June 5, 2017 - Week 102

Family and friends,

Well this is it, family! The last time I will be writing you guys as a full-time missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! I'll tell you a little bit about how my week went, because it was one of the best ones I've had in my whole mission!!

Oh and btw, yes go ahead and invite all extented family to the airport, I would be thrilled to see them all!!

So, as you can imagine, lately there have been a lot of ¨Lasts¨ and a lot more to come in this week to be sure. But on Wednesday we went to Los Mochis and had our last zone conference with President Myers. He never fails to impress us, and this was no exception. Per tradition, all of the missionaries who are finishing their missions give their final testimony at the end. I got to hear very powerful testimonies from some of my closest friends and some companions that I started the mission with and that was really cool. After the zone conf, I did a companionship exchange with Elder Cuevas, we came back to Choix and were together for a few days. The whole time we were working as hard as I think I've ever worked and seeing many awesome changes in people, feeling the spirit, and finding new people who heard and accepted the message that we brought to them. I wish I could tell you about each one of them in more detail!! The best part of all was on Sunday when 36 people came to church, including 10 investigators!! It was so moving to see the tiny little church building filled to capacity and to hear the testimonies of the members. It was most definitely an experience I won't forget. I will continue to work as hard as I possibly can to continue finding and teaching people in the time I have left! Tomorrow we will be having a baptism which I'm also very excited about, so I will show you all pictures when I get home next week!!!

It's a definite mix of emotions to be leaving a place, a people, and such an important assignment that has been my whole life for the last 2 years. Over the past two years there have been a number of times where there was nothing I would've wanted more than to be in the comfort of my own home, with my normal life, doing the things I was accustomed to doing for the first 19 years of my life. However, there have been so many more times that I have found myself at a loss for words, amazed at the tender mercies of the Lord, his infinite love for us, His children, and the joy that living His gospel brings. I have seen people crying, begging, yearning to find the joy of the gospel. If I lived to be a million years old I will never forget the feelings that it brings to see those very people learn about these eternal truths, put them into practice, and experience the saving grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I have come to better know that same feeling in my life, and have the assurance that His way is the only way that will truly lead us to lasting happiness, and eventually to be saved and return to live in the presence of our Heavenly Father. I know that the Lord tests us, but never more than what we can withstand, and never without providing a way to overcome and ultimately become stronger from those moments. And finally, I know that the very Savior and Redeemer of the world, the omnipotent creator of this very universe and all of the things that in it are, Jesus Christ, loves us so much, with such an undying, infinite, perfect love, that he has restored His true church and in that church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the fullness of His everlasting gospel is found. It is directed by him through living prophets, it is the only church that has the priesthood of God. I know that God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ spoke to Joseph Smith. That through him we now have the Book of Mormon, which is another testament of Jesus Christ. It has the power to penetrate even the hardest of hearts. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is upon the face of the earth. The church is true!!! I am sure of it, and I am so thankful for it!! I am so thankful for each and every one of you, you are my biggest blessing and I could never begin to thank you for all that you have given me. I love you all, and I can't wait to lay eyes on you, hug you, and catch up on time spent apart.

I close with the immortal words of Aubrey Drake Graham.... Tell them fix my suite up, cause your boy´s coming home.

All Love,

Ryan

May 29, 2017 - Week 101

Mom,

I'm glad to hear that you are all keeping busy with travels, appointments, activities and errythang else!! I am too, but with different things. It's really the best advice, like you said, to just keep busy and stay focused on the task at hand and everything, in its due time, will come! But wow it really is exciting, even surreal, to think about being back with all of you so soon, the people I love the most! I know that it will all go by so fast and so I want to take in every moment and make the most of these last 2 weeks. I like the analogy of the Plan of Salvation and the mission. Each day we learn more about what we must do better and how we can improve and the mission really helps me out so much with that process. 

So today was super cool, we got together with a few other missionaries and played basketball for like 3 hours in the morning. It was definitely a good little exercise since we were running around and sweating in 90 degrees haha. It was a lot of fun though. Earlier in the week we had a good amount of things going on too. I went to San Blas, a very small town that's part of our district about 2 hours away from Choix, to do companionship exchanges and also a couple of baptismal interviews. I went with Elder White, who is from that place haha. But he is in his first couple of months in his mission and a really awesome kid. It was so cool to be able to just tell him about all the awesome experiences he will have and the things he will see and learn throughout his time as a missionary here. I admire the courage and faith of the new missionaries who are learning so many things, such as a new language, and still working very hard. 

As far as our investigators. Well I was out of Choix for a good part of the week and so I wasn't able to see all of them, unfortunately, one of them actually went to the United States to bring back some products for their clothing store.  We told her about the Visitor's Center in the Mesa temple and she said she would like to go, hopefully she was able to make it, we are still yet to see her. Her baptism is programmed for this weekend, hopefully everything works out well with that! On Sunday we had one of Pres. Myers' counselors visit the branch and he trained all of the members on how to participate in the missionary efforts. They all seem really excited to continue with that so we should be seeing some fruits of those labors soon!!

Thanks for the advice on some things to bring home , I really like those ideas. I'll keep my eyes peeled. These last two weeks will be filled with many ¨lasts.¨ I really feel and appreciate your love and support for me. I'm so lucky to have you all as my family! There couldn't be a better one. Hope you all have an incredible week, you will be in my prayers, as always. Love you all so much!!!

Ryan 

May 22, 2017 - Week 100

Mom,


What a busy weekend you guys had, chock-full of graduation-related activities. So weird to me that I graduated 3 years ago, and for two of those years I have been in Mexico!! It sure doesn't seem like it's been that long. I'm super proud of Lyss for the hard work she's put in over these 4 years, it will really pay off!! I wish I could have been there to see her graduation speech! If you have any of those videos I would love to see them when I get back home, or if not, a summary of what she spoke on will do haha. The pics look good! There you go, Mom and Dad, all 4 of your kids have now graduated HS, woo!!

So as far as the work here in Choix... It is progressing well. We are working currently with G and A. This week they made a lot of progress, and it is really showing. She has been reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it, something that she had done previously too but still had some doubts. This week she has been telling us more and more about what she's been reading, and she also told us that she feels like God has responded to her prayers and that she feels like the BoM is truly inspired scripture from God because, in her words, "It invites us to do good things in every verse." We are planning their baptism for the first weekend in June and I'm super excited for that! We are also working with a man named Antonio who we found because he was reading an English version of the Bible outside of his shaved ice business, pretty easy conversation starter, haha. Turns out he lived in AZ for many years, is a Christian, but not affiliated with any church. He also gave us free shaved ice, which is always a plus haha. We will continue to work with him, and I'm excited to see what questions he has.

My goals are going well, I'm currently in chapter 27 of 3rd Nephi. I've been reading a lot more lately. Last week I found a book in the house that an old missionary left called the Stick of Joseph. It talks about the origin of the Book of Mormon in depth and it's really well written. I started reading it Thursday night, and by 11:00 AM Friday morning, I had finished it. I'm still working on memorizing the Living Christ and I think I'm doing alright, it's a little bit harder to quantify how well I have it memorized but I'm working on it haha!

That's so awesome that you guys are now out of school and that you're working hard towards your goals with the marathon and your reading. I remember your half will be in July but what date will it be? Ill be there at the finish line cheering you all on.

Grandpa Andros mentioned to me that he's busy thinking of what he can take home with him to remember Ukraine and I got to thinking.. I don't know what I would like to take home with me as a souvenir, haven't ever really thought of it. If you have any good ideas, let me know you are really good at thinking of creative good things like that haha. I will also be on the look out!!

Well, I love you all so much, I hope you have a great week and know that you're always in my thoughts and prayers!! I love you all!!

Ryan

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May 15, 2017 - Week 99

A shot of Ryan during his Mother's Day call

Mom and Family,

Hey, I feel like I'm getting spoiled this week, talking to you guys two days in a row! Of course, its hard to top a video call with everyone present,but its still always so great to hear from you all!! Yesterday, and the other 3 video calls that I've had, have easily been the highlights of my mission, it's always such a fun time laughing and talking with the people who I love the most! 

Yeah, so the other really great parts of the week.... We continue to work with our investigators, who are super super awesome. They have been going to church, tonight they're actually going to a family home evening at a member's house. Fellowshipping plays such a big role in the progression of any member, especially recent converts because they see how one of the great blessings of the church is the support we receive from others. So I'm hoping that they will continue to progress and if I'm here for their baptism that'd be great. The branch is going on a temple trip in July, and they mentioned how they'd like to go too. 

Well it looks like everyone will be keeping pretty busy in these last few weeks before we reunite. The Lord will always bless those who work hard and that's the plan!! I love you all so much, it's hard to believe how great of a family I have been blessed with. I couldn't imagine it any other way! You all are the best. I hope you have a great week and continue to work hard. 

Love,

Ryan 

May 8, 2017 - Week 98

Mom,

Hey family, what's happenin? What a week jam packed full of weddings! Big congrats to the 3 newly wedded couples, I'm glad to hear that everything went well with the weddings. So real quick to answer your question... Yeah so we know that if we have to leave Choix after like noon, we should pack an overnight bag because we won't make it on the last buses back. But yes, that usually means that we just sleep on the floor of an apartment or that we push the two twin sized beds together and sleep lengthwise across them. Either way its pretty uncomfortable, hahaha.

Yeah, so this week was a good one. It's always fun to get to know a new companion, I feel like I learn a little piece of a new culture too since Elder Cassano is from Peru. It always make me curious to go to places that my friends are from to be able to see all the cool things they talk about. Most everybody speaks very fondly of their home when they've been away for so long, haha. Yeah so we´ve been working hard with the members here. A couple of weeks ago we set a goal with the branch president to get a home and visiting teaching schedule set up, and this past week we were helping some of the members do some of those visits to the other members. And it works, there were 22 people in church including a family of 3 investigators! Haha, it doesn't sound like much, but there have been as few as 7 in church so it is progress. As far as my personal goals that I mentioned to you a couple of weeks ago... I am about to finish the book of Alma, and I figured out that I have to keep a pace of about 6 pages a day to be able to finish. I have read the Living Christ a lot in Spanish and it's pretty hard to memorize it completely but I am gonna try to have a good part of it down! haha 

This week the same organization that the doctors from America came down with last month came down again on Friday. I had been excited the whole month to work with them again, and so on Friday we went and it turned out a little disappointing, haha. The whole team of docs couldn't make it down, there was a little bit of miscommunication and there was just one surgery that day, and a lot of sitting around. It was still a good experience, but a lot less busy than the last time, haha. The surgery that they did was actually a little girl who was born with 6 toes, it reminded me of Abby Belle when she was born. And the doctor who did it was an LDS podiatrist from So California. 

It sounds like you all will have a pretty busy couple of weeks!! I'm super stoked to see all of you this Sunday and talk to you guys!! We will have a lot to talk about haha. I was thinking that we could do the call at like 4:30 Nevada time? That would be 5:30 here and in Utah. We have a pretty flexible schedule, would that time work out for all of you guys? I asked an investigator to let me use her laptop, which is one of the only ones in Choix I'm pretty sure, haha. So I will try to make sure that there will be no technical difficulties but just fair warning, haha. 

I got my flight plans today too... I will forward them to everybody in case you haven't seen them yet!! One more month, pretty nuts!! Well, I love you guys so much and I can't wait to talk to you all on Sunday! I'm blessed to have the best family ever! 

All Love,

Ryan 

May 2, 2017 - Week 97

Mom,

Hey how are you doing?? I am coming in a day late because yesterday was our transfer day and by the time I got back to my area, it was too late to write. So on Sunday we got a call informing us that Elder Wood would be going to Navojoa, and that I would be receiving a new companion, Elder Cassano. So yesterday we woke up very early to catch a bus into Los Mochis and then Elder Wood and I parted ways and he caught a bus to Navojoa. It was really disappointing to have to say goodbye to him but he´ll be a blessing in a lot of people´s life, just as he was in mine. So a few hours after that, Elder Cassano arrived (he was coming from Obregon). He is a really nice guy, he´s from Lima, Peru and has a little over a year on the mission... this is my last transfer, so he will be the companion that I finish with... pretty weird to think about right?

So Elder Wood and I had a good last week together... It was very busy and included a lot of traveling but it was very fun and rewarding. At the beginning of the week we were nailing down the last few details with the baptism (Place, time, date, dress, etc.) which is always exciting. Then after that it got pretty busy. On Thursday night we had to go to El Fuerte to do a baptismal interview for some other missionaries and by the time we finished there were no longer any buses that took us back to Choix, which was kinda to be expected. It worked out alright though because the next day we had a meeting in Los Mochis that we had to go to. So we crashed with Elder Christensen and his companion, who live in between Choix and Los Mochis, haha.It was super fun just chatting with them and then going to the meeting in Los Mochis on Friday.

When we finally got back to Choix we had a really successful branch activity where we met a lot of the members´ friends and family which is pretty much what we were going for. Hopefully some of them can continue getting to know the church and the doctrine a little bit better and see that it will bring them lots of blessings and happiness in their lives. We are working with one of the families from the branch. Most of their kids are older now and are all really well studied so it makes for some good talks. But anyways, this weekend the baptism was a success and that made it a good week.

Big congrats to Colin & Hanna, Hadley & Shannon, and Travis & Corey! I can't believe that the wedding dates already here, I am excited for those guys. I'll wanna see some pics of the ones you go to.

Well, I don't have all the time in the world because of the transfers, but I will write you guys more next week and we´ll plan out the Mother´s day call - how exciting!!


Love you guys!!


Ryan

April 24, 2017 - Week 96

Mom,

Hey fam, how are you guys?? That is cool that you guys got the yearbook thing that the Myers made for us! They really do do a lot of cool things like that, they also gave us our personal copy of it at a zone conference we had this past week. They also made these little booklets that contain the Living Christ document in them with really cool pictures so that we can memorize that document. Its pretty long but a lot of apostles mentioned it this last conference and I want to at least get a nice chunk memorized. But yeah it is really really nice of them to do things that are so thoughtful, they've made such a huge impact on the lives of so many missionaries.

So for some of this week I worked in Los Mochis with Elder Callens, we originally did it so that his companion could go to Choix to do a baptismal interview, but they couldn't do the interview until today so I stayed here with him for the whole weekend and went to church in his ward. It was a little different seeing a huge ward with 120 people, instead of the Choix branch with 15! But it was super fun, we bonded a lot, met some awesome new investigators here and we have a woman that is going to be baptized which is the best part!! Elder Callens served in Topolobampo, as did I, at the beginning of our mission and it's about 45 minutes away from Mochis. So today we went there for a couple of hours. I really wasn't sure what it would be like, returning to an area after so much time ( I left there over a year ago) but it was pretty awesome! We had a short amount of time, but each one of the members´ and converts´ faces that we saw lit up and they welcomed us into their homes very warmly and fed us well, haha. I am happy I got to take advantage of one of my last Pdays to do something like that it was a humbling, special experience.  

This week will probably be the last one that Elder Wood and I spend together which I'm kinda bummed about, he has been such a good, fun companion. I literally feel like I watch him take leaps and bounds in his progress in Spanish and missionary work, and I am blessed to have this time with him. I've learned a lot from him. It would be awesome if we got to spend my last transfer together but I know the Lord will have us in where he needs us to be. This week we have a very very busy week with all the baptismal preparations and also we are going to be working with some other missionaries in El Fuerte, about an hour away from Choix! 

Well family, I love you all and hope that you are all doing well. I love to hear from you and know that you're well!!! Alyssa's graduation is the next big thing on the plate then right?? Her announcements look super good!! She looks a lot older and I was actually thinking that she looks like Lauren in those pics!! Cant wait to see all of y'all. Love you!!

Love,

Ryan 

April 17, 2017 - Week 95

Mom,

Happy Easter!! How was it for all of you guys?? It's always such a peaceful weekend to be able to spend time with those we love the most and remember the Lord and his triumphant sacrifice, and resurrection and what it means for each one of us! Each day I gain more of an appreciation for the Lord`s sacrifice and His life. This year the dyed eggs and the Easter egg hunts were absent but it still was a great Easter Sunday for Elder Wood and me here in Choix. I tried to read a little bit about Resurrection Sunday yesterday. One of my favorite stories is in Luke 24 when the resurrected Lord appears to the two disciples on the road to Emaus and breaks bread with them, serves as a good reminder of the purpose the sacrament still has in our lives.

Many people this week were out of town because in Mexico they always do their spring break in conjunction with Holy Week. Which is both good and bad. We did the inagural branch activity and had a less than thrilling turnout haha. A couple of members came, but a family of investigators we had came and they really enjoyed themselves, so in my mind it was a success! Haha. The branch is progressing well and we are working hard with the members. This week none of them could give us food, so we had to fend for ourselves.

Working with the members more has yielded some good fruits in the form of great members references. I feel like the people from the tiny towns like Choix are a lot more receptive and know pretty much all of the members of the branch. One of those experiences was when we were working with the branch pres` wife, she introduced us to her friend. I think we caught her at a not-so ideal time cause she was very very tired and was even falling asleep at times. But then all of a sudden she opened up and started telling us about many questions she has had for a long time about her family and God`s plan for them. That launched into a long talk and also her confessing a long time desire to know if God has a church that he has established. So it was a really positive experience. Often times we don't know what will become of things like that, but it never ceases to amaze me the way the Lord answers prayers! We are still working with another family, they were on vacation all of week so we haven't seen them for over a week. Hopefully there will be a baptism in the next couple of weeks!!

This week I will be in Los Mochis working with Elder Callens, who is one of my good friends who started the mission the same time as me. We had Pday today, a zone conference tomorrow, and then a couple days to work together so I'm really looking forward to it. Hopefully I'll have some good experiences to write to you guys about next Monday! I can't believe that those 3 are getting married. It's coming up soon, if only you could be in more than one place at once. Really poor planning by them, they should've been more considerate. (hopefully my sarcasm rang through in text). Lol. Well, I hope you guys have a great week.. how many weeks are left of school, there cant be too many right?? I hope you guys know how much I love and pray for you all!!

All Love!!

Ryan

April 10, 2017 - Week 94

Mom,

How y'all doing, fam?? I hope all is well back at the crib!! I like what you were talking about the concrete action, since General Conference always leaves one reflecting for a time. Another concrete thing that I would like to do when I get home is to start being a little more diligent and knowledgeable in the family history department. I also want to keep up my journal writing habit that I've developed on my mission. I've written in my journal every single day of my mission, and I'm glad to have all that info!! And I also am trying to memorize The Living Christ which was another theme from General Conference. I remember you and dad were working on that awhile back, how did that go??

So this week was interesting!! There was one day where Elder Wood was really sick and was told that he had to be resting the whole day so I was cooped up there with him haha. But then the next day we got back to work and the area continues to progress. We´re really trying to help strengthen the branch and get a solid base so that the investigators we bring can have a good spiritual experience when they go for the first time. We´ve been doing branch FHEs that have been working out well. This week we have a branch activity on Wednesday and we´re hoping some investigators can go there too. We are hoping to have a baptism next weekend of a family member of a less active family who is in the reactivation process.

So that service project we did was super awesome!! A great team of plastic surgeons and anesthesiologists from So. California came down and I got to translate for them. We started very, very early and ended late, with very few breaks in between but it was such a cool experience. They let me scrub in on a lot of the complex surgeries that they did, such as babies with cleft palettes, a woman with a cancerous finger that they amputated, and numerous others. Basically it was a clinic where anyone who had a problem that required a plastic surgeon came and was evaluated by the doctors, then they fit in as many as they could with the limited time they had. It really was so sick though, I'm glad I got to help out in any way I could.

Today we had a zone activity too. We´re super far away from everyone in Choix so it was nice to get together with friends, other missionaries, and old comps and hang out. We went down to a river and had a barbeque and tossed around the football and all just hung out for a couple of hours. Gets me excited for this summer!! Sister Lee was there and we took a pic together and said she'll send it to her family so it'll probably end up in your hands by the end of the week, haha.

I'm blessed to have you all as my family!! You really are the best and help me feel blessed and motivated to share with others the simple truths that have brought us so much peace and happiness! I hope you all have a great week and know you're always in my prayers!!

All Love,

Ryan

April 3, 2017 - Week 93

Mom and Family,

Greetings from Choix!! (Pronounced Sh- oy- x) I was thinking about how awesome it was that you guys, and we, and millions of other members from all over the world were watching the same counsel from the living Prophets. I was told before the mish that GC weekend would be like the Superbowl during the mish, and I can definitely say that is so! So we watched every session in English except for the Sunday morning, because that was the only session that members and investigators showed up for. The uplifting spirit that is felt is very motivating to make necessary changes in one´s life. I enjoyed the Prophet Thomas S. Monson´s message about the Book of Mormon as well. And Elder Cook shouting out Malcom Gladwell the Outliers 10,000 hour principle, haha. I set a goal to finish the BoM one more time before I finish in June and I'm determined to complete it too. I would love to hear some of your notes from the messages and if you have any ideas that were born during the conference. 

The conference obviously was the highlight of the weekend but it was a really good week too. We got to see and start spreading the word of the new Easter initiative that came out. It's called the Prince of Peace, who is obviously the Lord Jesus Christ. It´s a really great video, and it also gives 8 principles of peace, that are simple and we should all put them into practice. There, we got to talk to Pres and Sister Myers which is always a highlight too, since I always feel very uplifted after talking to them. We found 2 new families who are super awesome. One is a man and his daughter, her 2 kids. They all seem like sincere truth seekers which is so nice. The other one is a younger couple who also seem very interested. 

There's also a service project that we have this week that I'm super stoked about! A team of doctors from the USA come down to El Fuerte (a touristic-ish town about an hour away from Choix) every month to give free medical service. We are going to go this Friday to help them translate and also be like a medical assistant. I'm super stoked to get some first hand exposure to what I'm interested in doing the rest of my life and hopefully help some people out. I will let you all know how it turns out!!

I'm so glad to hear everyone is doing great there. Wow, I had no idea Travis was going to Johns Hopkins, that's super awesome, big time congrats. I hope all the other busy things you guys have going on turn out great, I'm sure they will you are all the best!! I love you, hope you have an awesome week

All Love,

Elder Stockard 

March 27, 2017 - Week 92

Mom,

So the week of spring break, what a fun time you all had. I heard about it from a few different people, and it sounds like you all had a very fun, relaxing time that was also filled with delicious food which is always a plus. You'll definitely have to show me that ice cream sandwich place when I get back. But that's awesome, I'm glad you all enjoyed the time. 

Wow, my last week was like a whole different world too!! I have been in small cities and units before but Choix is a different ball game, I really do love it!! Every Wednesday and Saturday we have to travel out to this other small town (if you can call it that, it's more of just a group of houses) called Cajon. A couple of families who are members live out there and they are kind enough to feed us. It is a couple of hours away walking so it eats up a pretty good chunk of our day, but its nestled right up in the mountains and it's so awesome!! I don't have a cord to my camera, so I can't send pics, but don't worry I will show you all of them in 11 weeks;) Yesterday at church we had a very beautiful service as well. The members here are awesome, although small in number, very strong in testimony and desire to serve. One cool experience this week... we were walking, and a car pulled up and a man probably about 28 years old named Sergio got out and said, "Elders, can you go to the house tonight and give my father in law a blessing and teach him and my mother in law the plan of salvation? I'm a member visiting from Mesa AZ and he is sick." Hahaha we obliged. His family is very nice and they went to church on Sunday. Unfortunately, Sergio goes back to the USA soon but we will continue to teach his family!! We also found a bunch of other new people who are awesome, the people here are very accepting which is nice.

Elder Wood and I are really getting along well too. I love being with brand new missionaries like him, they bring such a powerful spirit with them and I feel like I can teach them some of the things I wish that I would have known when I was new. We spent a lot of time working on the lessons and especially in Spanish. I told him the language is like a giant puzzle... it take a long time, seemingly endless at times, to get all the edges and corner pieces down, but then it all starts clicking, and you start making connections. I like seeing that progress with him as his companion. He has been here in Choix for a couple months already so he is showing me the area and introducing me to all the investigators and everything. We have also had to travel to other areas a lot this week for baptismal interviews, meetings, and all the other stuff. We spend a lot of money on bus fees, haha. 

But I am super super happy and trying to make the most of every second I have left, I'm so stoked for General Conference this weekend!! It will be the last one I have, which is hard to believe, but I'm anxious to hear the inspired messages they have prepared for us. I love your idea of having a couple of questions to look for the answers to. Something I will be doing, and inviting all the investigators to do too!! 

Well, Family, I love you all so much!! You're the best!! I can't wait to hear from you all next week!!

All love,

Ryan 

March 20, 2017 - Week 91

Mom and Family,


Hey family what's up? So I will start right off with the big news on transfers... after 4 months I did in fact have to leave Guamuchil. In Guamuchil I left many many friends and timeless memories that I will forever be grateful for. My new area, and almost indubitably my last area, is a small town in Sinaloa that's close to the Chiuahua border called Choix. Choix is situated up in the mountains and it's definitely really, really pretty. I mean, that's about all I know about it so far, haha I arrived like 30 minutes ago and we still have a lot to do. But I'm really excited to be here, I know the Lord always has something for us to learn with each transfer. My new companion is a missionary with about 2 months in the mission, named Elder Wood. He is from Mesa, Arizona. He is a really great guy and I'm excited to be spending this time working hard with him.

So yeah, that is the definite highlight of the week, haha. Really kinda steals the spotlight from any other thing that we did during the week. But it was a really good last week in Guamuchil with Elder Beecher. We found some really great new investigators, had a couple of baptisms that we had to get ready, for Ines, Maria and Dana. We also had intercambios with some other missionaries. I worked with Elder Chichia, who was my companion for 3 months and was in his last week of the mission. His parents came to pick him up and we had stake conference this weekend, so I got to meet Elder Chichia's parents at stake conference and tell them about how good of a missionary their son is and say goodbye to him before he headed out today.

At stake conference, an Area 70 named Elder Martinez came and talked to us. He gave a great talk on personal revelation. He said that answers to our questions to God usually come in 3 forms, one can be yes, one can be no, and one can be God letting us use our wisdom and feelings to take the liberty to decide what we think is best. President Myers also went to the stake conference and delivered a powerful message about the power of the Priesthood. He is so funny and good at connecting with the people he speaks to.

I really liked the pics from the wedding. Everyone really did look so happy!! It makes me happy to know that the sacred blessings are available to all families who live worthy to enter the temple. We are blessed to have that knowledge. Well, I am going to have to keep this short cause we're not gonna have a ton of time today but I love you all so much. I'm blessed with such a great family!! I hope everyone has a great week, I love you all!!

Love and Prayers,

Ryan

March 13, 2017 - Week 90

Mom,

What's good family?? Wow, yeah, 90 weeks does sure sound like a lot. With the ones I have left, I most definitely want to make the most of them!! So this week you will be going back out to VA for Jerry`s wedding?? That should be a lot of fun. Who is going to be there out of all of your siblings? When was the last time you made it out to Virginia? Grandpa wrote me and told me that they're heading out in the week too, that will be a lot of fun. I want some pictures of all of the festivities!

So this week there were a few families of investigators who attended church with us which was so awesome! What was even better was that the ward went on a temple trip to Hermosillo this weekend, so a couple of members were able to share their thoughts and experiences. One family who went got sealed to their kids and shared powerful testimony of their sealing and the truthfulness of the restored gospel, which had a fantastic impact on the families that were there listening to these things. Our investigators were among them, and they were particularly intrigued by it. Their baptisms will be the week after General Conference! Another family was a part member, less active family. They hadn't gone to church for 7 years because of things that had happened shortly after their baptism. But they went, and their experience was a positive one, the members of their family that aren't members are also preparing to be baptized with our other two investigators. I'm super stoked to see their progression.

Today we got together with a couple of elders from a neighboring city and we played 3 on 3 basketball. It's safe to say that basketball outside in 95 degree weather isn't the most comfortable experience, but it is pretty fun! It made me excited to go and play with my friends when I get back. I think I might need to get in a little bit better shape though, haha. After, we grilled up some meat, got some handmade tortillas and made guacamole, which I finally learned how to make haha. It was super fun though. I don't know where I will be next week, because this is the last week of the transfer, but I sure would be happy to stay here in Guamuchil!! I'm loving it here! But whatever happens, happens! Come what may and love it. 

Well Fam, I hope you guys are all doing well. I miss you guys and you're always in my thoughts and prayers. It won't be too long before we`re reunited, which makes me really happy; everyone just keep working hard! Haha. Well, I love you all, have a fantastic week. 

I love you all,

Ryan 

March 6, 2017 - Week 89

Mom,

Wow big news with the BYU acceptances!! Congrats to all who got in. What an exciting time!! I mentioned to Alyssa that Fall 2017 is really creeping up on us, it will be such a blast to be up there with all of the siblings, and so many cousins! So yeah, big congrats to all of them, I'm really happy for them. That's awesome that you guys got to have some time with Lauren free of any of the added stress of studying. 

So will Grandma and Grandpa be coming home for both Colin and Jerry´s weddings? That'll be really fun for you to go back home. When was the last time you were there? I can testify of that, after spending so much time away from home, it's true that there is no place like home, haha. But things here are moving right along... Every few months I look back and reflect on the ways that I've improved or how things have changed in my mission.. I realize that one never stops learning. Many times it feels like I've finally got everything figured out and then I realize that there's still so much to learn, haha. The key is to just always be looking for ways to be taught and to learn, and it will come!!

Here we are working with people who are continuing to progress very well.. We should have 2 people baptized right at the beginning of April or the end of March. We had a cool experience on Saturday...Our investigators study out of town, so we only get to see them on the weekends, but we went to their house on Saturday to set up an appointment for the night time, and we ran into the man's sister in law. We talked to her for a bit and she told us that she would actually be really interested in going to church too, mostly so that her kids can have a good base. It is cool because she's been seeing the changes with her in-laws and subconsciously wants the same for her own family. I am thankful because both Elder Beecher and I were able to testify to her that the faithful example of loving parents really can have an infinite impact on the lives of the children, because we were both fortunate enough to have benefited from such examples in our lives. 

Other than that, we are also working with a part member family that recently lost a family member, and have had some bad experiences with other members of the ward in years past, but they are opening up to the idea of going back to church. This week they told us they were going to go, but at the last moment had to cancel. They treat us super well, and are always willing to help us and they really get us rolling on the ground with laughter haha. So I really do hope the best for them and am excited to see their return to the church. 

All is very well here.... We have a guaranteed 2 more weeks left here in Guamuchil, and I wanna live up every second of it! I really do love it here. Oh and thanks for getting everything lined up with the apartment... I'm relieved to have everything all but finalized so really, thank you for doing that. It's so nice to know that everything is great back at home and that you all are well. I'm excited to hear about all of your lives! I love you all and feel very blessed to be apart of this amazing family!

Have a great week, all love!!

Ryan

February 27, 2017 - Week 88

Mom,

Hey fam, what´s goin' on?? I always laugh cause I can never keep track of when you guys are in Utah and when you're in Nevada. But I guess the majority of the family now lives in Utah, so it makes sense why you guys spend more time up there than here. Grandma sent me a picture of all the snow that you guys got in Fallon, and it's so crazy how it brings me back to the countless snowy days in Fallon that I had throughout my time there! Its been 3 years since I've lived in Fallon in the winter but it still feels like yesterday.

Here in Guamuchil we´re currently in the middle of a 5 day celebration called Carnival. Which is the Guamuchil-equivalent of Mardi Gras. Obviously, much much less chaotic, but it's still pretty big news in the city. Some of the biggest artists from Mexico come here and perform and all the people here get pretty pumped for it. We obviously cannot go, but it's been interesting to see the buzz about it. This week was still really good though.

We found a woman to teach who also has 2 daughters. They have a very good orientation with the things that a good person should do, but still have yet to find if there´s something more that God wants of His children. We told them that we would gladly help them to find out! We´re in a similar situation with another lady. She has great questions and really sincere desire to know the truth, but has been receiving heavy opposition from her loved ones. All of them should have very great conversions.  We feel good about all of them, as well as the others we are teaching who all continue to progress well.

Today for Pday, we got together with Elder Christensen and Elder Hale, and ordered some pizza, made root beer floats, and played card and dice games. We had to go through a little bit of searching to find root beer and dice but we got it all. It was a lot of fun, and I learned some great new games that I'll have to teach you guys when I get home!! Mom, I was also thinking that something that might be fun to do as a family when I get back would be doing a huge puzzle together. I remember doing that on a few occasions and it was a lot of fun and a great time to catch up!! I thought of that randomly the other day, so I wanted to tell you before I forget haha.

This week we also had interviews with President Myers, and a special zone meeting with him. I can't tell you guys how big of a help he and Sister Myers have been to me, and really to the whole mission. I'm sure they were sent here to change and impact the lives of many people, they have such a special and fun spirit about them!! We're super blessed to have them here.

Big congrats to Adrienne and Matt on the new baby!! Teddy has 2 cousins in the Ciudad Obregon mission that will be anxiously waiting to meet him lol.

Well, I hope everything is swell with you guys!! It makes me so happy to hear from you, I love you all. Have a great week. 

Lots of love,

Ryan

February 20, 2017 - Week 87

Mom,

Hey family, how are you doing?? Wow all sorts of bishoprics are being reorganized haha. There was one other here in our stake that also didn't have a bishop for almost a year. It really does change the mentality of a ward. That's funny, I was actually thinking to myself yesterday, ¨I wonder if Bishop Ludlow will still be bishop when I get home, probably so.¨ I didn't even know Brad Stokes had moved into our ward, but I'm glad he did, he´ll be a killer bishop no doubt. 

So how was the rest of your week? You guys telling me about moving Tommy and Courtney reminds me of how bad moving sucks haha... But it sounds like they are in a killer new spot, which definitely makes moving a lot more enjoyable. In my last area, I lived in a total dump for 6 months, and here in Guamuchil the house is superr nice, which makes moving a lot more enjoyable, haha. Here it's been such a positive experience, the ward has improved greatly and we are having really great success with the members and the investigators, everything´s going well and it makes me lose track of the time. 

So this week we found this man who is interested in the church.  He understands really well and asks great questions, on Friday we invited him to church and he informed us that he wouldn't be able to because he has to go to a surrounding area every Sunday afternoon. We were kinda bummed about that, and then on Sunday morning he called us and told us that he had actually thought it over well, and that he would arrange his schedule so that he could go to church with us, and he went! R and O also went, and it was a really beautiful service. The  missionaries spoke, I chose to speak on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation. 

The weather here has been pretty crazy, on Saturday we got caught in a rain storm, with a vicious wind, which chilled us right to the bone and left us soaking wet haha. My clothes, believe it or not, are actually holding up pretty well though. Hopefully they can last for another 3 months. Another funny experience from the week, was that Elder Beecher and I had to go into the secretary´s office in the church to get something out for the new bishop, and so he lent us his key. We went in, and shut the door behind us, commenting on how weird it was that there was no doorknob on the inside of the office, only another keyhole. We got ready to leave and tried opening the door with the key we used to get in, and it didn't work!! So we realized that we were locked inside that tiny, dark office and no one else was in the building, and we had the only key to open the door inside with us. Luckily, we called other missionaries, slid the key under the door, and they let us out. But that was like an hour and a half later, and of course the hounded us relentlessly, lol.

So to answer your questions, that picture that Sister Lee sent was from a few weeks back. I have seen her a couple of times though, she seems like a nice girl and hard worker. And as far as summer plans, yeah that sounds chill, I really don't care what we do, I will love to do whatever it is with you guys!! I would like to know where everyone will be on the dates of June 12th till whenever I go up to Utah. I will also probably need to do some serious replenishing of my wardrobe haha. Other than that, I'm totally open to whatever! Its getting really close, kinda crazy huh. 

I want to share a scripture with you guys before signing off, something good to consider for all of us. 

O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it. And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam. And he suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day. And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.

I love you all so much, hope you have a great week, always in my thoughts and prayers!!

Love,

Ryan 

Feb. 13, 2017 - Week 86

Mom,

Whats up family!! How are y'all doing? So Mom, yeah to answer your question, I don't know this for sure, but traditionally the missionaries go home the day of transfers, so that would have me flying in to Reno on June 12th! Not all that far away huh?! What summer plans are you planning??

So this week was super great for us, Elder Beecher and I are opening the area here, which just means that we started from scratch with no investigators. But we worked really hard this week and found some great new people and many of them went to church!! Another really noteworthy item from the week was that there was a bishop called to the ward yesterday, after like 2 years that they've gone without a bishop. So we´re starting with 4 missionaries, a new bishopric, and all of the members are very excited. So we should have some big news from the ward in the weeks to come!!

It's been so fun to be here with Elder Beecher, because we are just constantly laughing and joking, but also working really hard. He is from Saratoga Springs, Utah. It is funny and really a blessing because we decided to room together at BYU this fall and then we became companions, so we are having a really enjoyable time together. I've really been blessed with great companions being great friends throughout my whole mission. 

During the week, we had a meeting in Los Mochis with Pres Myers and we talked a lot about the teachings of Gordon B Hinckley and his optimism. I think it's incredible to see how optimistic Gordon B Hinckley was. It's something I would really like to be able to improve on, you and dad were always great examples of that to me too. Being optimistic requires great faith and hope, which requires diligent study and prayer. I think that's a goal that I want to have, to be more optimistic.

So what new plans do you guys have?? I'll be really curious to know what becomes of the renaming of our street. Hopefully we get a sick new street name haha. I hope you guys keep killing it in school and work and in life!! You're constantly in my prayers and I love knowing that you're all good!!

All Love from Guamuchil!!!

Ryan 

Feb. 6, 2017 - Week 85

Mom,

How are you, Mom?? So it was groundhog day? I forgot about the existence of that holiday haha. They don't talk about it here, but today is some sort of national holiday which means a lot of things were closed and kids didn't have classes. 

So to start off with the big news.... During the week, President Myers called us and told us that we will now have two companionships of missionaries here in our ward instead of us being the only ones, and that Elder Christensen and I would be staying here but that both of us would be receiving new companions to be able to lead them around the area. So we found another apartment for 2 people, and yesterday we were told who are new comps are. I am now companions with Elder Beecher, who has been one of my best friends in the mission since day one , when we arrived together! I am super excited to have this time with him, and still have Elder Christensen so close in the same ward!

So this week also was really good with all of the work. Some of the highlights were that three investigators came to church with us yesterday. They are very fun to teach because they have good questions. They liked church and plan to come back next week! One is an architect who stopped us in the street and told us he has a friend from another state who talked to him about the restoration and wanted to learn more. They are all sooooo smart and have real intent. I don't know if I'll continue teaching them, because Elder Beecher and I are opening the new area in the ward and I'll be leaving the investigators that I had. But I'll remain in close contact which is good.

It's great to be reminded of that grand miracle and answer to our prayers and fasting with your progress. I'm very grateful to have a loving Father in Heaven who knows us all on a personal level, in the words of Nephi, "that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty." 

I hope you all have a great week, and know you're all in my thoughts and prayers!!

Love,

Ryan 

January 30, 2017 - Week 84

Mom,

What it do familyyyy?? Thanks so much for writing me, I love to hear about all of your lives and the fun things you´re planning and doing. We have a pretty amazing family!! Also, wow what a crazy wedding season you´ll be having in May. I had no idea some of those people were even engaged! I want some pics of each of the engagements. Big congrats to all of them, Travis, Colin and Hadley Faught.

This Sunday was also really good for us too. One of our investigators who went had some really great questions about the creation and purpose of the fall. She is a lawyer and a really thorough learner. She always keeps us on our toes with her well thought out questions, but it is fun because that leads to good learning. She´s had some really unfortunate things happen in her life, and one of her biggest concerns is if God even exists. So far she's had a great conversion and we´re excited to keep working with her. The other new ones are a 22 year old electrical engineering student who is reading the BoM, and a family. 

We had a satellite transmission on the missionary work from Salt Lake with some of the Apostles. They talked about some very important topics, and they also made some big changes in things that have been in place since the dawn of time haha. Such as what key indicators we will be keeping track of, and the missionary daily schedule. David A. Bednar talked about how we learn precept upon precept, line upon line, and the changes were so great I just always am so amazed at the apostles' revelation and how it runs the church,

Wow, I really loved the wedding video!! Everything seems so well done, and I almost feel as if I was present in the wedding, haha. What a blessing to have such a happy family and to have it growing, and all the great people that we become friends with in so many diverse ways! I feel so blessed to have you all as my family!!

I love you all, next week when I write you guys I will almost definitely have a new companion, and although I don't think its likely, I could be in a new area! Change can be scary, but it brings new and exciting things in one´s life. I hope you all have a great week and keep in mind how much I love you and pray for you each day!! 

Love,

Ryan