Pictures!

​we redecorated our apartment!  our kitchen 

and our motivation wall

me with Sally and Jessy

Be Someone Who Is Going Somewhere

Fermin and us at church yesterday!! look!! he's totally wearing a tie!!

Hello family!!!!  I hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving!  We sure did here in Chamblee, Georgia!  So we did have a dinner appointment scheduled but then they realized they signed up on Thanksgiving so we rescheduled with that familia.  but Hermana Bringhurst's mommy supplied us with a very nice Thanksgiving meal!  Thank you momma Bringhurst!  So we ate turkey(precooked from the deli), potatoes and gravy, veggies, rolls, stuffing, cookie salad, spinach con cheese, chips, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and lots of other good stuff im probably missing!!  Just like home, but without the fam.  But we got 2 hours for dinner so we had so much fun cooking together as a companionship and eating together in our little kitchen!  it was so perfect!!! :) what an amazing day!  and we spent the whole dinner going around in a circle telling one another what we are thankful for!  and just like the south there was alot of "amen" and "amen to that" going on!  I have never said amen so much in my life!  its so funny the things you pick up from different cultures!  

ok so much happened this week!!!  ahhhhh one of the best weeks ever!!!  I love being a missionary, especially during the
holidays!  People seem to just be so much nicer its so great!  ok many miracles to share!

First pickle in over 6 months!

Miracles:

1. Hector!!!!!!

Ok i cant remember if i have talked about Hecotor before, but frankly i cant remember anything now day so sorry if i repeat stuff.  So he is the boyfriend of one of our awesome member Zoraida.  I met him when i first got here.  We never really taught him only just spiritual thoughts when we were over eating dinner at Zoraida whenever he was there.  We always taught him how to pray and always invited him but he never would.  then he left out of town for work for lots of months and just recently got back to town.  So we wanted to start teaching him because they are getting married and he has been to church a bunch of times and wants to get baptized the only this is to teach him the lessons.  Anyway so we went and finally had the first lesson with him Monday evening!  We taught him in Zoraida's home.  Can i just tell you all that the members are awesome!  Without them we could not do this work!  Having lessons in members homes are 100x better!  So great!  anyway so after we ate some good food we taught him the Restoration.  We have taught the restoration so many times, but this time was by far the best time we have ever taught!  The spirit was so strong and we had great unity!  Zoraida has such a strong testimony and we used the Book of Mormon so much during the lesson!  using the Book of Mormon is so powerful as well.  Anyway so then we invited him to be baptized for December 12, and he said YES!!!!!!!! oh my gosh!!!!  And then he prayed for the first time in his life!!!!!!  And Zoraida was crying and we were all just feeling the spirit so strongly!!  They are going to be the cutest couple and going to be together for eternity in this wonderful Gospel!!  So amazing!  so he is progressing so great and we are teaching him again tonight!  he has a crazy work schedule, but with the help of the Lord we can do all things!!  So amazing and we are so happy for him and for this decion he has made!!

1.Fermin!!!!  Ok i know that i have talked about him.  He is kind of like the party guy that i met when i first got here.  He friends with some of our members and lives by them but we have never really taught him until this transfer.  So far we have taught him just the Restoration.  We have taught him and invited him to pray alot, but he always said the next time.  He has been to church the past 7 weeks in a row!!!  wow!!  Ok when we were planning Friday we had a really strong feeling that we needed to have a lesson with him this night.  so we called up the Mata familia to see if we could do a lesson in there home and they said yes so We had an appointment with him Friday at 7 pm.  Ok first cool thing about this story.  So recently we as a companionship have been setting a "progressing missionary goal".  We really want to be progressing missionaries because if we want our investigators to progress we have to be progressing as well.  We invite people to do stuff all the time and leave them with commitments.  So we decided if we want our investigators to keep their commitments, then we as a companionship make a commitment to do something before we follow up with our investigators. and obviously they have their own angeny but we can control what we do on our part.  So for Fermin we wanted him to pray and so our commitment last week as a companionship was to contact all the less actives on our list.  So right before we went in to our lesson with Fermin we had just called the last less active on our list.  We ended up reading Alma 32 with Fermin about faith and that he doesn't need to have a perfect knowledge of things.  It was a really great lesson!  and once again all the credit goes to the Lord and the spirit!  it was a really great lesson in the members home and then i asked him to be baptized and guess what he said... YES!!!!!!  Then he said the last prayer!!!  he prayed for the first time in his life!!!!  I strongly believe that if we wouldn't have kept our end of the commitment with Heavenly Father and as a companionship he would not be on date right now and would have not prayed!!!!  Be progressing!!!!  Wow so happy for him.  I have seen this gospel of Jesus Christ change his life.  He is not the man we first new.  This gospel really does bless and change people!! wahoo!!

3.Fasting!

So we went to visit a less active on Saturday and we started a 24 hour fast with her.  We fasted for two things for her to make the necessary decisions and changes in her life and two she wanted to fast for us for us to find a family.  We started the fast at 6pm Saturday night.  We found a family of 5 kids by 7pm Saturday night.  Wow!  fasting is powerful!!  We taught them how to pray and the mom prayed for the first time in her life!!!  Her children are so sweet!  What a powerful little experience and what a huge miracle!!!  We have wanted to find a family is for so long!!!  This gospel blesses families!!!  It has blessed mine and it can bless everyone's!  Every family needs this gospel.  i am so thankful to have been able to fast to help our less active and that she wanted to fast with us to find a family as well!  so amazing!!!

wow i could just go on and on, but time is running so short!! this week was just so amazing!!  Things are happening here in the Chamblee Branch.  I am so happy its ridiculous!  This gospel is so happy!  i have been reading in Alma this week and wow what amazing examples Alma and Ammon are.  They were just great missionaries converting thousands of people with the spirit and the word of God.  I love being a missionary and seeing peoples lives change because of this Gospel.  it is by far my most favorite thing about being a missionary.  I am so happy and i love witnessing miracles every single day.  "i do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and i will rejoice in my God. yea, i know that i am nothing; as to my strength i am weak; therefore i will not boast of myself, but i will boast of my God, for in his strength i can do all things, yea, behold, many miracles we have wrought in this land, for which he will praise his name forever."Alma 26:11-12  Ammon was an amazing missionary!  He is such an example to me!  i love this work!  This is the Lord's work.  And being in the service of my God brings me so much joy.  one more scripture that i just love is alma 27:17-18 "now the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength; and he fell again to the earth. now was not this exceeding joy? behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness."  Wow i just love that.  We have felt the joy of this gospel and that comes from being "true seekers of happiness" This is where happiness and joy is found.  If only people of the world would just open their eyes, they can stop searching because here it is, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know this church is true.  It brings us true happiness.  Serving others is the best medicine to becoming happier people.  I have figured that out and now i just love it!!  I am thankful for my savior because with out him, we couldn't become what we need to become and for his selfless sacrifice.  We are forever in his debt.  The price has been paid.  He live.  I love my Savior so much.  I love the Book of Mormon so much.  It is so true and so the word of God!  i love y'all so much!!  i hope you have an amazing week!  And May we always strive to be someone who is going somewhere!

All my love and Prayers

Hermana Stewart :)

Thanksgiving Dinner!

Making Mashed Potatoes! 

A Thankful Heart!

Temple! Me and Hermana Bringhurst and Hermana Meneses

Buenos Dias!!!!  

Wow i litterally cant believe its monday already and its thanksgiving this week!!  yay what an amazing time of the year.  There is so much to be thankful for!  I am thankful for my wonderful family!  I love you all so much!  I am so thakful to be a missionary in Atlanta Georgia!!  I am thankful for coats and heaters and sweaters and sunshine!  It is freazing here!!!  After living in Idaho for 19 years and living through hard cold winters, i have officially lost all rights of making fun of people who would think it was freazing cold at tempatures in the 40's.  brrrrrrrrr!!!  

We went to the temple this week and that was so so nice!  i never want to leave that sacred place.  What a way to get out of this crazy world for a few hours.  Just wonderfuly.  I am so thankful for temples! 

 us with President and Sister Foote

We had exchanges this week with the sister training leaders.  So Hermana Bringurst went english speaking with sister Alofipo and sister creech came here with me and Hermana Meneses.  That was pretty fun!  Sister Creech is Asian and EVERYONE was soo facinated in her haha!  they all thought she was so adorable!  We had so many amazing miracles happen during exchanges.  Here is one of them.  So we had 3 refferals that we went to contact in these one appartmenet complexes and after we tried contacting them i decided that while we were in that complex we might as well go and try and contact some potential investigators we have.  So we went to this lady Maria's house and kknocked on her door but then she didnt answer.  then i saw a door near by that had a bunch of plants by the door and i told them we should go knock on that door.  We always knock on doors with lots of plants because that just screams hispanic.  You get real good at telling the difference between a spanish house and a english house.  So we walked over and Sister Creech was in front and she stops at the door next to the plant door.  She just stood in front of that door, and then all of the sudden we heard a little voice speaking spanish and we got so excited!!  so we hurried and knocked the door and it was a little family that just had moved from venesuala.  They invited us in and we were able to get to know her and teach her a short version of the Restoration.  So long story short they have been investigating churches and now they want to start investigating our church.  We were so so happy after we got out of that house.  The little girls just loved us and they are so adorable.  We imedietely drove like a mile down the road to the Elders recent convert family that just got baptized because they are venesualen and they both have two girls and live soo close!!  Ledif, the new member mom, just was soo happy and she wanted her number so she could call her and she wants to come over with us when we go back and teach her!  Such a cool miracle!!  Heavenly Father will litterally place people that are ready right in front of our face!  I can testify that perfect obedience and diligence brings miracle!!!!  Just like Dory the fish says, "just keep swimming, swimming, swimming, what do we do, we swim!!"  I am so thankful for obedience!  I am so thankful for awesome members that have so much fire to do missionary work!!  Just so thankful!

​Me and Hermana Bringhurst

So another miracle this week is that this week we have gotten so many refferals its crazy!!!  We have been praying so hard to find people to teach that are ready to accept this gospel!!  Now we are finding and getting refferals of all these people we dont even know what to do we are just busy and happy!!!  There really are people with ready hearts and ready ears to hear this message!  One refferal we got from church head quarters her name is Leticia and she is from Mexico but she has lived here for 26 years.  but 26 years ago missionary were teaching her in Mexico, but just recently she wants to start going to church and taking the missioanry discussions again so she reffered herself to us!  and she has a huge family!  when we knocked on her door and told her we were misisoanryies she said "que milagro, pasan adelante," (what a miracle, come in).  She receieved us very well and she is now reading the book of mormon with her daughter.  We also got another referal of a part member family!  Just so much is happening its insane!  Theres no time to rest, i love it!  I've never slept so good in my life haha!  

Ok so one other miracle i wanted to share with yall!  sorry i could just write miracles all day long!  So we had a Carna Sada (BBQ) for our Branch thanksgiving party and our investigator Abraham came!!  It was really fun!  so many of the members brought there friends and me and my comps were all just running around the gym meeting everyone and getting all their numbers of the nonmember friends.  It was amazing!  im thankful for member refferals! :) anyway so after we ate, we wanted to give Abraham a little church tour.  so we took him in the Chapel and sat down.  And we sang hymns with him.  We sang "there is sunshine in my soul today" "i know that my redeemer lives" and "families can be together forever".  Then we just sat there and the spirit took over.  Abraham was in tears because of the overwhelming spirit he was feeling.  We were all just crying because in that moment we could all just feel the love our Heavenly Father and Savior has for us and for his lost children.  These spiritual moments that i am experiencing on my mission are just indescribably priceless.  I have never felt so close to the spirt, so much love from my Savior, and so much love for his children.  There just isnt any other place i would rather be than right here serving the Lord and his children.  I have never been so happy in my life.  I am thankful for service.  I am thankful for the Holy Ghost that never ceases to fail and touching my heart and veryfying the trulthfulness of this Gospel every single day.  Of course there are hard moments, but some how those just are nothing to the wonderful moments.  I am thankful for the Atonement that when we are going through hard times or sad, our Savior is always there to take away our pain, lifts our hearts up, and encourages us to keep on going!  Just wonderful! :)

                              Zuniga Familia on Exchanges with Sister Creech!

Ok heres a lesson learned on my part this week, and maybe a good laugh for yall.  So we were in the car getting ready to pray and go teach a lesson.  So Hermana Bringhurst had just taken a big drink of water so her mouth was full of water.  Well i made the awful and terrible mistake of making her laugh before she got the chance to swallow.  Yep.  She spit it on me everywhere!  i was soaked with her germs haha.  My hair was soaked, my jacket, my face, everything!  haha so lesson learned Hermana Stewart, dont make Hermana Bringhurst laugh when she has water in her mouth.  Hey siblings, remember that water game we would play when we were younger when we would sit by the kitchen sink and fill our mouths with water and then another person would come in and do some kind of silly act to get the people at the sink to laugh and spit out their water??  Well Hermana Bringhurst would be really fun to play that with ;) oh how i love my companions so much!!  I am thankful for wonderful companions who share the same rightous desires and goals, who are always there for one another like sisters, and who know how to make missionary work so much fun (even if they beat me with a pillow ;)...thats a story for ya.).  

I am so thankful for this Gospel.  I am so thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ and for his Atonement, that through him, and only through him we can be perfected.  I am thankful for the Book of Mormon and the blessings we see in our lives as we read it daily.  I will never rest the Book of Mormon a day in my life.  Its just too good and gives us way too much daily guidence to ever not read it.  I am thankful for nature and leaves and trees that make the outside world so pretty even in the midst of all the craziness in this world.  I am thankful for our Church leaders and for our prophet Thomas S. Monson who leads and guides this church under the direction of Jesus Christ.  I am thankful for the Priestood and the blessings that come of it.  I am thankful for the Sacrament and that each and every week we have the opportunity to reflect and renew our covenants with our Heavenly Father.  I am thankful for libraries and computers so that i can write and hear from my family ever week.  I am thankful that "I have a fam’ly here on earth.  They are so good to me.  I want to share my life with them through all eternity. Fam’lies can be together forever, Through Heav’nly Father’s plan.  I always want to be with my own family, And the Lord has shown me how I can.  The Lord has shown me how I can."  What a wonderful season of thanksgiving that we get to Celebrate.  Blessing are all around us.  "that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessing which he doth bestow upon you." Alma 34:28  We have so much to be thankful for.  Our lives are wonderful.  We have this gospel.  We have each other.  We have the Savior.  We have it so good.  How blessed we are.  I hope you all enjoy your Thansgiving!  I will be thinking about you all and thinking about how blessed i am to have such a wonderful calling, have such a wonderful family,have such a wonderful life.  I cant wait to spend next Thankgiving with all yall eating Turkey and Mashed Potatoes, Homeade Rolls, and pie.  But this year the beans, rice, and tortillas will definetley be perfect enough!  Enjoy this season with a thankful heart.  I love you all so much!  Until next week.

Love,

Hermana Stewart

xoxoxo

                                 ​Carna Sada at a members home last night

Me just being Hermana Stewart

Make Good Things Happen

Matching Christmas PJ's!

Hello!  What a week!  Life is great, marvelous wonderful, living the dream, and happier than ever before!  Wow so many crazy things happened this week haha my companion Hermana Bringhurst in her email today titled this week as "Smoke Detectors, Mary Kay, and tablets!"  You just never know what to expect here in Georgia!  So many memories!  

​my compies love my homeade mac and cheese!

Ok anyway so things are great!  Wow 6 months down!!  It fills like about 6 seconds if you ask me.  

Miracles: Fermin.  Fermin is like a 30 ish year old guy that we have kind of met with off an on since my first transfer and not really seeing progress in him until just recently.  He has been to church the past 3 weeks in a row and he told us at church that he wanted to get baptized!  This is a miracle because its just something that i never really expected out of a guy like him.  You see this is why i love being a missionary.  i love seeing people change!!  That is my most favorite thing as missionary is seeing this gospel and the Atonement change peoples lives. When people apply this gospel and use the atonement they make good things happen.  i just love it!!  We are meeting with him this week at a members home and we are so excited!  Fill up the Font!!! ;)

​our aweomse papusa things with lunch meat and fry sauce.

The Things:

1. So me and Hermana Bringhurst were craving some papusas yesterday, but then we were also craving these venesualen tortilla thingys i don't know what they are called.  So we pulled out the masa and made papusas with yellow cheese in the middle and then on the outside (this is where the venesualin comes in) you make fry sauce and Parmesan cheese and then pieces of lunch meet.  We each made three so our plates were really full.  So we sat down and started eating them.  They were pretty good, pretty Americanized but not too bad.  We both got through one of them and at the same time we both looked at each other, pushed our plates aside and went and got a bowl of cereal haha.  So the food here is really good, but we have yet to really master the taste of cooking it ourselves.

Gotta love Coca Cola

Funny things:

1. So we were in a lesson this week at some of our investigators Abraham and Milagros and we were teaching the Plan of Salvation, and we were using little pictures that we drew per point of the lesson.  So we now have to teach like very simply in our lessons, and during this lesson i was talking about the picture/point of Adam and eve.  And when i mean we teach simple, i mean we teach like we are talking to 5 year olds.  Hey but we always make it through with the help of the spirit!  So anyway i was explaining when they ate the food and what happended after and i was really nervous for some reason because these people are really knowledgeable and my words were not coming out very good and this is what i said, and i quote, "usted no bien." "you no good." haha oh boy everyone had a good laugh, but you know what even though that wasnt the best spanish i got my point across and that's all that matters and we were able to laugh alot and they were super patient with our spanish.  I am really thankful for patient people like Abraham and Milagros because spanish is hard haha but we just keep on trying and doing our best and thats all the Lord expects out of us:) You dont have to be fluent to invite others to come unto Christ.

2. On Saturday we did a zone service project installing smoke detectors in peoples home all day.  Super interesting but it was pretty fun.  So we went to the first door and there was a little script thing i had to read when people answered that was like "hello we are here for here with red cross and dekator county and we are in the neighborhood installing free smoke detectors......"  anyway so i was so nervous and felt so awkward.  for some reason its just alot more easier to say "hola somos representantes de Jesucristo..." so we knocked and a guy answered and this is what i said "hello we are here with red cross and dekator county fire department and we are in the neighborhood installing free fire departments." oh my heck so awkward!!  haha Its so scary!  i was definitely exited to get back into my skirt and hold my book of mormon again!

Im super excited for this tomorrow!  We get to go to the temple so that will be way fun!!  I love it here in Chamblee and i love being a spanish missionary. I love both of my companions so much.  I love you all my wonderful family.  And i love my Savior Jesus Christ.  "for i say unto you that whatsoever is good cometh from God, and whatsoever is evil cometh from the devil.  therefore, if a man bringeth forth good works he hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd." Alma 5:40-41.  I love making good things happen and seeing peoples lives change for the better because of this gospel.  I know this gospel is true with all my heart.  Have an amazing week and may we all make good things happen.  I love you all!

Love

Hermana Stewart

​Zone service project!

I Know That My Redeemer Lives!

Hello!!  This week was amazing!!!  Can y'all believe that this week i will have hit my 6 month mark.  ahh crazy sauce!  Its going way to fast!  im just having way to much fun being a missionary!  I love it!!  So our new companion is soo amazing!  Her name is hermana Meneses from Salt Lake City (la fabrica) and she is 19 and she is fluent already cus she is Mexican and she is just so adorable!  We are so happy to have her with us here in Chamblee.

Miracles time!!!!

 

Lucy: So we went and visited a less active this week.  She has a really complicated life and i was honestly really scared to go over there because i am not good at knowing what to say to people with hard situations or what to do.  So while we are in this lesson and she was talking to us, i was praying so hard for us to know what to say to her. It was so amazing because the Spirit was able to direct the conversation in a way that we were able to teach her something that she really needed to here that day.  The spirit enlightens our mind when we trust in it, we will know what we need to say.  It might not seem like much, but  like the scriptures teach us "nevertheless the Spirit of the Lord did not fail [us]." alma 4:15 i just have such a testimony of the Holy Ghost.  When we allow ourselves to be soly intruments, the holy ghost can relay the message through our mouths of what these people need to hear.  I know that to be true.

Less Actives: So we made a transfer goal as a companionship to visit ever less active member in the branch.  Wow since starting this goal, so much happiness has filled my heart meeting all of these wonderful people.  We were able to meet about 10 less active people this week, and that was a miracle.  These people are wonderful.  They are so loved by our Heavenly Father.  Im so thankful to have the privelage to see these people how Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ sees them, lost children of our Heavenly Father.  What a miracle it was to build more relationships with these great people, and Heavenly Father definitely helped us in knowing which people we needed to visit and at what time so that we could catch them at home.  Wow just wonderful!

Bernal Refferals: We have this awesome old lady in our Branch Hermana Bernal and she came out with us on team ups for like 6 hours.  We were able to do service for her a couple weeks ago, and because of that she offered to come out with us!  service is amazing and brings miracles!  So anyway, we went and taught a few of our investigators with her and the lessons went really great!  Then we were getting ready to take her back home, and she asked if we had more appointments.  We hadnt had any set appointments only finding so we asked her why.  Then she said well i just wanted to take you around to meet some of my friends if you guys want.  A FREAKING DUH!!!  of course we want to visit your friends!!  she took us around to a bunch of her friends and we taught them and made return appointments.  Wow that was a huge blessing and miracle to us!!!  I know that without the help of members, we could not do this work.  They are key!

The Things!!!!

1. So when we are at members houses for dinner its kind of been awkward without Hermana Gallardo because me and Hermana Bringhurst are bomskee in spanish when it comes to Gospel talk, but normal everyday talk is kind of awkward for me still haha i mean you can only say "how is your family doing? and how was your day?" so many different times and ways and then it just gets awkward and i dont know what else to say!  BUT, we figured it out!!!  After we ask them how they are doing we just start talking about our people we are teaching!  Then the conversation is booming!  BAM!  no more awkward dinner conversations for us!  

I just want you all to know how much I love being a missionary!!  it is seriosly the best and i am so happy all the time!  i love wearing this name tag and representing my savior 24/7.  This is the best calling i could ever have.  "And thus they were instruments in the hands of God in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to the knowledge of the their Redeemer.  And how blessed are they!  for they did publish peace; they did publish good tidings of good; and they did declare unto the people that the Lord reigneth." Mosiah 27:36-37.  While in my personal study this week i read this scripture and tears filled my eyes thinking about how blessed i am.  oh no, here come the tears again haha.. I mean it with all my heart when i say that i feel so blessed to be able to Represent my Savior and be an insturment to declare good news to all of Heavenly Fathers Children.  how blessed am i.  "I know that my Redeemer lives.  What comfort this sweet sentence gives.  He lives, he lives who once was dead.  I know, that my Redeemer lives."  Have an amazing week.  I love you all so much!

Love,

Hermana Stewart

Rain Rain Go Away, Come Again Another Day

Hello Everyone!!  Wow what a week!  It is just raining and raining and raining like crazy here.  I am sitting here in the library and im soaking wet from just walking in.  Gotta love Georgia, your never dry! 
So transfer are on Wednesday, and we got a lovely call this morning from our Mission President.  We are headed to transfers!  Hermana Gallardo(my mom) is going with the other two spanish sisters and Me and Hermana Bringhurst(my little sis) are staying here in Chamblee, but we are getting a new sister and training.  She is a visa waiter, so who knows how long she will be here.  Ahh its kind of scary not having our trainer here!  She is kind of our crutch, so let the comfort zone leave and let the growth and learning come.  Thank goodness i have Hermana Bringhurst!  We make a great team.  It will be fun!  So glad to be staying in Chamblee, theres so much work here to do still!  But the work continues where ever the Lord needs us.  

Alright im going to see if i can make these emails a little more organized so i got this idea of how to do my emails while in the Shower.  Im telling you, revelation best comes while in the bathroom.  That probably sounds so weird, but its true.  

Miracles:

1. Blue House

Me and Hermana Gallardo went english speaking for exchanges this week with Sister Alofipo, and Hermana Bringhurst stayed in Chamblee with Sister Creech.  So we were out visisting some less actives in their ward and we were in this getto neighbor hood and sister Alofipo decided to go knocking.  She looks at us and tells us each to pick a house to go knock.  So i thought about it for a minute or so with a prayer in my heart, and then i looked up and all the way down this street and down this big tall hill i pointed to a blue house and was said i wanted to knock that house.  They both looked at me thinking i was crazy cus it was quite a walk and down a big hill that we knew we would have to hike back up eventually to get back to the car.  But we went anyway.  We got to the house and knocked on the door.  It was HErmana Gallardos turn to start the conversation.  A black lady answered the door and Hermana Gallardo asked if we could say a prayer with her.  She let us in her house, and we each gave her a hug.  I was the last to hug her, and by the time we each hugged her she was in tears.  We talked to her for a few minutes and she just broke down and told us everything that was happening in her life.  I really wanted to share a scripture with her but i couldnt remember where it was the one i was thinking about, as clear as day the Holy Ghost wispered into my ear "alma 34:41".  while the other sisters were talking i flip open to alma 34:41 becaise i had no idea what that one was.  I had never even shared that scripture with anyone.  it said "But that ye have patience, and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day resst from your afflictions."  in my head i thought, "afflictions, hope, patience, sure why not!"  So then i read her that scripture.  We were talking to her, and the more we talked the more i realized that we were tuly guided to knock on her door.  We said a prayer with her and she was again back with tears streaming down her face.  This lady, her name is Sister Hines she just looked at us and said "i was thinking about giving up, but then i heard a knock on my door and i opened it saw you three girls."  sister Alofipo told her how I really felt prompted to knock on this door, and that Heavenly Father knew that she needed us.  So then we made a return appointment and we left.  We were walking back up the hill talking about how cool of an experience that was.  Then Both Hermana Alofipo and Gallardo turned to me at like the exact same time and said "Hermana Stewart how did you know to share that scripture?"  I guess that they both thought of that scripture and they wanted to share it but couldnt remember where it was at.  Wow.  Can i just say that the Holy Ghost is amazing!  Without him, we couldnt do this work.  We wouldnt have known to go knock on Sister Hines door and be there when she most needed it and share the message that she most needed to hear. 

2. KFC Family

So we were eating lunch at KFC this week with my comps Hermana Gallardo and Hermana Bringhurst cus we really needed a break from tortillas and beans and rice.  So we were sitting in a booth and in front of us there was a hispanic family and then sitting behind us there was another hispanic family.  Boo yah!  we were going to pass out two pass along cards when we finished eating.  Well one of the families left really fast so we missed out on that opportunity.  Then we were talking and we started talking about something i cant remember but we ended up like getting upset at each other....three girls living with each other 24/7. haha we love each other :).  but anyway so then we stopped talking and then were going to leave cus we were done eating.  We got up to walk out the door and in my head i was thinking how awkward this was so just not going to give them the pass along card.  Nothing ever comes from pass along cards.   I was just being a downer Hermana Stewart.  So both of my companions were out the door, but the spirit was so strong and just told me like "dont you dare walk out that door Hermana Stewart without giving that pass along card to that family."  So then i grabbed one of the pass along cards from Hermana Gallardos hand and just looked at my comps "well are you coming?" and then we went up to the family.  and i kid you not all we said to them was "hi we are missionarys.  Here is card of Jesus Christ.  Have a great day."  Then we left.  Didnt think anything of it.  And then later i felt dumb that i didnt even ask them for their number or anything! Then we were back in our house later that day.  this was Halloween and we had to be in our house at 7.  So we were just making a bunch of calls inviting people to church.  I had the phone and we got a text from a number we didnt know.  It said "hi you gave me a gard in the KFC on Bufford highway.  Where is your church?"  LIKE WHAT THE HECK!!!!  Ok so that does not happen!  People do not text us haha!  We were jumping up and down and screaming and crying we were so happy and said a thankful prayer!  So it was the family from KFC and we had a whole text confersation and we invited them to church and they said they were going to try and make and then the last text was "thank you three."  Wow what a huge miracle.  And once again the credit all goes to the Holy Ghost for giving stubborn Hermana Stewart a little kick in the bum. 

Rain rain!

Funny Stories/lessons learned:

1.So on exchanges in english speaking i was driving the car and we went to go into this appartment complex but it was gated and had a swing down arm gaurd thingy.  So we were really bumbed but then i told them to trust me and i followed a car in through the gates, even though it said "no tail gating", but there was people to save and lessons to teach within those gates.  We needed to get in.  so i folled the car and we had a very very smaill window of time to make it threw.  The gates started closing when we were like half way through and the arm guard was coming down, and the car in front was driving so slow!!  Phew.  I made it but it was really close.  Like within inches from coming down on the car.  Well lesson leaerned is that i can tell you for sure that most likely i will never try doing that again!

The Things:

1. So we were talking the other day as a companionship about what things/ sayings do we contribute to one another or have picked up from one another.  Becuase you know when you live with eachother 24/7 you start becoming more like each other.  That could be good or bad haha ;) So here are our conclusions.

Hermana Gallardo: She says "freak!" all the time also she says "you get me?" all the time when she is talking so that is something that we have picked up from her because now me and Hermana Bringhurst say "freak" and "you get me?" all the time.

Hermana Bringhurst: she says "poop" and calls us "bumbsticks" all the time.  and also she says "you know what im saying?"  So that is something that me and Hermana Gallardo have picked up from her.

Hermana Stewart: so my companions say that i say "como rudo" (how rude) all the time, especially when we are knocking doors and when they slam the door on our face.  I do my little "wink click" thing all the time and they do it now too haha.  And then the last thing i have contributed is "Amen sister friend." or just "amen" in general.  I think that is a south think that i have picked up.  I say amen all the time though.  When we went english speaking this last exchange as we were praying together for the food or something i said "Amen" in the middle of the prayer under my breath. haha i dont know why but i just want to say amen all the time!

Til next week:

Well my wonderful family, i sure do love you alot!!  Being a missionary is still the best thing ever, and i am still enjoying everyminute of it.  THe Holy Ghost is so powerful and it can always lead us to where we need to go or what we need to do.  Something i have learned is to continually having a prayer in my heart always go to the Lord in any moment because i want to only be his instrument.  We need to forget about our wants and desires and not let them get in the way of the Lords will.  "counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good." alma 37:37.  When in doubt, go to the Lord.  When sad, go to the Lord.  When confused, go to the Lord.  When troubled, go to the Lord.  When thankful, go to the Lord.  When happy, go to the Lord.  Go to the Lord all of thy days.  This is my prayer and testimony always in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.  Have an amazing week!  Be safe and know how much I love you all!!

All my prayers and love,

Hermana Stewart

Georgia Curls!

me with a big sword in the Garcia home