have fun with it. I'm really grateful and blessed to be his companion.


So it sounds like you all had a sick stake conference with a few GA´s. I am very grateful for the time and service that President Williams gave to his calling as stake prez, and I have no doubt that President Sorenson will continue with that. I've heard that there are a lot of new families in the ward.. is that right?? How are things going in the RS mom??


To answer your questions mom, yes we are still zone leaders and the zone is really good, therere a lot of new people. We´re thinking of a lot of fun ways to improve the work in the zone, I think it'll be cool.


Well, thanks so much for the letter, Mom, I'm so glad to hear how happy you all are, I love and miss you all.


Ryan

August 22, 2016 - Week 61

Mom,


Wow, what an awesome video that you guys did for Grandma and Grandpa!! If I'm not mistaken they share the same anniversary as you guys right? The 19th, also the anniversary for President and Sister Myers, so it must be a popular date. But it was awesome seeing such a big, beautiful family with those awesome pictures.


By the way, happy anniversary!! I had totally forgotten to wish you guys a happy anniversary last week but I did remember, how many is it this year? Close to 27?? How did you guys celebrate it? I hope you all got your fill of summer fun, with going back to school and summer officially being over haha. Just gear up and rest during the next 2 semesters 'cause we will be spending next summer together hahaha!!


So anyways, Elder Chichia did get transferred today. He's heading to like the most southern part of the mission, and I got a new companion today..... His name is Elder Osborn, he is from Salt Lake and we arrived in the mission together and hes was one of the first people I met in the airport on June 24th in SLC, haha. He and I have been great friends for a long time and actually always talked about being comps, so I'm really excited for this time we will have together. Of course, it is always hard to leave a comp who has been such a good friend like Chichia, but it is part of the mission, and one of the best parts is meeting other people.


So this week with our investigators, we had a new schedule and location with stake conference, and none of them went to church which felt like a huge gut punch, haha. But we will be having a baptism for Dulce hopefully this Sunday. She has been learning a lot, and tells us shes ready to make the jump to join the church... We found a lot of new people this week, including a family of 6 people who we are excited about.


Lauren's white coat ceremony sounds like a really cool ceremony, just based off the name. You´ll have to send me some pics and a small summary of how it was. It is so cool to hear about all the amazing things that our family is doing while I'm out here, I know I only hear a limited portion and on a limited basis, but it really is so great and I'm so proud of each and every one of you. There's no better motivation to work hard than knowing that I have a very supportive family who loves me.


Mom, I also wanna tell you that I loved the email you sent to the family!! I didn't quite realize how many blessings the Lord has given us during that time, and that he keeps giving us. A real testimony builder.


Well, I gotta roll, but I love you all so much and I miss you guys. It makes me so glad to hear that you're all doing well. Have a great week, and best of luck in all your endeavors!! I love you all.


Ryan

August 15, 2016 - Week 60

Mom,

What up fam, how are all you guys doing?? So today is the official start of our 6th week this transfer, so who knows what is going to happen. I've been here in Navojoa with Elder Chichia for 3 months now, and I've loved it. We´re both really hoping that we can stay together for another month and a half and keep working hard with the people we´ve found. Its not very common to be together that long, but its possible so we´ll see how it all goes. 

But how did the first day of school go? Haha I love looking back and reflecting on how I felt going back to another year of school after an entire summer of vacations, my heart goes out to all the poor kids who had to go through another first day of school today, including Lauren with medical school lol. 

So this week has been really good. I've had a little bit of a cough for like the whole weekend but today I finally felt a lot of improvement which was good. This whole week it rained a ton here, and like 90 % of the streets are made entirely out of dirt, and were not designed by grade a civil engineers, so there's always sooooooo much standing, muddy water after each rain. Its kinda a catch 22 because when it's raining, it's super cool outside and really nice for proselyting. But it's also a great way to get very dirty, haha. But the heat wears off a little bit in like a month and the rainy season stops, so that'll be really nice haha. 

On Thursday we had a zone conference with President and Sister Myers here in Navojoa and it was really great. He talked a lot about how much help the Lord gives us in our lives each day, and has some really awesome stories to back up the doctrine that he´s teaching, which I like a lot. Pretty much everything those 2 have done in their short time here has just impressed me with how helpful and awesome they have been. Then for Thursday and Friday I went to a superrrrr small town like an hour away, that is called Etchojoa with Elder Koford. We had a great time working together and then just chatting it up, it's always super nice to get to know someone better and find great friends in the mission.  With other missionaries and also the people we teach. 

As far as our investigators, one continues to progress super well. Something that is a great sign is that she is starting to invite all of her friends and family to start going to church and listening to us as well, and she told us she wants them to see if they can be as happy with it as she has been. Maybe she doesn't 100% realize it as her being a missionary and a huge help for them, but it makes our job sooo much easier when the people can be supported by their family and friends to investigate the church as well. Another one unfortunately has kinda taken a step back and hasn't gone to church. He told us that he is very confident in the church and feels good there just that right now his family doesn't want him there and he is scared of the problems there could be with that. It's really too bad, but I don't feel bad at all for the seed we planted with him, and I'm confident that in no time at all he will feel the assurance to go ahead and trust that everything else will be okay. So we´ve been finding a lot of new people and doing everything we can to get them to progress as well. 

So how was the week with the house full of wedding guests?? I did not recognize a few of those names you mentioned that were staying there but holy crap that was a ton of people who stayed with ya´ll. That's super cool that Trev and Logan's sealing was so spiritual, big congrats to the newlyweds! Seems like everyone is getting married now haha. That's really cool that Gma and Gpa will be able to go to SLC for Tommy and Courtney's wedding... Are they getting married in the Salt Lake temple or which one are they going to?

Anyways thanks so much for the love, I love you all so much and miss you!!

Have an awesome week,

Ryan 

August 8, 2016 - Week 59

Mom,

Hey how is everyone doing?? How are the preparations for the full house that you´ll have this week? Its so weird to hear about all the crazy things that are happening like weddings, and jobs, and schools. A lot of times it seems like there are not many things that have changed or that will be different when I get home, but now I'm seeing all that and it´s pretty crazy!! But change is good, the sadder thing would be if we never changed anything in our lives, haha. 

That's super exciting to hear about all the new mission calls!! Almost all the people we talk to are pretty interested in how these random Americans arrive in their house, and so it's cool to be able to explain to them how it works and how I have friends in just about every part of the world doing exactly what I'm doing haha. That's exciting. The work here is going well. I wanna tell you guys a story real quick. On Saturday night I was working with one of the other elders in our ward, Elder Beecher. And we went to a house and then after at like 8:30, we were looking for something to do, and a lady started to talk to us and asked us about the role of the family and we explained it to her and she loved it and said she had really been looking for something like this in her life. Then earlier this week, I was working with another elder who is from Colombia, and there is a recent convert here who is also from Colombia, so he made us dinner that was super good. Kinda a fun intercultural night, haha.

I really loved hearing those stories and example you gave with Heavenly Father responding to our prayers. It's interesting how sometimes people tend to separate the things in their lives like spiritual and temporal, but the thing is, if it's important to us, it's also important to God. So we really should have zero hesitation to  ask for his help. 

The investigators here are doing well. We are working hard with each one of their needs, and in 2 weeks we´re hoping to have Dulce´s baptism. The ward is doing a great job at including her in all the activities and supporting her. I have no idea what it would really feel like to be investigating the church with zero prior knowledge of it, but I imagine it would be very very difficult. So any time we have a chance as members to help someone out in that part of their lives, we can really be the answer to lots of their prayers.

Well, I'm kinda short on time, I'll make sure to write you all more next week but I love you all. Send me pics of the week and have an awesome time, tell everyone I love them and send them my best wishes!!!

Love you and Miss you!

Ryan 

August 1, 2016 - Week 58

Family,


Hey, how ya´ll doing?  Happy August!! We´re almost through summer! Well not really, but if we´re measuring summer by the time you guys have off of school, then we´re almost through summer. Haha But how was your week? Clock is kinda ticking on the vacations, but it will be nice to get school started and get in the swing of that again.


So this week here had a little bit of everything... We are working well with the people and we also had Dayana´s baptism this weekend which was awesome. Right now we´re really working hard with Reuben and Dulce, and also a family of 4 that we found. They're all very great people and interested. Each and every day I realize more and more how the gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that is made for the well being of each person, regardless of age or country or anything else. It will help any person in anything we might have in our lives. So with that being said, we have a lot of work to do with all the people but it is all worth it when we see them experiencing those changes and improvement in their lives!!


Something that was sad, but an overall really spiritual moving experience was that one of the people we were teaching and working with died this week. His name was Trinidad and he was a less active member, whose daughter is very active but it´s just the two of them that live together, and they're both older and live in humble circumstances. He died early Saturday morning and they did the funeral service on Sunday. They asked us to participate in the funeral service and it was really amazing to be able to share a small part of the wonderful news of the gospel to people who were in deep need of hearing it. Of course I will miss Hermano Trinidad but I'm at peace knowing that there are other missionaries picking up where we left off with him.


Tonight we are going to travel to Obregon for a meeting tomorrow with President Myers. I really like the direction we´re going in as a mission and I'm realizing that with such little time left, I really have to make the most of it. I know that is probably the most cliche saying among missionaries. But I really have thought about a scripture that I remember you used to always share with us, Mom.


"Men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;


“For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward."


Pretty wise words. Something I really wanna work on and continue working on it for the rest of my life.


Well Mom, I hope you have an awesome week. Know you're always in my thoughts and prayers, I miss you all lots!!!


Love you so much! Elder Stockard