"The Reward of Eternal Life Requires Effort"

Dear Family,

How are y'all doing?  i sure hope y'all are doing fantastic!  Wow what a week.  This week was great.  We had Zone Conference and it was all on Faith and Repentance.  It was so wonderful.  I love both of those subjects.  I have definitely noticed that as my faith grows in my Savior Jesus Christ, my desire to repent and to do better increases.  Repentance.  What a beautiful and wonderful blessing that the Lord has given to us.  A change of heart, to do good and endure to the end.  To be better today than we were yesterday, to be better tomorrow than we were today.  I am so grateful for our Savior Jesus Chirst for making it possible for us to act on our faith, repent of our daily mistakes, follow his example to be baptized, recieve the holy spirit and reecieve that remission of our sins, and endure to the end.  That is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  That is how we make it back and return to live with our Heavenly Father and become like Christ.  Eternal life is awaiting us all, and how beautiful of a reward it is for us.  But as our dear Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson said, "the reward of eternal life requires effort."  I love the Gospel of Jesus Chirst.  I love teaching it others that have never heard it.  I absolutely loved the conference this week and i wanted to share my thoughts with y'all.  i know that through our Savior Jesus Christ we can become like him.  How blessed we are!!

Ok funny story really quick.  This was Tuesday night we were making a bunch of phone calls trying to find a member to come with us on a team up with us for the next day.  I had made like 30 calls and left messages and my mind was just fried of speaking both Spanish and English.  So the last call i made i left a voice mail asking this member if she could call us back then i was like... wait just sec back story so it will  make sense.  So when ever we pray we always end my saying "te amamos mucho, en el nombre de Jesucristo amen." in English obviously "we love you in the name of Jesus Christ amen."  So i was going to end the call by saying "le queremos chou." in English "we love you bye."  so i was in the voice mail and i started saying "te amamos"...and then i was like "digo le queremos...en el nombre de Jesucristo amen." and then i felt so awkward and hurried and hung up!  We couldn't even stop laughing.  We laughed so hard and i felt so awkward that i ended it in the name of Jesus Christ amen.  ahhh awkward moments of being a missionary!!!!  You start ending your voicemail's in Jesus's name.  It was pretty funny though so just wanted to share a funny with y'all!

Less actives! less actives! less actives!!  So really huge miracles have happened lately with our less actives we have been working with!!!  So the first less active family i have already talked about them a little bit.  They have 4 kids, the dad and oldest boy don't really want anything to do with the church but the mom wants to come with the three little kids.  We have been working with them for almost 9 months now, my whole time here in Chamblee.  a couple of weeks ago we got them a ride to church but that was a miracle in it of itself.  We have been really praying for someway to have them have a stable consistent ride to church each week.  So we went over there this week and asked if she was going to church so we could find her a ride and she said that her husband was going to start taking her to church and just dropping her off!!!!  that is a huge miracle!!!!!!!!  Line upon line people!!!  So we got to church and she was there with her kiddos on time!!!  Wow pray works my family!  The Lord is amazing it helping this family become reactivated again!!  Ok another really cool miracle is that there is this less active couple that have been inactive for years and they just started coming again.  We are working with them in preparing to go to the temple to get sealed.  It has been amazing working with them for just a short period now but seeing the growth in them and their desired to come back is amazing.  Once again the Lord is wonderful is bringing about his own work, in his own time, in his own way.  We are starting to teach their niece who is not a member.  She came to church on Sunday and she loved it!!!  Miracles! miracles! miracles!!!!

​baloon party with the cutest little family :)

​me eating a really hot pepper haha

Well i just want to end this email by leaving my testimony with y'all.  I know that this church is the Lord's church.  It is true.  I know that trials are given to us for our learning and for our personal growth.  i know that the Lord is with us always.  He loves us so much.  I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that when we read it daily and truly feast upon it, it brings a special peace into our lives that only the spirit can bring.  I know that the stories in it apply to our lives today.  I know that because just today as i was reading in Alma the story of the sons of Mosiah applied to me, and brought peace into my soul as i read the words of Christ.  "for they had many afflictions; they did suffer much, both in body and in mind, such as hunger, thirst and fatigue, and also much labor in the spirit....they prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren to the knowledge of the truth....and it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with the spirit, and said unto them; be comforted, and they were comforted...go forth among the lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and i will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls." Alma 17:5,9-11.  I know i say this so much, but i have to say it again because i just cant say it enough.  I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!!!  The Joy, happiness, and peace i have felt being a missionary is so incredibly indescribably wonderful!!!!!!!  This is the Lords work.  The Lord is my light.  He is my Savior and Redeemer.  He died because he loves us.  He was resurrected and broke the bonds of death making it possible for each and everyone of us to live with him again.  He has risen.  He lives.  I love my Savior Jesus Christ with all my heart.  I know where i came from.  I know my purpose here in life.  I know where i am going after this life.  The blessing are awaiting us.  The reward is nothing we can even imagine because it is just so wonderful, but "the reward of eternal life requires effort."  From the words of my loving mother " If we can live our life as Christlike as possible we will have joy into the eternities forever and ever.   We will have greater joy than we can ever imagine.  Families can be together forever and ever.  This time on earth is such a small time compared to our life in the eternities.  We can't just hold on and endure, we need to keep pushing upward and forward all the time."  i know these things to be true in the name of my Savior, even Jesus Christ amen.

Thank you my wonderful family, my wonderful parents and siblings who have all been Christ like examples to me.  I am who i am today because of your examples.  I love you all so much.  Enjoy this holy Sabbath day coming up as we together reflect on our Savior Jesus Christ and the beautiful gift he has given us all.

Love always,

Hermana Stewart

xoxo