I LOVE Finding!

Dear Mom and Dad, 

This week was full of blessings and challenges on my end too. I guess the family is all on the same page this week. We saw lots of blessings this week: new investigators, chances to train new missionaries, and students moving back to the area. I have been a missionary for a long time. Right now my focus is just to learn as much as I can about missionary work, get as good at it as I can, so that I can keep doing it my whole life. I do love this work, but I want both of my feet to be firmly planted here for my last transfers. I need to focus as much as I can on this work right now. Nothing is more important! 

Evan sent me a really nice message the other day in the mail, mention that to him if you get a chance at some point. It definitely lifted my spirits. 

Let’s start this week off with a miracle. Elder Campbell and I had to go meet with President Center one evening to plan the transfer and the upcoming zone conferences, and so we got out of an appointment and had ten minutes before meeting with him. There was one young man we both had in mind to visit and so we ran right over to his apartment and he was home! He ushered us both right inside and the first thing out of his mouth (even before the opening prayer) was "How long does it take someone to get baptized?" His name is S. He changed jobs last week just so he can "keep the Sabbath day holy" in his own words, great kid. He is well known by all, and we are excited to work with him. 

We did two exchanges this week, and I went to---RICHFIELD! It was very good to be back there and to find a lot of people. I love finding. 

And now, we are running off to Zone Conferences! Love you! I will write more soon! 

Love,

Elder Michael George Stewart

Renewed Vision and Energy

Hello mom and dad :-)

It was a really good week. We stayed pretty busy even though some kids were out of town for the holiday weekend. We drove to Price again to exchange with the Zone Leaders. I got to go with Elder Miller who is a great brother. We had a great time finding and teaching. We saw a lot of miracles even though it was Carbon County.

This week was Mission Leadership Council for us just like it was for Sister Stewart. There is a pretty big push in the mission right now to concentrate our efforts at working with members. President Center was surprised at the performance of the mission to be honest, with 200,000 member missionaries in the mission there is no reason that every single missionary in the mission should not be very busy. We do need to find and teach a lot more.

Let’s start with Sunday. Last Sunday a young man showed up to church for the first time because a friend invited him. We set up an appointment to go teach him last week, but he had to cancel and then we weren't sure if we were going to be able to see him again. But, he went to church again this week with a different friend, came, found us and asked "So....when you meet with people, what do you do?" It was a nice little tender mercy at the end of the week after we had worked hard all week long.

We kept teaching our investigators this week. R, K, and P are all doing well. It’s been kind of hard to get a hold of K2 these days, we hope that he is still good for baptism this month!

We have also been working really hard at finding using members as well. At times we as members of the church have a difficulty inviting or helping our friends become involved in the church or learn about the gospel because we don't know what to do. President Center helped us to develop a sheet that we shared with our Zone Leaders at MLC that is aimed at helping members get organized and have ideas for inviting people. The idea is that you put the name of a less active or non member down, and then you pick something that you can do to move them closer to the gospel, and you put a date in the box when you're going to do the activity.

Ever since we changed our own mindset from doing it all on our own to having members involved in our work, we have seen a lot of fruit. There are just people coming out of the wood work now!

I think one important thing I have learned on my mission is to love what I am doing. We put in long hours this week: on the road, in the area, and in the office. But loving the Savior, loving the missionaries, and loving the work makes every single sacrifice worth it. 

Well, I’ve got to go! But I love you all and I love this church. It is true.

Love,

Elder Michael Stewart

It’s not about you

This was an unforgettable week for me. We learned a lot this week, from each other and about each other, from President Center. It’s crazy to think about, the man who trained, taught, and guided me for 18 months is gone and moved on in his life. I will sure miss President Leonard and Sister Leonard. They stayed in in St. George all this week still because their son was sealed in the St. George temple on Saturday. He will always be my President (well, one of my two presidents any way). Sister Leonard gave us their phone numbers and invited us to their lake house after the mission.  Elder Campbell and I are DEFINITELY going. But there are still people to baptize here!

This week we got a new mission president and wife, President and Sister Center. This church is true and these two are the right people to be here at this time. We went out and taught with President Center last week and it was a delightful experience. He has a lot of ideas to put to work. He definitely has a different style than President Leonard. A lot of the formalities and etiquette that President Leonard trained us on are not really important to President Center, but I am so glad that President Leonard took the time to teach us all those things: how to plan and conduct meetings, how to prepare in a timely manner, and how to organize a transfer. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve with two great men!

The miracle of the week for us would have to be when a young man from New Zealand walked into the visitor's center and expressed his desire to be baptized. His name is R. He has been dating a girl from St. George, and now he has moved out here. He loves the church and the lessons! And Elder Campbell and I love his accent.

We also had a really good sacrament meeting on Sunday. Our recent convert K spoke to a packed chapel of people including 6 of our investigators. She brought down the house. "For a long time in my life I didn't have a Dad, but now I know that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and will answer my prayers." She just testified of her remission of sins, the long process it was for her, and of her love of the Savior. Not many dry eyes were in that chapel afterwards.

Lots of finding and lots of teaching this week. This mission is the best. I am so grateful for the chance I have to be here. They say that when a missionary hits 18 months it’s his time to shine. So let’s start shining, eh?

I love being a missionary. I want very much for others to come unto Christ and experience his healing and receiving a remission of their own sins. It’s not even about Elder Stewart and Elder Campbell having baptisms. It’s about helping people like K have their own special day and their own change of heart. The theme for me this week has been "It’s not about you" and that has brought me the most happiness. It simplifies my life and gives me a lot of drive and purpose as my thoughts and actions throughout a whole day are focused on others and on the Savior. I just want to do this forever, and I know God will make it possible for me too.

I love you all!!! If I had to make a suggestion...it would be to check out this new church website. And the book "The Power of Everyday Missionaries". Mom and Dad, you two can participate in the work of salvation too :-) Its so amazing.

Lots of love!!!!

Elder Michael George Stewart

The Mission is more that just two years.

This week was great. We worked on the transfers every day and we had a really good miracle too. Here is some background, we do transfers on a combination of a white board with magnetic face cards for each missionary and we also use a projector with a website the church uses for each mission. A lot of "click and drag" and seeing where people will go and what feels right.

So, we worked on the Elder's transfer calls all day Thursday with President and at the end of the day we were stuck. We needed one more Spanish-speaking missionary to go to a Spanish-area. We also had Elder Fiefia (our Tongan missionary) in an area in Cedar City and with a new companion. The transfer wasn't all figured out, and we left for the day. Friday we came back  to finish the elders calls and when we logged in the computer showed Elder Fiefia was moved to a different area in Cedar City and he was a district leader as well. No one had logged on to the computer to make that change in the night, but somehow it was changed by morning. President called it some "help from beyond the veil". We were all praying for guidance in the transfer and help to finish it on time, and we had a breakthrough that solved the whole Elders' transfer scenario. That might not have made sense, but it was a big miracle to us.

This week K got baptized as well. Talk about a true conversion. She bore her testimony at the baptism about the answers to prayer she had received. One night she prayed to God to receive direction in her life and the next morning the YSA ward mission leader and a friend showed up to invite her to the YSA award. I remember when we told B and the ward mission leader to invite her to church. Look at the difference they made in her life.

Her answers didn't stop there though. She had questions about tithing and living prophets, and that first Sunday when she went the talks were about those two things. The secret I learned was lasting conversion is all about personal commitments and WARD FELLOWSHIP! If we just invite our friends out of love to learn from missionaries and come to church, you never know who would end up being baptized. 

After being in this area and watching "The Work of Salvation" broadcast, my testimony of member missionary work is just too solid. I have been praying for help to make my mission last forever...not just two years. If this church really is true, if baptism really helps save souls, then helping people through that gate is something I MUST do forever and always. Reading my patriarchal blessing has just confirmed that to me. The Lord doesn't want me as his full time servant just for two years, but he seeks me to be his servant forever. There are too many people that need saving for it to be otherwise. 

I do love you so much Mom and Dad. This week, expect pictures of us with President and Sister Center. We have lots of work to do! 

Love,

Elder Michael George Stewart

Busy Bees (and Happy Fathers day)

Price Utah! We drove a lot this week :-) We drove 8 hours round trip to Price on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then we drove 3 hours round trip to Beaver on Saturday. There was lots of driving, but lots of miracles too.

On our way home from Price (home of Sister Julie Stong, by the way) we stopped in at Gunnision to give a blessing to a missionary and to eat at a drive in. At the drive in we started talking with a man who served in the DC south mission about 10 years ago---who served in the Rolling Valley ward. That makes a total of 3 people I have met who have served in our home area.  He said that he thinks he knocked just about every door in our ward, and we knew a lot of the same people. He was actually the missionary that baptized a brother in Rolling Valley ward!  His name is Brother Wilkins. It was a pretty good tender mercy.

Today this will pretty much be an "I'm still alive!" email. I do love you all!

K will be baptized next week. She is looking super solid. She wants a temple marriage. She always has questions, but she is relying on her testimony of the Book of Mormon to help her through. Her brother in law will do both ordinances for her.

We also kept teaching J this week. He is the best :-) We watched a part of the message of the restoration this week and he said "I don't understand how people don't believe this. All I know is that I want to get baptized as soon as possible." He is a good man.

Thanks for your prayers to help us find! People are still falling out of the sky for us to teach. This really is the Lord's work, and nothing is more important to me right now than that.

I want to bear my testimony of the power of the true doctrine this week. The first principles and ordinances of the gospel are simple and powerful, but they are true and necessary. I know that God lives and loves us and he has shown us the only way back to him is through His son Jesus Christ.

I love you all!!

Elder Michael George Stewart

There and Back Again

Hello mom and dad.  Thanks for your emails this week. It sounds like the youth are doing really well. I see lots of future missionaries waiting to go out and serve. That’s great. We need more worthy and capable missionaries helping more people through the gates back to Father in Heaven. We sure had a great week ourselves. 

Talk about miracles. B and M got baptized this week, and we had very good attendance at each service (50+).

B was baptized on Friday and he and his roommates bore their testimonies. It was powerful. His roommate J talked about how it wasn't a coincidence that he moved in to be with B last year. B also talked about the moments where he discovered his testimony. He talked about how he was really troubled spiritually, and his other roommate gave him a Book of Mormon and said "Here's the Book if you ever need it". B disregarded it at first, but that night he picked it up, he started it and he felt something. He went to church, we met him, and everything fell into place.

 I remember when I was first introduced to B over a month ago they said "This is my friend B--he is Catholic". His friends made him a cake at the baptism that said "You're Mormon Now!!"  It was a good moment. There were lots of tears at that service. He already has a calling. I love him.

M’s baptism was just as special. He got baptized on Saturday. He didn't tell his girlfriend that he was getting baptized until Friday night. She cried for 15 minutes he said. S, the girlfriend, had gone to her bishop a year and a half ago to ask him what she could do to help her nonmember boyfriend accept the gospel, look at what her faith did.

M's future father in law bore his testimony at the baptism, something we have heard time and time again. He said that M was brought to St. George and to Dixie to accept the Gospel. M got up to bear his testimony too and talked about all of the influences that brought him to that point. The friend that baptized him was the point guard at Dixie 3 years ago. He was baptized three years ago too, and is now sealed in the temple and has a beautiful baby girl. He mentored M along, set a great example. Just like you said mom, M might go to Germany to play pro ball, but he is going to be a leader on and off the court wherever he goes.

This Church is true!! I just know it is. The Lord says over and over again "Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and the door will be opened unto you." Any honest seeker of the truth who asks in faith can know if this Church is true or not. The steps of reading the Book of Mormon and praying are keys to finding the truth. Everyone can know that these things are true. I know they are.

I really love these men. It has been a joy working with them, and we're not done yet. Next stop, the temple.

The Lord just poured out new people this week and new referrals, ask and ye shall receive, right? One of them is a girl named K.  She used to live here in St. George and was being taught by sisters, but that didn't really go anywhere, so she jetted back to Las Vegas. Well, while in Vegas, her life was a mess, but then she picked up the Book of Mormon again.  She felt the spirit, and hightailed it back to St. George, hunted down her old sister missionaries in the Visitor's Center. She said "I know the Book of Mormon is true, what do I have to do to get baptized?" One of the best phone calls we have gotten in a while. K came to M's baptism on Saturday, felt the spirit, and is excited for her own service. She will be in Vegas for a little while, but she went to church down there on her own.

This week we held Missionary Leadership Council and then we went on an exchange with the Zone Leaders in Mt. Pleasant. Sanpete County is just gorgeous this time of year: green fields, water towers on the move, livestock to feed, and people to be taught. I would LOVE to finish my mission in Sanpete County. We will see though. It sure is different teaching singles in St. George than teaching families in rural communities.  We drove a total of 14 hours for that exchange, good bonding time I would say.

I love what I am doing! Elder Campbell is the man. Ever since he has been here the key indicators across the mission and in our area have sky rocketed. The faith of one good man can make a huge difference in this world.

I want to leave you my testimony of the Book of Mormon this week. Throughout my mission I have learned to more effectively use this "missionary tool" to help others come unto Christ. I have seen people feel the spirit as they ponder and pray about the Book of Mormon, and I have seen people find testimonies of this most special book. I know that it proves the truthfulness of the restoration of the Gospel. It is a book that has changed my life, and I have seen it change other people's lives too.

Love you! Share the gospel this week! 

 Elder Michael George Stewart

Working Miracles....and Exchanges

Hello Mom and Dad!! We had a great week. the mission improved, the area improved, and we will have two baptisms this week! It’s getting a lot easier to stay on top of everything we have to do. I know that Heavenly Father is helping us out a lot.

We exchanged with two zone leader companionships in St. George as well as the elders serving in the Snow Canyon Spanish area. On one of the Zone Leader Exchanges I taught in St. George in Spanish with Elder Noriega. Mom might remember Elder Noriega. We were buying garments at the Distribution Services in Salt Lake when we met him. He is an outstanding missionary. We taught well together and found some great new people for the Zone Leaders to teach.

On the other exchange I went with Elder Gomez again (we came out together) and we went and visited people that we had taught together earlier on our missions that still aren't baptized. As luck would have it Elder Gomez is now covering his greeny area again and we did a lot of good work there again. It was kind of a tender mercy, now that we feel we are much better teachers to be able to go and start teaching old friends again.

It was really rewarding to spend time in Snow Canyon Spanish again too. We found new investigators for the Elders and visited some of my recent converts. It was good to see that they are going to church still and reading the Book of Mormon. Little M is doing especially well. He has read the Book of Mormon 3 times now, goes to Scouts, and church every single week. Those exchanges were really good opportunities to lift and help the missionaries and to find new people in their areas. We definitely love what we are doing.

In our area we found so many new people this week and we found two people that want to be baptized soon...life is good when you can find. Thanks for your prayers!!

One of the people we found who is getting baptized on Saturday is named M C.  Let’s just say Elder Campbell and I have been praying to find an athlete to teach. Well, M has been attending church for a while, has talked with the bishop really extensively, and is getting engaged to an LDS girl soon. He has a strong testimony, and it is such a blessing to be able to review the missionary lessons with him.  He is definitely a miracle.

The work just kept rolling and rolling this week. We are still teaching a lot and finding a lot. B will be baptized this week as well, and K is next week. Then we get to take them to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. It’s so good. Right now I am grateful to be a missionary in this mission. We are really happy with what we are doing and Heavenly Father is really blessing us.

I know this church is true. I love being a missionary. It’s hard work, but it is gratifying to know that Heavenly Father can use Elder Campbell and me to do a lot of good here in Southern Utah.  I love the people we are teaching, and I love my Savior.

Love ya!
Elder Michael Stewart