New Hair Cut and other Pictures!

New Hair cut!

Georgia Curls!

I just had to buy a Mtn Dew I was dying!

Us with Camilla! She is soo cute!

The member that cut my hair.  her name is Lilzy and she is so wonderful and beautiful!

all the members know that i LOVE arros con leche so they always make it for me!!

My desk!

Our apartment

To Love the People You Serve, is to See the Face of God!

Hola Familia!

I litterally feel like I was just sitting at this same computer yesterday writing you an email.  I cant even believe how time flys out here.  This week was pretty good.  I definitely learned a lot of lessons.  One lesson being "Don't cast your pearls before swine."  I learned that my pearls right now is time.  The days go by so fast that you can't waste anytime.  Time is so so precious out here, especially because it is the Lord's time.  

Oh gee will-a-kers, I cant even think or remember now days!  I am getting missionary brain from talking with so many different people and doing so many different things everyday!

Ok i will start off with our investigators Hilda and her husband Antonio.  They are doing great!  This week we were able to get a member present for our lesson with them (which is not easy when you only have a handful of strong members in your little Spanish Branch) but the Portillo's came with us.  He is 1 counselor in the Branch Presidency and she is Relief Society President.  They are both converts so it was perfect!  We invited them to Baptism.  They accepted to pray about it, which I guess is better than nothing!  We didnt meet with any of our other progressing investigators this week.  It was just a bad week that no one wanted to meet with us or answer our doors or phone calls, but this week will be better!  

We are working a lot with less active members!  We really need to get our branch re activated and strong again!  Me and my companion have done alot of brain storming and praying and thinking!  We have a master plan for the coming weeks!  We are excited to put it to action this week!  

We had a training in Peach Tree City this week, so that took up most of Friday because its so far away.  We had to wake up soo early because it takes like two hours just to get there with traffic.  It was a really great training and it really got us motivated and excited!!  I look forward to District meeting every week because they always get me re excited for the week!

So a cool story was after Training on Friday we decided to go finding.  We had no idea where to go.  I said a prayer before we left the appartment for Heavenly Father to direct our paths and help us find someone that is ready to recieve this gospel.  We got in the car and i was listening to the spirit soo hard.  I was trying to listen so hard that i could litterally hear the "tick tick tick" on my watch over the primary hymns in the car.  Any way so i had a feeling we needed to go to this one house.  We usually dont knock houses because usually only white people answer.  So we parked the car and went and we were walking to the house.  We first decided to knock on a couple of houses on our way.  The first house we knocked on it was a white kid about my age.  I started to say "hi we are missionaries from the church of jesus christ..." and he just shook his head, turned around, and slammed the door on us.  That is the difference between white people and hispanics.  We just tell hispanics that we are doing prayers and they will invited us in (most of the time) and let us talk about Heavenly Father and then they will even feed us sometimes just random people we knock.  Anyways so we finally made it to the one house, we knocked on the door and a guy about my age answered and his name is Evuardo.  He talks spanish and english but he asked for us to talk in english.  It kind of throws us off and we are a little jumbled trying to talk in english and my companion just looks at me like "ya this is your language, your turn to shine haha" so we said a prayer with him and talked to him for a while.  The spirit was really strong and we told him that we were inspired to knock on this door and he thought that was pretty cool.  We have a return appointment with him next week with his family.  I truly believe that we were inspired to knock on his door at that very moment.  

I have been trying to work on being more appreciative  of everything.  Sometimes i think its a huge burden that i have to play the piano in our branch in every single meeting, and that i never get to sing anymore becuase i love singing too and i havent been able to sing and learn the hymns in spanish.  My companion reminded me this week that i am doing such a huge blessing to all these people because they havent had a piano player.  This week while i was playing the piano in sacrament meeting, i looked at it in a different way.  I am the one that is lucky.  I get to look out on the whole congregation while they sing hymns of praise to our Lord.  I get to hear angels singing every week.  How blessed i truly am.

So im excited for this week!  I love serving the Lord and his people.  I feel like the more I serve these wonderful people I am getting to know my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ more and more each day.  I love the Lord.  "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God." -Mosiah 2:17.  How blessed are we, I hope that we will all remember to look for the oppertunity this week to serve someone that needs our help.  I love you all so much!  Until next week, have a blessed week full of love and service!

Love,

Hermana Stewart

Lightning Touching Down!!

me and alexa at church on Sunday!

Hola Familia!

So this week has sure flew!  I can't even believe that it is already P-day again!  This week was really great!  So first off to decribe my title, we were driving on the road in this huge rain storm and litterally 20 feet in front of us on the road lightning struck down!!  Crazy right!?  

This week was great!  I totally already said that already, sorry this email might be a little everywhere today, but when is it not ha!  Our investigators are great!  Remember Hilda and her husband Antonio well he came to church on sunday!!!  We are going to hopefully get them both on date for baptism this week!!  Also Alexa the 11 year old we are also hoping to get her on date too!!  Ahh sooo much excitingness is happening and about to happen!

​The hottest food ever 

 Funny things now!  So I call Hermana Gallardo "Pot Hole Magnet"  because she litterally hits every pot hole possible.  She always trys not to hit them but when she does that she ends up hitting them just spack dab in the middle!  I feel like I am a pretty chill person, but this week my companion told me I had alot of pet pieves...woops!  My companions thinks Im like a baby because I always need food and eat like every 2 hours and we have snacks in the car just for me if i get grumpy ha!  We ate at one of our members homes this week and she always calls us Hermanita and she burped really loud, and then she said, "wow el tigre se escapo!" (the tiger escaped) I laughed so hard! 

 So i really like scaring Hermana Gallardo (thats like so mean huh) but when we are out walking and it looks like the walking dead sometimes i just randomly pretend to turn into a zombie!  So the other night it was like 830 and we knocked on one of our investigators door but he didnt answer and we were just staning there and it was like silent and he lives in the getto and i just made a really creapy zombie noise and she screamed so loud it was so hilarious!  So the other day Hermana Gallardo said before she went to sleep the night before she couldnt fall asleep because she kept thinking i was going to turn into a zombie and she didnt know if she would here me and knock me out before i bit her or if she would wake up while i was taking my first bite..she has a whole plan now...after she told me that i realized i probably shouldnt act like a zombie anymore! 

  Hermana Gallardo says that i scream in my sleep...so thats interesting ( i have to live with her snoring and she has to live with my talking and screaming..comprimise).  So i have this song and i call it my ponder song because it is just music no lyrics.  and hermana gallardo cant talk during my ponder song like if she talks ill say "shhh my ponder song is on" (3 minutes of quiet time means a lot when you are a missionary haha), but the other day during my ponder song i said something to her, and she said to me "shhh my ponder song is on" and then i told her that only she couldnt talk during my ponder song but i could talk.  I have gotten really good at fake lauging because hispanics love laughing and i just laugh everytime they laugh...maybe they are lauging at me.  I guess ill never know haha.

​The members i made food for After we got done knocking 48 doors in 100 degree weather 

Hot peppers 

 Ok now for something really cool and special to me.  So the other night I had a dream that we were teaching this guy and we taught him the restoration.  I had no idea where we were or who he was.  But i woke up and hurried and told hermana gallardo because i always have to tell her my dreams so i wont forget them.  Oh and i have never dreampt so much then on my mission!  Ok anyways so i told her.  Then that night we went to a members home for dinner "the tiger one" we had never been there before.  She brought this guy to have dinner with us.  He looked so familiar but i dont remember where i had seen him before.  Ok so we got to know him a lilttle bit while we ate dinner and then we set up another apointment with him tomorrow night which was awesome because then we got dinner again and a lesson with a member pressent!  So the next night while we were teaching him i felt like it had done this whole thing before!  So when we walked out of the lesson i told my companion that was exactly my dream!!!!  We were in the same place with the same guy!  It was so weird!  Anyway he is now one of our progressing investigators and he is really really nice and sweet!  So ya i guess i kind of had a revelation you could say via dreams!  

I made dinner for some members that always feed us.  I made potatoes and cheese and country gravy!!  They loved it!  I had the hottest food i have ever eaten ever!  My companion even thought it was hot so that just goes to show how hot it was!! 

We went on excanges with the sister training leaders and i went to english speaking (thank goodness i would have died with an english speaking companion by myself here ha) it was pretty good but i was excited to see Hermana Gallardo again!  The sister training leaders car broke so we had to walk everywhere.  We walked about 5 miles that day in the heat of the georgia weature.  I have never been so sweaty and wet.  We litterally had to ring our shirts out before our dinner apointment!  Sorry thats probably so gross but that is how much sweat we sweated.  And we ate lizagna and it was soooo good to eat normal food!!  I miss it haha.  I was so exhausted by the end of the day and i felt like a true hard working misisonary! 

Our glasses fog up everytime we get out of the car cus its so hot haha

We also had interviews with our new president and his wife.  He says that me and Hermana Gallardo are one solid companionship!  And we really are!!   I really truely have the best companion ever!  And that is because together we fill in eachothers gaps and it really makes us one!  We teach in unity which is awesome too!  Sometimes in the middle of a lesson she will just randomly stop talking and look at me and wait until i say something.  Im not kidding when i say we have had 1 or 2 minute awkward silences during lessons because i dont know what to say and i really have to trust in the lord to put words into my mouth when i open my mouth.  But it really does work!  

Oh i sure do love you all so much!  Im so excited for the coming week to hopefully set some dates and bring these wonderfull people to the waters of baptism.  I know that the only way its possible is if me and my companion keep doing what we are supposed to be doing and working hard and with the Lord.  Our goals are high and optomistic, but goals should always be hard enough that you can't do it without God's help!  Thank you for all the prayers and support and love!!  We are so blessed!  Count your many blessings see what God has done!  I love you all!  Have a blessed week!

Hermana Stewart

Experiencing Joy like no other Joy!

Holy Family!!

How are you all doing?  I hope you all had as great of a week as I had!  So this week was just amazing.  I don't even know how to put it into words.  But let me just start off by saying that I love here.  I love the people.  This week at District meeting my District leader asked me to bear my testimony of why i am here on a mission.  The week before this week i was acutally asking myself that question.  I was having a really hard time with the language and missing all you guys.  So i wasnt exactly sure how to answer that question deeply.  I had all my reasons of why coming on a mission before my mission, but your reasons just change so much always.  I found my answer this week though.  

​el plan de salvacion game i made

So we are teaching this little girl Alexa and she is 11.  Her mom is a convert from december.  We made these little matching games of the lessons that we play with her and her little cousin that is 7 because littles kids attention span is very small so you gotta get creative haha.  But Alexa wrote me a note, and first part of it says, "Dear Hermana Stewart, thank you for teaching me about God..."  That is why I am here on a mission.  I dont care if thats all the good i do on my whole entire mission (obiously i want to do more good than that) , but teaching a little about about our loving Heavenly Father, then is satisfying enough.  She has came to church with her mom every sunday I have been here!  Her brother Alex is 13 and he doesnt really want anything to do with us unfortunely :(  we are really praying for someway to get through to him.  

Alexa and Ivonee

 This week me and my companion hermana Gallardo(oh and by the way I only one companion now im no longer a trio) we set some high goals and we had a major attitude change.  We wanted to see success!!  We decided we were going to be perfectly obidient, work with all our might, MIND, strength, and HEART.  We wanted to work in allignece with the spirit and Heavenly Father so we could be successfull and see miracles.  Well i started counting all the miracles we saw this week but i litterally stopped counting because there was so many!  We had sooo much success!!  We taught 50 investigator lessons this week as compared to 11 the week before!  Numbers dont matter but it goes to show that if you work hard you will see the success and miracles.  I have never felt so happy in my life from working!!  It is true what preach my gospel says that if you want to not feel home sick or discouraged or any of that, the best cure is work work work!!!  There is a joy that comes from working as a servant of the Lord when you have the spirit with you and are obidient.  I have experienced this joy this week.  Every hard thing you go through just makes everything so worth it.  It is just amazing!!  I love it so much!!  Our investigators are doing really good!  Along with Alexa we are teaching two other little girls Sally and Jesse.  I love teaching these little girls because they like being taught in english haha.  Then Hilda and her husband we are now teaching too!  We have taught them the first two lessons.  She told us that she knows it is true!!  She is our golden investigator!  

So now for some funny things.  So i learned the hard way this week that if you dont eat a second helping of food you will really offend....yikes!!  haha we usually have at least 1 dinner apointent a day, sometimes two... and sometimes three.  Its actually quite miserable.  People just want to make sure we are well fed, bless their hearts!  

So another thing is that when you are driving down a road there is always just random groups of hispanic guys just hanging around waiting for work i think.  Its crazy!!

So last night we had a really bad storm!  I sware that it was right above our appartment.  Me and my companion hardly even slept because it was so loud!  Im pretty tuff but the thunder was really scary!  It was seriously the loudest thunder i have ever heard.  And i should our room thats how loud it was!!  I even sleep with ear plugs in, because my companion snores sooo loud that i had to invest in some sleeping earplugs from walmart haha.  I kept telling my companion i didnt want to die and that i was scared and she just laughed!  The lighting was touching down really close though.  It was lighting up our whole room it was so bright and it was raining so hard!!  

Any way it was just such a great week!!  I can now testify that if you want to be happy and enjoy your time on a mission, you just need to work.  I had the time of my life this week!  I just want to bear you my testimony that i know my savior lives.  He sacrificed everything for us to be able to return and live with God again and all he wants in return is for us to keep his commandments. "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear no.  Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments and ye shall inherit the Kingdom of heaven." -d &c 6:36-37.  I love you all so much!  Remember what your Savior has done for you!  

I hope you all have a blessed week!!  

Love,

Hermana Stewart

Alexa and Ivonee 

​Alexa and Ivonee and they wrote another note on their porch haha 

Seeing the good in the World!!

Hola ya'll!!
Wow what a week!  It feels like it was a day not a week.  Time flies out here!  So everything is going pretty good for the most part!  I Hope you all enjoyed your 4th of July!  I stood out on my back porch of our appartement and listened, good times!  I have so much things to tell you all.  Hahaon sunday.  He had a job interview for a different job this week and we fasted with him, and when we called him the next day to end our fast with him, after we got done praying he told us that he got the job!!!  Now there shouldnt be anything holding him back from coming to church if he doesnt let anything. 

 Hermana Gallardo and I

Our other two investigators are an 11 year old girl Alexa and a 13 year old boy Alex.  Their mom is a recent convert.  They are super cute!  They have came to church with their mom two weeks in a row now.  We made a restoration picture game for them and im excited to do it with them when we meet with them on Wednesday again!  We are working alot with less actives because the branch is really struggling, so that is one of our main focusses, but also President wants us to find so that is why we have been doing alot of knocking and referrals.

Pig fat meal

So the food is still spicy here!!  All of the people and my companion laughs at me because whenever we eat i am always sweating and my nose runs because the food is so spicy!!!!  I hope to one day go throughout a dinner appointment and not get laughed at because im a woos at spicy haha!!  Oh they eat some weird stuff here though, the other day we ate rice, beans, and pig fat with tortillas.  Ya thats right, Pig fat.  OH my goodness!!  That was very not easy to choke down!  The texture was just awful! 

​Nacho libro corn 

In celbration of the 4th of July, me and my companion made that corn thing thats off of nacho libre.  I gotta say though, i was a little dissapointed when i found out that the white stuff is May and not Iceing.
 Haha definitely not a fan. but im always willing to try!

So first of all funny story.  The other day we were at a less actives house and me and my companions were sitting on the couch and all of the sudden (of course right during a real spiritual moment) we heard this huge crack and the couch just broke.  Oh i felt so bad, but we all just laughed and luckily she wasnt mad and luckily it wasnt too broken!  So people in Georgia are just straight up crazy, but i love them!  They just walk where ever they want across busy streets and everything!  Its really scary!  So my companion let me drive the car to one of our appointments!  It was awesome, but scary because i was afraid i was going to run over people in mini mexico!

Us at a members home

We got to meet our new President this week!  He is a real hoot!!  So the branch found out that I play the Piano and i play the piano in sacrament, relief society and primary!!  Talk about super stressful!  But no one else plays piano so they have just been singing without one so they are all so cute and really greatful for me even when i just play the right hand on some songs cus i dont know them all.  But i am so greatful for Jenny (my piano teacher) making me learn the hymns because now i can use my talents to help.  I love playing in Primary though!  The ninos are so cute!!  and crazy wild!  They all love me ha!  So we have done alot of knocking this week!!  You know that one song, "pioneer childen sing as they walk and walk and walk" well i made a new version this week "sister missionaries teach as the knock and knock and knock and knock!!" 

We found 7 new investigators last week by knocking though!  All of our investigators are doing awesome.  We have three main progressing investigators.  One is this 30 year old guy, he has been taught all the lessons but he hasnt been able to go to church because he always works Anyways it was a pretty good week for the most part.  Still dont know spanish.  Sometimes people talk to me and i just nod my head and pretend that i know what is going on!  Fake it til ya make it ha!  My companions imitated what i sound like...wow i sound like a hilbilly speaking spanish haha!

The reason I for my title of this email is something that i have been trying to work on this week.  When you look for the good in the world your day seems to go so much better.  I can testifiy of this!  Heavenly Father gives us so many little miracles that we just dont see!  Its so awesome when you recognize all of the little miracles and all of the little good that he does for us!

Mexican farmers market 

I just want to share my testimony with ya'll that i know that God loves each and everyone of us.  I know that I am here in Georgia for a reason.  I know that when we open our eyes and be obedient to all of the commandments we see the blessing pour down from heaven.  I know that families are forever.  I love all of the people in Georgia.  I love my little Spanish Branch, they are my temporary family, but not even temporary because i love them all so much and they will always have a special place in my heart!  I love you all so much!!!  I hope you feel my love!!  I hope you feel your savior's love for you as well!!  Have a fantastic week my family!!  Talk to you soon!!  Remember to see the good in the world!

Love,

Hermana Stewart

​It rains alot here!!  

My little curl haha

CDC like off of walking dead!!!!