Transfer 5 Week 2

Hi friends! 

This week was so fun and we saw endless miracles including, but not limited to...

~ Carne Asada with a recent convert to celebrate his birthday! I love hispanics and their big hearts! "Food is love" ~ Alauna Stone                             

(not necessarily a super spiritual thing but I was super excited about it)

~ Lola accepted a baptismal date! We had the most powerful lesson about God's plan for us or the Plan of Salvacion. Where did we come from? What is our purpose in this life? Where will I go after I die? As we were talking about our purpose here on earth we invited her to take the first step by being baptized by someone who holds the Priesthood on June 7. She was hilarious she looked at us and basically said "Yes of Course! But Hermanas you told me last time I might be able to do it in May! Do I have to wait that long?" So May 24 it is! I know that Lola has sincere desires to show her faith in Christ and follow Heavenly Fathers plan! YAYYYYY!

~ We did service at Camp Evans and had the best time ever cleaning out an old military base warehouse and loading it up with "houses in a box". It's through Lutheran Ministering services to help with the devastation from Sandy. There are still 3500 families who are homeless because of the storm. We may differ in the interpretation of doctrine, but we are united in our love for ALL of God's children. It was such a cool experience to know we were helping Jersey people who are going through some of the hardest trials they'll ever had.
~ We finally made contact with the members of the ward council! This week we had a really inspiring multi-zone conference with President Taggart about how to work more effectively with the members in our ward. We definitely  have our work cut out for us here, but we have been praying so hard and trying everything in our power to help the branch help itself. The missionaries can bust their backs all day every day (and we will happily!), but not much more can happen until the members catch the vision and reach out as well. The Primary President, who we have never been able to speak to before, set up a day to come visit our new investigators who are Primary age and their moms who haven't come to church in years (one of which came to church this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Heavenly Father is definitely softening the hearts of these members and reminding them of the joy of missionary work!

I love you all and I love serving the Lord!!!

Mosiah 4 (change all of the ye's to we's)

LQM 

Hermana Stone

Transfer 4 Week 6

Hi Friends!

I'm completely out of time but I just wanted to share a quick thought about Because He Lives

Easter this year has passed, but the everlasting truth that Christ lives has not! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZqTRSVA1YA

"...Why seek ye the living among the dead?

He is not here, but is risen..."

Luke 24: 5-6

Where are we seeking Christ? Among the dead - spiritual death - sin? He lives today. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He speaks to us through prophets in the scriptures and our living prophets today! I invite you all to search diligently and prayerfully in the scriptures and the words that are shared in Conference addresses. www.lds.org has everything you could ever want to know. 

I love you all and I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Hermana Stone

Transfer 4 Week 5

Hi friends!

This week has been SO fun! We've been teaching, and preaching, and working as missionaries do!

April is finding month... April showers brings May flowers! Our mission has a goal of finding 1514 new investigators in April and each companionship will baptize in May and June. It's a fact! President Taggart said so :)  We prayerfully made a  goal of finding 26 new investigators for April and this week we found 6! We have 4 weeks left and 20 to go so we are on target! 

Funny lesson we had this week was with ___ and ___. ____is a member who doesn't come to church and ____is our investigator. They are not married yet so ____ can't get baptized. When we went over for our appointment on Friday night we walked in and some random lady was there preaching about some other church and how if you don't live the commandments don't read the scriptures... what. ____looked so relieved when we came in because ____ was just fighting with this lady. It was all pretty wild but we took control and invited the spirit with a prayer. I learned a lesson about age and accomplishments doesn't necessarily qualify you to "preach the gospel."  The Lord calls the simple and weak things of the world and if they receive not the Spirit they shall not teach Doctrine and Covenants 42:14

Saturday was a really good day! 

~Brunch at a Creperie in downtown Red Bank

~General Conference

~Baptism of Victor jr. (members son)

~General Conference

~Chipotle for the first time - a member took all the missionaries! He served his mission in ANACORTES! We had a great time talking about Washington and then next thing I know he hands me the phone and Willy and Kathy Webster are singing happy birthday to me. It all happened so fast but it definitely made my day :) We also found a Jehovah's Witness there and invited him to eat with us. It turned out he was married to a member! His heart will be softened one day and he'll recognize the pure and simple truths and they will be sealed for eternity!

~ Last and best part the day was the post conference birthday/baptism party for Victor. Our lessons for the night were planned with members, but they all canceled because of the party. So we went to the party and they had brought some of our investigators there for us! I was talking with our investigator Angel when everyone turns and stares at me and starts singing this Mexican birthday song that I've never heard in my life and hands me cake which they pushed my face in hahaha. It was a good end to the night!

Personal Study this morning in reflection of Easter and Conference included 1 John 4 and David A Bednar's talk about Fear. I'd always heard the phrase "Godly Fear" or "God Fearing Man" and never understood what it meant, but it turns out that Godly Fear dispels Mortal Fear. It is a deep feeling of reverence for the Lord and His commandments, a willingness to submit our will to His will, and an understanding of final judgment and our agency...When we truly love the Lord we keep His commandments, using our agency. When we keep the commandments, we have nothing to FEAR! I'm running out of time but I highly recommend studying it! 

Last and favorite quote is by Wilford W Andersen from Saturday Afternoon Session "I can teach you to dance, but you have to hear the music"

music = spiritual joy in living the gospel

dance = actions or keeping the commandments

LQM,

Hermana Stone

Feliz Pascua de las Hermanas Stone y Mendonca