Loving it!

Hello family! It’s been a great, if a little cold, week here in Gunnison. We had snow and some wintery mix a few times this week. But thankfully Gunnison doesn't get hammered with snow like other towns in the area. Yes I am staying warm.  But I am also going to buy another sweater today!

This week Elder Becerra baptized M. We almost thought that M's baptism wasn't going to happen this week. His work took him all the way to Oregon to pick seed in the mountains. But he drove all the way back to Gunnison on Friday for his baptism on Saturday. He is such a humble man, and he felt that the Lord had great blessings in store for him if he decided to go through with his baptism. There was definitely a way provided for him to come back down to be baptized!

We also taught a young lady named H who was baptized this week.  Her dad was worthy to baptize her and they her family has have been really good about coming to church together, except for her mom who works on Sundays in the jail. They are probably in my favorite ward in this area, the bishop, ward mission leader, and a lot of the members work so hard to find and fellowship investigators.

We worked really hard this week. I am surprised at how much effort is still required for each baptism to take place. The formula doesn't change no matter how long you have been on your mission! Faith and Works are always the qualifications for miracles. I am just so happy that I still have the energy to go after it every day in this area.

Some highlights from the week: we went on a lot of splits to cover all of our lessons. Elder Becerra told me that he has grown a lot in this last month, and that was a little payday moment for me. I really love him and I want him to leave this area ready to tackle any challenge in the mission. Every day we study and practice so that we can each get better, and it is definitely paying off!

This week we also went all the way down to Central Valley (see that on a map of Sevier County) to teach a Peruvian man who is working as a sheepherder. That was a great experience. We are the only Spanish speaking missionaries right now that can cover this big area and so we got a ride all the way down to Richfield and then from Richfield to Central. We stopped in a field in front of a tiny, tiny trailer. Seriously, our dinner table would not fit inside of that trailer. My companion sat in front of J as we taught him the first lesson in that tiny space. He has been to church before, loved it, and his English teachers have given him a Book of Mormon in Spanish. I wouldn't be surprised if he got baptized soon. We are going back there this coming week to teach him again.

Also, we kept teaching the Bs. And the whole family came to church this Sunday! The Bishop and ward mission leader were kind of surprised to see them all there, and we were too honestly! The mom and dad are members, and their 19 and 24 year old daughters live with them and were never baptized. They don't read very much so we spend time reading from the Book of Mormon with them in the lessons.

We continued teaching the Ms too! That was such a great experience. All of their kids come and listen to the lessons as well, and they have read the Book of Mormon together and prayed together as a family. This week they came to church too! The mother said that she is surprised to see changes in herself to where now she WANTS to have us come over and she WANTS to go to church. The father is also coming along well (he is a nonmember); he said that he understands more about the Gospel than ever before.

Teaching families all together has been such a great blessing. We are teaching 5 families right now and a smattering of other individuals. Before I got transferred from St. George I had the impression that I would be focused on teaching families in this last part of my mission, and it’s so good to see that come true!

Thanks for your emails too! It’s so funny, here raking leaves is definitely not the process that it is back home. The trees are smaller and have smaller leaves too. Thanks for the details too about the return trip home. I won't be out of Utah very long!

I love you all so much! I definitely know that this gospel is true. I continue to learn more and more about faith, repentance, and baptism on my mission. As you preach the first principles of the gospel again and again, your understanding and conversion really grows. I am realizing that they are all inseparable. The gate to enter is repentance and baptism, not just baptism. We need to help our investigators endure to the end too. At the same time, we're not afraid or ashamed to teach the necessity of baptism either, after all the Savior commands us "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost". That scripture is still carrying me this day!

I love you so much!! Take care!

Elder Michael Stewart

What more can I give?

Hello mom and dad,

 This week I learned great lessons, I hope a lot of what the Lord has been teaching me for 2 years is getting internalized. Let me start by telling you of some of the impressions I had this week.

A young single father who is inactive and struggling with the Word of Wisdom asked us to come teach him and give him some help this week. He is divorced for several reasons, lives alone, and only gets to see his girls every other weekend. One impression that I had when I was in his home is that life, marriage, and companionships, are not about "What’s in it for me?" The world wants us to think about ourselves, about our own pleasure, achievement, health, and enjoyment, but that is backwards with God. Any human relationship does not last if we are just in it for ourselves. That was a pretty powerful lesson that was driven home to me.

This week was awesome! We had several lessons that were just flawless. We taught the Restoration to almost all of our investigators this week and it was great to see that Elder Becerra and I are getting to where we can really teach as a team. It’s taken a lot of work and practice to get there!

Let me tell you about one lesson that we had and then I have to go, sorry!

We were teaching a part member family (The N’s, they aren't active and their 15 year old B is an investigator).  Elder Becerra said the previous contacts with the N’s hadn't been too successful in the past. We were reading the first chapter of the Book of Mormon and a Spirit came into the room that was clear and sweet. The parents and the daughter who we were teaching had tears in their eyes as we testified simply of the Book of Mormon and they committed to read it every day! Just little simple experiences like that go a long way for me.

I love you! Gunnison is great! We are having a few baptisms next week! And we are inviting everyone else to be baptized too.

Con Amor,

Elder Michael Stewart

Sanpete for Life!

This week we had a baptism the missionaries had been working on for a while before I arrived. We have been focusing on the mother of a family, and this week I invited her to read the Book of Mormon.  She did!  I was so happy when she kept that commitment.  She is a less active member, but I was very happy when she decided to read the scriptures again. Reactivation is just as rewarding as converting.  This week we baptized her son.

 To give you some perspective, I feel good if we find 2-3 new investigators in a week because I expect about 1:3 of them to be baptized. This week we found 7 new investigators! I love finding new people to teach! It’s one of the most exciting things for me as a missionary. Thanks for your prayers for me to find! Keep praying! There are a lot of people waiting for us to give them the gospel up here.

Most of the new investigators are coming from referrals that the bishops have been giving us. It’s so good to know all of the bishops in this area and to have relationships with them. One new family we picked up this week is the H’s. B and E are each in their second marriage, he is a member and she isn’t, and they have a 12 year-old son and a 14 year-old   who aren't baptized. They are very kind and right now we are focusing hard on having them all read the Book of Mormon, especially E. One thing I know is that the Book of Mormon has the converting power we need as missionaries.

We also picked up a family named the B’s. Brother and Sister B want to come back to church, and their 19 year-old and 24 year-old daughters aren't baptized. When we went to contact the referral, the 19 year-old daughter opened the door, and said "I’m glad you came, we wanted to get my children blessed in the home." Right place at the right time! We took them on a church tour (just across the street from them!) and mom was making plans to attend the week after Stake Conference. She wants to come and wants her daughters to be baptized! They are an answer to prayers.

We also have been trying to teach K. He is 16 and lives with an active family. They are his aunt and uncle who are also his legal guardians too. He plays football and is really busy, but we really want to help him!

Last of all we this week we met A. That was a great miracle! Elder Becerra felt we needed to stop by a certain home and we started talking to a less active young adult who wants to come back, and pretty soon all the other roommates drifted in, and it turns out that one of them is a nonmember young lady, A, who wants to be baptized! We set a goal for everyone to read the Book of Mormon from the beginning, Elder Becerra and I had just finished our last read through, and they all wanted to start. Hopefully we will be able finish before I come home in February! That’s the goal!

This week we also kept teaching the B family, and H is ready to be baptized!  Dad is activated; we are just working on Mom! She works on Sundays at the prison, but she has a really good testimony.

Also, M committed to be baptized this week! He said he has been waiting for the invitation and really wants to do it! It will be good to have a Spanish Speaking baptism again! I haven’t been involved in one since last July.

At this point on my mission, it’s just so fulfilling to see things come full circle. This week I got several emails from people I have taught in other areas that are getting baptized soon. The work of God continues! I am really humbled that I can play a small part in the salvation of others. 

I know that this church is true! Being a member missionary should be such a privilege to all of us! It lets us share that which is most meaningful to us with family and friends who need us. This week think and pray about someone you need to share the gospel with. Then set a goal about WHAT you will do to help them and WHEN you will do it. I know that when we give Heavenly Father all of our heart, might, mind, and strength, he will help us to do his work and we can all successfully invite others to come unto Christ.

I love this work and I love what I am doing. I am constantly grateful that the relationships that I get to build here can last my whole life and into eternity. It is comforting to know that when we help someone be strengthened in the Gospel they become our true friend, and if we are faithful to the end, our family and friends are eternally with us.

Los quiero mucho!!

Elder Michael Stewart

Welcome to Gunnison!

Hello there mom and dad!! Writing you is a considerable more rested, more peaceful, and COLDER Elder Stewart. I am sitting in the city hall of Gunnison watching coal trucks rumble up and down Main Street. The coal trucks never stop up here!  I bet that’s a good thing economically, I’ve heard that the SUFCO mine is really good for this area. 

Oh Gunnison!  It’s a great place. Serving up here in the fall/winter reminds me of when I was in Richfield last year. Crisp air, fall leaves, and beautiful stone and brick chapels. All of our buildings are older. I'm with a Mexican companion too.  We cover 9 family wards (6 in Gunnison/Center field, 1 in Mayfield, Fayette, and Axtell each) and we also have a Spanish branch and a YSA branch. Our area is more or less on a straight line up highway 89. We cover all the Spanish work south to Salina and maybe soon to Richfield and Monroe. There is so much to do here! 

My companion is great! Elder Becerra was born in Puebla, Mexico and has been living in Salt Lake since he was 10. He is one month older than I am and he has been out for 4.5 months, serving in Gunnison the whole time. He is very humble and willing to work. He is pretty buff and people say we are an intimidating companionship.

This week we felt prompted to meet with all the Bishops to coordinate the work with them. We have gotten many referrals from those meetings. If there is one thing I have learned about how to do missionary work it is to work with the members. This week we are going to invite everyone that we found last week. If even half of them accept our invitations we will have a teaching pool of over 10 people. 

We are working with a young couple right now named the M. They are both nonmembers and just had a baby. He works on a farm so his work is slowing down this week and hopefully he will be able to have more consistent lessons. There is also a family from Guatemala, one from Mexico, and several Part-Member families that we are working with. There should be lots of baptismal dates soon!  

Well this will be my home for the next 4 months.  I want to do the best I can right up to the end of my mission. I am so grateful that whenever I need strength to keep going that I can just ask and I feel that the Savior is right there with me. Elder Stewart doesn’t really have the strength to do this work, but I know that the Savior can work through me. This church is true and I love to invite people to learn about it and live its doctrines every day.  

I love you so much! 

Con amorcito,

Elder Stewart

I'm Just Grateful

Well mom and dad, tomorrow morning at 9 a.m.  I will get on the transfer van and leave Utah's Dixie to go to Gunnison.  I'm not sure how I am going to handle those moments; I don't do goodbyes very well. The great thing is that this is a "see you later" for everyone here in St. George, but I'm not sure when I will see some of these missionaries again. Tears have came pretty easy this week as Elder Campbell and I have reflected on 7.5 months together.  I feel attached to these missionaries, to my companions, to the office staff, and to President and Sister Center.  I about lost it when Sister Center gave me some chocolate sheet cake (I told her it was my favorite) and she said "thanks for all you have taught me". Are you kidding me? She is the one with the vision, the energy, and the righteous example. I'm just a 20 year-old kid.  I know in my heart that I have done God's will in this assignment. It’s been super tough, but by every measure I look at I see that I am leaving this area, these missionaries and the whole mission better than I found it.  And I'm just grateful to Heavenly Father that I could play a small part. He has heard my pleas for these missionaries and for my President and He has always delivered. This week the mission had 53 baptisms. That is a single week record for the mission and it’s the most our office staff has ever seen. I feel like this scripture in D&C 128, “Therefore, that we should waste and  wear out our lives in bringing to light all the  hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven  ...  Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully  do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the  salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed." 

I just want to do that! To waste and wear out my life in this work. I am still just learning how to "be still and know that he is God". He is so good to me, and yet I struggle trusting and having faith in his plans. I don't deserve this mission, and I definitely don't deserve the relationships and friendships that I have been blessed with among my missionaries, investigators and members in this area. My heart is just feeling very tied up. I love everyone here and I want them to succeed. And now my part that the Lord is asking me to do is to leave all that I love and get on a van to Gunnison. The amazing part about this work and this church is that because I know that I am following the Savior up to Sanpete county it is possible to leave all of this behind. And they will all be in great hands. 

This week was great.  J got baptized he drove down  to do the baptism with us which was great. 

Well, I got to go. Next time I write you will hear all about Gunnison and my new companion. 

Love you!

Elder Michael George Stewart

Relying on your Companion

Dear Mom and Dad,

Well, this letter is dedicated to Elder Campbell. I have been serving with this man for 7.5 months. This was probably our best week yet. We were firing on all cylinders. We didn't have to say much to each other in the office this week; we just passed paper and flash drives off to each other and got everything done super fast. We had a lesson Sunday night with two less active members who are coming back to church. Elder Campbell used a great analogy about the gospel being like a bag of M&M's (can't wait to share that one with you when I'm off the mission), and I followed him up with a simple testimony and commitment to read the Book of Mormon. The girls and the fellowshipper left with questions answered and feeling the Spirit. It just felt so natural.

The mission is doing better than ever now too. There are 252 people with baptismal dates in the mission!  I have never seen that before!  I credit the success to the unity of the members/missionaries and to all of the new District Leaders we have, and especially to President Center. Many hands make light work! We truly have great DLs out there. I am just so happy that I see all these changes take place. I love President Center. I would follow him and Elder Campbell to the ends of the earth.

 I am just so grateful for the Lord and for my companion. The other night we just laid awake after the lights were off and laughed about some of the fun/stupid moments we have shared together. Elder Campbell is learning Spanish, so that creates some fun moments as we try our best to speak to each other in that language. We have seen lots of opposition together too. I still remember our first week together in Richfield, we were in the little town of Glenwood together and nothing seemed to work that week. We had worked so hard, but we had no investigators to show for it. So we said a prayer together in the car and I remember feeling peace come over me. The very next day, we received 2 referrals for people who were baptized that same month. We worked hard, relied on the Lord, and he provided the miracle of conversion in other people's lives.

That experience has replicated itself month after month as we have served together. In total, we have 18 converts together. There has never been a month when we haven't met our baptismal goal, and we aren't done yet. I am filled with gratitude for the blessing of being able to serve with as good a man as Ryan Campbell.

So, this week may be our last full week together. I can't really describe how I feel about that. After this week, the week of the 21st we will train up a new AP together and then I am off to a new area for 4 months, and home in February. President Center will make all the decisions this week and so by this time next week I will know my fate (but I won't be able to share it with you). All I know is that I am going to miss Elder Campbell so much. He has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in me. But he has been so patient and loving with me and he has helped me become so much better. I can't tell you how big of an impact he has had on my life. He is truly a forever friend and a true brother. I hope I can always be worthy of his friendship and trust.

Well, that’s most of my thoughts this week. We had a great baptism last week, and will hopefully have some more great baptisms this week as well. C was baptized yesterday. He was introduced to the Gospel in Price when he was a kid, but his parents were less active. Then here in St. George his buddy at work challenged him to read the Book of Mormon and then to meet with the missionaries. It was a picture perfect "working with members" baptism. I hope that I can be that good of a missionary when I go home.

I really love this church and this Gospel. I know that nobody can follow the True and Living God in our days without following his true and living servants. I know that President Monson is God's mouthpiece on earth today. He has counseled all of us to do missionary work! To go to the rescue! And to boldly open our mouths and share the gospel. I urge you to really consider and follow his counsel; we are all called to the work. I know that this church is guided by Christ and that He will support us in all our righteous endeavors. I know he suffered for my sins. Repentance is truly a beautiful word to me and I know that through Christ I can be washed clean and return to live with him someday. That is what I truly want.

I love you all so much!  Thanks for your love and support of me. I am really grateful that you are providing me with the opportunity to serve this mission--it has changed my life. 

Con Amorcito,

Elder Michael Stewart

Is it really P-day again?

Where did this week go? We went on temple trips to St. George and Manti this week. The last time I did that it was with President Leonard and Elder Chidester was my companion, wow time flies.

This week we had three great baptisms: R, L, and S. All four of the people who have been baptized this month belonged to the same ward, and the three girls all live in the same dorms. The Spirit of God spreads like a fire. 

In other happenings this week we had three training meetings for the District Leaders across the mission. President Center halved the size of all of the districts in the mission and we have called twice as many District Leaders. Many hands will make the work of lifting this mission much lighter. It was so good to be among the missionaries and to train them. I am humbled by the opportunity to help other missionaries. I feel like the calling is way above me, but I know that the Lord prepares a way. 

One of the District Leader meetings was in Salina at the seminary building. I got to see President Monsen from Richfield after the meeting. It was good to see an old friend and to see him in his teaching element too. 

Wednesday we had exchanges as well. I went with Elder Ayala in Cedar City Spanish. He is a recent convert of 3 years and he is about to end his mission. He is 26 years old. He is a sincere and humble man. I felt extremely at ease around him.  It reminded me of the first time I was companions with Elder Fragoso, just how calm I felt around him. I learned so much on that exchange, and I really left with a lot of love and respect for Elder Ayala. 

Thursday we were out of our area all day at the Manti Temple and an exchange in Mt. Pleasant. They were good times. I had forgotten how many dogs exist outside of St. George. It seems like everyone in Mt. Pleasant has a dog. 

Well, it’s a busy P-day so I think this is all I can send. Today we are going out to Hatch with our High Councilman to check out his ranch. It should be a lot of fun. 

Love you all! 

Elder Michael Stewart