Poaching and Transfers, Albuquerque, NM

What a week!

I taught the law of chastity for the first time! to nine year olds! what the?!?!?! needless to say, it was probably not my best lesson ever.. but that is a-okay! I will get a do-over one of these days. hopefully I did not mess up their eternal salvation becasue of it...

This week Sister Smith and I found out that we are poachers. The family we found and started teaching - the Wards - are not in our ward boundries. The parents are divorced. The dad, whom I have never met, lives in the stake, but the mom, who is taking the lesssons, lives in Rio Rancho - not even in ABQ! and that means we are not to teach them . We have to turn them over to the missionaries in their area. blast. bummer. the real hard thing about it is that the son has been really involved in the scout troop in our ward so he already has fellowship and so does the mom and the little girl becasue she goes to activity days here. Oh the complexities of a mission. They are frustrating sometimes. I just want to teach them! But I just have to remind myself that all the missionaries are on the same team and it doesn;t really matter if I teach them or if someone else does. It matters that they are taught and can find the happiness that can only be found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This last week Sister Smith and I got blessings from our bishop to help unify the efforts of the full time missionaries and the ward members- SO cool! Anyway, Sister Smith had a really powerful one where the bishop blessed here to have a pure knowledge that the lessons we teach are the truth. A pure knowledge! how neat is that! That is pretty neat! and then the line in mine that really stood out to me was that if I do something my testimony of the Savior will be immoveable from this time forth. Pretty powerful stuff - too bad I don't remember what it is I have to do eh?***so I think I am so funny right - so as I write my emails to y'all I just chuckle at myself-  there is another sister in here with us and she now thinks I am CRAZY! I am really not. I am just hilarious. that is all*** The Bishop also blessed me with faith to work the miracles in the Volcano Cliffs Ward and also to work with the members and to be able to see the fruits of my labors. So it was definitely a spiritually edifying evening. and I am already seeing the fruits! Two days later, one of the young women in the ward called us and told us she has a friend who wants to take the discussions! yahoo! (Iknow they are not called discussions anymore - but that is just easier to say. taking the lessons sounds funny.)

Remember how whenever Kemper would say prayers we would all dread it because they are soooo long?? and then whenever anyone else would say a long prayer we would all say "great prayer kemp!"? well it turns out - I am the new Kemper. Sister Smith told me the other day my prayers are so long! but she has a point - one night for companion prayer I said it and it was 13 minutes long! what the?? Good prayer kemp! I guess I am just better at talking to Heavenly Father now. I love praying! and believe me, I am abbout to be doing a whole lot more of it!

And transfer calls came this last week. I must be a terrible companion. I only have companions for 6 weeks at a time. Sister Smith is being transferred tomorrow. I must be the missionary that others can only stay with for 6 weeks at a time - otherwise they would go mad and be driven home! so they have to keep em rotating through pretty quick - otherwise I will destroy all their knees with my monster long prayers! :)

So a new transfer begins tomorrow - and I have the tremendous opportunity to be serving the sisters of the mission more fully as a Sister Training Leader. and that is why I will be praying a whole lot more - I am only 12 weeks out. How am I supposed tohelp these sisters who have been out for so much longer than I? I will tell you. I am not. I am to be the mouthpiece of the Lord. he will work through me to help these sisters. I have been greatly humbled by the call - 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 - many mighty miracles will be wrought in this land for which I will praise His name forever.

I love you all so much! have a fantastic week in whatever endeavors you undertake!

God be with you!

Sister Stuart

and Happy birthday this week momma!

Look! I don't do my hair anymore! I don't even brush it! :)

My new/old district. District #2

 Sister Jordan! a fantastic woman in our ward whom we love!

Surprise! Two emails in one week! Don't y'all feel lucky?

This one'll be a quickie though.. I will just update you on the news of transfers

- Sister Smith has gone down to the south end of the mission so I don't know where exactly she is or who her new companion is

- My new companion is Sister Walker from Perry of the Walker Cinemas - cool eh? yeah we will stay friends for long after the mission Free Movies!! But the real cool thing is that Sister Walker and I came out together - we were in the same district in the MTC! It was real exciting to see her name as my companion this morning! I am real excited! This will be one swell transfer!

and that is all! Have a great week yet again!

Sister Stuart

oh and a random picture that Sister Pasa Vaili sent me today from a few weeks ago at the trainer/training meeting we had - On the far left was my companion Sister Smith and the second one in from the right is my current companion Sister Walker - and the face is normal.. I don't know why I have such a hard time smiling in pictures...