Be myself maybe??, Las Cruces, NM

Dear Family -

Boy am I sorry for the drab emails the past few weeks! Two weeks ago I was quite somber about leaving my area and wanted to be all spiritual and uplifting and all kinds of that good stuff - but then I realized I just got boooooring! So sorry about that! and last week - no excuse for that! I think I am back to my normal self... well sort of!

Being in Las Cruces has been intersting.  The work is harder just becasue we don't have the peopole to teach right now - but they will come. I know they will. So I will keep on working hard each and every day. We actually found a new investigator this week! her name is Eva (like saying ever but with an a instead of the er..) band she is just a ball of fire! We didn't have a real sit down open and close with a prayer lesson - we went over for dinner where she cooked the most delicious brisket! mmmm meat! anyway- we had to dart out of there pretty quick becasue Sister Montini was speaking at a baptism so we just taught during dinner on baptism - and she loved it! she invited us over on thursday for halloween becasue  her neighborhood is CRAZY! and she wants us to see it all - and she wants to make us frito pie... what in the world is frito pie?? I have no idea. I will tell you next week.. It kind of sounds to me like a cow pie which does not sound very appetizing or a minced meat pie which also sounds awful- hopefully it is more like a walking taco type of thing. but dinner last time with her was wonderful so I am sure this time will be too! anyway - her husband is a less active member whose records have been lost in another ward and I don't quite know how we came upon them or anything.. oh the joys of coming to a new area!  We also talked to this man at the mailbox the other day who said to us "hey! are you sisters?" to which we answered not blood sisters but sister missionaries and he had this expression like obviously! turns out he lived in Utah for a while and knows about missionaries and he invited us over to talk more! that is on the plans for next week. also- some missionaries in the zone gave us a referral for a woman in our ward who is less active and has two kids of baptism age who have not been - whose dad lives in their ward who is very active and they told us to go over and start teaching them too! this week that is in the plans! so see! the people come when we work hard! yay for hard work! Thank you dad for teaching me how to work hard. It really is paying off here on my mission when I see other people who have not been taught the value of hard work and man they are hard to work with as companions! So thank you. 

what else what else..

Oh leadership! I think I am finally getting a hang of this STL business. I think it becasue the zone leaders down here in the south have so much more trust in us sisters here. We are getting organized and starting exchanges this week - it is an exciting time for sure!

I think that is all - plus the fact that I love you all and I love this work!

Love 

Sister STuyart - -and i am really bad at typing...


ps. and it was sister montini's birthday this week so I made her breakfast! what is up with me getting companions a=on their birthdays!

Hello all!

As you all know, I was transferred from paradise in the Volcano Cliffs ward to another part of paradise in the Dona Ana ward in Las Cruces New Mexico! It has been a bit of an adjustment- well still is a bit of an adjustment but I know it will be wonderful! My new companion is Sister Montini from Michigan. She is so wonderful and I am really excited to be working with her!

We have a good week ahead of us planned and we are ready to work! and that is what I am off to do now!

I love you all!

SIster Stuart

Who is my Neighbor?, Albuquerque, NM

A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

How many people do we know in our lives who have fell among spiritual thieves, stripped of their raiment, wounded, and left for dead?  I tell you  - I have met them here in New Mexico. and the thing I have learned, you cannot always tell when they have reached this point in their lives. Some people don't even know they are here.

And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

Where do you fall? amongst the priests? the levites? or amongst the Samaritan - or maybe you are the certain man waiting for the help to come. Wherever you fall now, there is a lot to learn from this parable. i would like to share with you what I am learning from it now.

The Samaritan was the first to act- He saw a need and he paused to help. When we see a need are we ready and willing to jump on an opportunity? I have been blessed to be here serving the Lord, solely looking for opportunities to serve and to lift those who have been left for spiritually dead. I have had many wonderful experiences finding people and sharing my testimony - loving them - and showing compassion to them knowing what I have can help them.

And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him

I have been able to be the instrument in the Lords hands to bind up wounds of loss and anger and frustration. I have seen the joy the gospel brings to peoples lives and the healing which it can provide. Seeing the progression in the people I have met has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. To name a few individuals-

I met Christi and she was so ready to be baptized when I entered the area. She had the knowledge she needed and her testimony was strong. She was, however, only 17 years old and did not have the support from her parents. So we continued to teach her and to help her stay strong despite opposition. Two weeks ago - Christi turned 18 and turned to our Father in Heaven in prayer to know when she would be ready to enter into a covenant with Him. Her answer was Saturday 12 October 2013. And what a day that was! She has been dating Mason, a priest in the ward and he was able to baptize her. When he was saying the prayer, he started to choke up and I lost it. It was so incredible to see this ordinance performed. Such a tender moment - and the year+ in waiting made it all the sweeter. Christi bore her testimony after and it was so powerful! one thing that really hit me- She said - specifically to her friends and family in attendance "thank you all for coming - even though I know a lot of you do not support me in this decision - I know it is the truth. I know this is the right decision." The spirit was so strong in the room - there was no way you could not have felt it. The following day she was confirmed and received the gift of the holy ghost-  that was another incredible ordinance to witness. Mason's dad performed that ordinance and pronounced the sweetest blessing on her head. She is going to be a strong convert. In one year - we'll be in the temple with her. and then she will be out converting the world!

Another person who came into my life was miss Bobbie and her husband Bob. When I first met them - we were teaching Bobbie and Bob would rarely - if ever- show his face. And Bobbie would soak everything up - but would not commit to anything. We were meeting with her once a week and she did not want any more than that. at the end of my first transfer, we committed her to baptism and she accepted! and then in my second transfer we were able to meet with her twice a week and she continued to soak everything up - although would not accept a date. Slowly, Bob began to come out of the bedroom and the office just to chat. In this last transfer - Bobbie had it confirmed to her that she is going to be baptized before the end of the year. She told us her door is always open to us - whenever we feel to come by. We talked with Bob for a good hour last weeek and another 45 minutes last night. Last night, Bobbie told us that she is ready to be baptized in November. She sees no reason to wait much longer. She knows this is the truth and she is ready to act. And now Bob is ready to learn more. He has been doing his research on google and is ready to learn from the reliable source of the missionaries. I know they will now continue to progress together toward the temple to be sealed together for time and all eternity.

One other person who I have met here in New Mexico is Louise - a less active in the ward who really needed the savior back in her life. I was able to witness her forgiving herself and allowing her Redeemer to reenter her life and to fill it with the joy and happiness only he can bring. Hearts can change- I saw that in her.

Karissa went to war in the middle east for a year where she lost all faith in any God. In the past few months she has come to a realization that that faith needs to be back in her life - only she did not know how to get it back herself. Thankfully, we were able to be her samaritan in the moment she needed one. She allowed us to enter her home to bring her back to a knowledge of the atonement and the effect in can have in her life. It can heal her hurt and her pain. She has already progressed so much in the last few weeks and I know it will only continue.

There have been many more - these people have touched my heart and they will forever remain there. 

And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

And on the morrow - I will be departing. leaving these certain people under the stewardship of my dear companion Sister Walker and whoever her new companion is. I trust they will act in the direction of the spirit to care for these people how the Savior would. This is the hardest part of the work I believe. Working so hard to help someone heal and then to leave before the process is complete. But just as the Samaritan entrusted that man, whom I know he grew to love in caring for him, to the host - I entrust these people to the Lord. He will care for them.

This has been such a wonderful area and I am so thankful that I was able to serve the people here. I am so thankful for the love that has been shown to me. For the members who have welcomed me into their homes and made me feel like family.

But - My bags are packed - I'm ready to go! only they aren't. but that song has been stuck in my head all day now... I love to see the temple......



My shoes

The Travis Family

I love you all! I will let you know the news next week!

Committments, Albuquerque, NM

Hello everyone! Sorry I missed the email yesterday - I am indeed still alive and still doing well - much more so now actually because you see, yesterday, I was able to attend the temple! and what a magnificent place that is. I have missed it so much! But it was a wonderful day full of spiritual edification! and now I get to wait another wonderful six months until I get to go again! The temple is such a wonderful place to receive revelation - I admonish you all to attend frequently. as proxy for me :) Is that blasphemous maybe? nah - 

As for this week coming up - Christi is getting baptized on Saturday! Oh it is so very exciting! She has been waiting for a real long time for this opportunity. and now she gets to! and it will be both Sister Walker and my first baptism - and then next October - Christi has already invited us to the temple with her! yay for that! 

I also need to share with you a cool experience that Bobbie had. Bobbie is so ready for baptism - she just won't committ to a date but that is okay. She knows she is going to. A few weekends ago she went to Colorado to visit her sister who has made some really poor choices in her life and she really had no idea why she was going. she just felt like she needed to go. She had no intentions of sharing the gospel with her at all - she really didn't know why she was going actually. On her drive up there she listened to the april general conference and really got hooked to President Eyring's talk. I think she said she listened to it 4 or 5 times! But then she said when she got to Colorado the only thing she could think about was the gospel and how much it could help her sister - She said she felt the spirit so strong with her that she really needed to share this wonderful gift with her sister - so she did! and called us to get the missionaries phone number for where her sister lives in some small town in colorado.so exciting! Oh she is so ready. 

We also committed our new investigator karissa to baptism on 23 November! That is real exciting too! She isn't quite jumping for joy at the gospel yet - but it is making sense to her and she is going to find so much joy from this. I mean who doesn't?

I am now going to take the advice from Michael that he has given to me concerning non-progeressing investigators. I left you all with a commitment last week - and heard nothing of it. So therefore, until I hear you can keep your commitments, I will use my time more effectively in serving others. 

I still love you all! 

Until next week - oh which is transfers. I will let you know then if i am staying, going, getting a new companion, or whatnot...

and really, I would love to tell you all more about this week, but becasue of the temple today is a shortened prep day and my companion is ready to go and there are some other sisters who are waiting on us to some pick them up. 

So I really do love you all 

Sister Stuart

MLB Playoff Bracket

Well I misssed my deadline because I was at the temple - So you can count me out of this one - yes. I am giving up on a baseball competition. the mission truly is changing me family! although I did talk to a gentleman at jiffy lube the other day all loaded up in his red sox gear and that was a whole lot of fun! but i felt like some dumb girl and not a real fan becasue I had no idea what was going on in the season - but it gave me an opportunity to share with him why - becasue I am on a mission for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Yahoo!

On Tue, Oct 1, 2013 at 10:19 PM, Brent Stuart <bcstuart04@gmail.com> wrote:

Here is another opportunity to earn a prize.  This time it is MLB playoffs, see attached bracket.  You will need to get your bracket back to me by Thurs at 3:00 pm to be eligible.  The ALS wild card game will be happening tomorrow, so I will give everybody that game.  Whoever wins tomorrow will go in you bracket.  The Pittsburgh Pirates have already beaten the Reds.  Taylor you can play or not, but it can't distract you from your work.  You will have the advantage because you deadline for turn in will be Monday at 5:00 pm.

Good Luck.

dad 

Missionary Monday

Sister Stuart,

I got to spend the day at the temple with a lot of the missionaries yesterday.  What an amazing opportunity!  I took a few pictures, but thought you might like to pick your favorite. 

From Sister Heidi Christensen

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Abby Stuart <atstuart11@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Oct 2, 2013 at 9:18 PM
Subject: Re: Sister Stuart Pictures #1
To: Heidi Christensen <morsyd@gmail.com>

Thank you soooo much Heidi for sending the photo's.  It makes my heart so happy to see her so well and happy.  It is a mother's greatest fear to have her children unhappy.  I appreciate people like you who will watch out for my baby and who will provide a safe haven for her.  It makes me want to serve our missionaries more knowing there are those (you) who are caring for my missionary.

Please know if ever you are in our area in Utah you always have a place to stay.  I love you for your kindness.

When Tay told me about the sister in the ward who knew about celiac and was dealing with it in her family, my prayers were answered.  A lot of times it is just easier to eat with the crowd rather than be fussed over. So thank you for sharing your home and goodness with her.

Please feel free to contact me anytime.  I absolutly love the photo's.  They are so Tay!

Abby Stuart  (mom to 4 beautiful daughters! and wife to an amazing man!)

On Wed, Oct 2, 2013 at 5:25 PM, Heidi Christensen <morsyd@gmail.com> wrote:

Sister Stuart and Sister Walker stopped by the other day after doing some service, so we grabbed some pictures.  I LOVE the sister missionaries!  They have been such a blessing to our family and have been amazing examples to our children.  Thank you for raising such obedient, faithful young women!  

Sister Heidi Christensen