Week 9~My First Kiss

Hi Friends! Another great week full of miracles! I'll start out by explaining the title of the email though haha. Yesterday our favorite family that is investigating came to church for the first time in 5 years!!! The mom is an inactive member and her boyfriend is an investigator. They have a 2 year old and a 5 year old. Also, it was in the low 30's yesterday and they walked 11 blocks and were 30 minutes early for Sacrament meeting! My companion and I were on the stand playing prelude music and when we saw them we were so excited that we went down to hug them and talk with them. They loved church and everything was so perfect! I was sitting with the mom in Relief Society and trying to help her 2 year old son stay quiet when he grabbed my face and kissed me right on the mouth hahaha. I didn't know exactly what to do but it was definitely hilarious. I never thought I would kiss a boy on the mission, let alone in Relief Society! The reason this family is a miracle, besides the fact that they came to church, is because they are bringing this ward together. They are going to plan and give them a wedding for free! Decorations, cake, music, ceremony, EVERYTHING! And then they will be living the law of chastity and the dad can be baptized!! And then in a year be sealed for time and all eternity in the TEMPLE! It's all so exciting :)

So this week Hermana Harris and I had the opportunity to go to Ellis Island and learn the history of immigrants in the late 1800's and early 1900's! It was so interesting and I had a personal connection too! My great grandmother immigrated from Norway through Ellis Island. So cool! I love history, but when it has to do with your relatives it's even better! We also, got to help people in the genealogy center and here the stories of their ancestors and meet people from all over the world. Another Hermana who came with us studied Italian before the mission and she was able to help a group of 15 Italians who could not speak English use the site and find their loved ones! So neat.

Lately I've been paying closer attention to the Lord's hand in my life and I can only say "I Stand All Amazed." Which brings to mind one of my favorite quotes from our mission president. God is in the details. I testify of this and encourage you all to make note of the Lord's hand in your lives as well. You will see the blessings and miracles!

Lots of love from the Upper East Side :)

Hermana Stone

Photo note: Ellis Island has the perfect view of the NYC skyline on the left and Lady Liberty on the right (different picture)!

Let's hear it for NEW YORK~Week 6/7

Amigos!

I am currently in Union City which is just across the water from NYC! I can see the empire state building almost any street I walk on It's So LEGIT. It's the most densely populated city in America and approximately 98% Hispanic. I set a goal to be fluent in a month and so living here is the greatest thing ever! The people are so diverse! In 6 days I have met and come to love people from 15 countries including Ecuador, peru, el salvador, republica dominican, mexico, honduras, cuba, guatemala, colombia, argentina, costa rica, brazil, korea, morocco, and syria! I love all Heavenly fathers children so much! The message of Jesus Christ is for every person on this earth from all these places and more! Life is so good, and it's even better with the gospel :)

So my trainer is the sweetest girl ever! Hermana Harris is from San Diego and we have connections off the wall! She lived in the same dorm at BYU and she was roommates with a girl I knew in Texas. BYU is such a (perfect) small world. She's fresh out of training herself but she's an expert in all things missionary related and obedience.

Pictured below is NYC! Can you spot the Empire State building? Probably not because the cloud is covering it's most distinguishing feature, but it's there on the right! We run along a walkway here some mornings when it's not in the 30's haha. Coolest running trail ever!!!

Some wise words from our mission President Taggart that I love so much that I can't not share:

"Faith is Power!... Become and Believe" I think the last part is somewhat open to interpretation but that's what makes it so great! For me, I want to become more like the Savior. He was perfect in every way. I know I won't achieve that in this life, but I believe that as I work harder every day trying a little harder to be a little better, I can.

I love you all so much and hope you have the greatest week ever!

Hermana Stone

Nosotros amamos Cristian! El es el mejor!
Yoga master, massage therapy, AND
Member of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter day Saints!

Week 5. Next stop NJ!

Hi friends!!! So many awesome things this week!! Lots of good things happening down here in Mexíco! First of all I got to shake an apostles hand!!! Elder Neil L Anderson of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles shook my hand! What a guy! He´s definitely my new favorite! Also, he is all about French and I respect that. La langue de francais es trés belle. Sadly french is getting so hard to remember as I am trying to think in Spanish all the time. Also, I got to talk to Elder Anderson. I said "2 Nephi 31 and 32" It was great. Spiritual gold star for being brave enough to answer a question in front of lots of missionaries who know a lot more about las escrituras than me.

Another great thing about the devotional with Elder Anderson was that Hermana Dearden and I got to sing the most beautiful arrangement of Asombro me Da. The Spirit was so strong. The message of I Stand all Amazed is so personal and meaningful. I love the Atonement, which turned out to be the topic of His message. Los meritós, la misericordia, y la gracia de Jesucristo: The merits, the mercy, and the grace of Jesus Christ.

Music has always been a huge part of my life and I am realizing it more than ever! Today I am listening to the Pride and Prejudice soundtrack as I email and nothing will be able to bring me down for the next 17 months because of it! Also, Mama today I am super especially grateful to have been raised by someone who just gets it and on top of that is a WORLD TRAVELING VIOLINIST! Wow. Just wanted to brag about that for a second cuz I think you´re awesome. Missin those late nights just listening to you practice and snapchatting it with Ahnyka :) Also, shoutout to Kymboslice for also being so good at music that people in Jerusalem want you to come teach them how it´s done.

As this is our last week in el CCM, my district will be doing a special musical number in sacrament meeting. I am working with an elder to arrange Asombro me Da y Un pobre Forastero. It´s pretty simple but super powerful. I love my district so much and it has been an absolute pleasure to learn and grow with them. 

Last thing, a few of these elders got stuck in a sketchy elevator yesterday when we were doing service for 45 minutes while doing service haha. They´re champions.

This time next week I´ll be in NEW JERSEY! There is work to do and I couldn´t be more excited to do it!

I wish you all the best week ever!

Con amor,
Hermana Stone

Hermana Dearden and I with our cool new Mexican Scripture cases! we <3 Mexíco

Week 4

Hola!

Not too much time to write this week, but I sure learned a lot! First of all I´m grateful to be learning Spanish here in Mexíco. Our teachers are natives and the most kindhearted people ever! I don´t know the situation of all los maestros, but one commutes 3 hours to come teach missionaries every day! Another teacher who is dear to me is currently studying to become a surgeon! Wow, any kind of education requires so much study and time, yet she still sacrifices so much to work her at the CCM and help us in all our endeavors. Also, for anyone who is interested in Church history, I recommend looking up John Tanner. He sacrificed so much for the restored church and was also an incredible example of faith and an incredible miracle. 

Mi compañera and I have started reading el Libro de Mormon in Español. It takes a lot of work but it will be worth it. There is a promise that if you read the BOM in your language you´ll be fluent in the language by the end. I have complete faith in this and I´m gonna put it to the test. 

I hope you all have a great week with midterms, work and all your endeavors!

Luke 17:33

Hermana Stone

Cute friends at the Mexíco City temple

Week 3

Hola amigos!!

Not much time for this week, so all I´m going to say is Conferencia General. It changed my life for the better. 2 things: If I were a philosopher I would want to talk with D. Todd Christofferson all day long. Also, I am incredibly grateful for not only 1 but 15 prophets that relay our loving Heavenly Father´s words that are meant exactly for us and this time!!! "Decisions Determine Destiny" and "Nothing else, no other choice we make can make us what He can" ~Thomas S. Monson. I love and sustain all the leaders of the church.

The other thing that has been on my mind all week is how thankful I am for the ability to think thoughts, form questions, take them to the Lord, and receive answers through revelation! How awesome that we all have this capability! I love learning!!! In all forms! Turns out I study Spanish 10 hours a day and I wish I had 24! Life is so good.

Super sad to hear about Taysom Hill. Still so much love for BYU, always.

Hope you all have a week and find the answers to your questions!

Con amor,

Hermana Stone

And here is a snippet from her family email this week:

Elder Bednar's talk was sooooo good! I appreciated it so much especially as a missionary cuz I'm hoping it will help someone out that I´ll talk to in the future. I pray for my investigadores futura everyday that the Lord will prepare them to hear THE GOOD NEWS and that I will be prepared to meet their needs and answer their questions. I also loved what the prophet said DECISIONS DETERMINE DESTINY. wow. so powerful and so true.

So the schedule here goes something like this:

6:30 wake up get ready til 7

7~7:30 additional study 7:30 breakfast

8~9 personal study aka prepare for investigators spiritually

9*12 classes including language study, BOM study, coaching and teach our morning investigador

12 additional study

12:30 lunch

1:35 ~2:30 sweat our guts out. I LOVE WORKING OUT!!!

2:30~3 frantically shower 

3~6 same as the morning more language and investigador 

6 dinner

6:45~7:45 TALL Technology Assisted Language learning aka my favorite

7:45~9 language study where I write everything i learned that day on the cool slidey whiteboards and everyone 

9~9:30 daily planning

personal time/get ready for bed/walk home in the rain every day because it rains from 8~10 and i love it :)

then i write in my journal shower blowdry get everything ready for the next day and lights out at 10:30!

Week 2

Wowow another great week here in the CCM! Spanish is coming along well and I love the Latino people so much! Nuestros maestros think it's funny to watch us talk with the natives, especially in the dining hall, but I think it's the greatest thing ever! I LOVE singing los himnos because I feel the spirit so strong doing that and also it really helps with the pronunciation.

Shoutout to Kymboslice for the DearElder letter, you sure know how to show the love :) Our district makes a big deal about "baemail" so I felt pretty good about that! Also, Ahnyka I'm glad the gerbils are doing well and that you got to watch the Young Womens broadcast! The words of our leaders are 100% inspired by our Heavenly Father and I am so grateful for that direct revelation! I am soooooo excited for General Conference this weekend! I am so lucky to listen to devotionals and talks multiple times a week, I don't know how I took conference for granted..and maybe even slept through it in the past :/ It's seriously great stuff!

So my favorite quote of the week was "I'm basically Beyónce" The hermanas in our zone are so friendly and we do everything together! What a privilege it is to work alongside them in the CCM and eventually campo misional (mission field).

Working out is probably one of the best things ever here! I started out as the weird one just doing my thing while everyone plays games, but gradually people have been joining me and filling an entire room haha. I have my notebook full of a bunch of stuff and people having been copying it out into their own lately. Nothing better than feeling united in all different kinds of work :)

It is always a good day to be from Washington, but this week I had some incredible PNW pride! First off, an elder sang for us in Relief Society on Sunday and there was not a dry eye in the room. Hermana Dearden and I thanked him and told him that he was the closest thing to Josh Groban and we just appreciated his talents. The best part is he is from Seattle! He had a contract for 3 years singing with the Seatlle Opera/Symphony. wowow. Represent. Turns out one of my favorite hermanas is from EVERETT and a district leader has a brother engaged to a girl I knew on good old Fidalgo Island! They couldn't believe that I had the privilege of living in paradise for 14 years...but they actually did. It was nice to hear people talk about it in the same loving way I do.

I'm running out of time so I'll just bullet the things that inspired me this week. 

There is so much it would take me until next p*day to say it all so this is probably the best way.

*Dieter F. Ochtdorf¨s YW General Meeting talk in March 2013

*"Becoming a Consecrated Missionary" by Tad R. Callister ~ seriously the best thing I have ever read loaded with stories and scripture references

* Ether 12

*An in house devotional by David F. Evans of the 70/Executive Director of the Missionary Department 

*Johnny Lingo (the movie) ~ building self worth and seeing true beauty

*"people don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care"

*"It's not what we say, it's who we are that can awaken in them that there is a better way to live"

*"Ours is a great calling"

For all my friends, especially the missionaries, this ones for you Doctrine and Covenants 121:9

I love you all so much! When life gets you down, don't just endure, endure it well D&C 121:8

Don't worry, Be Yónce

All my love,

Hermana Stone

Cute southern roomies representin

1 week down and eternity to go!

1 week down and eternity to go!

Yo yo from Mexico! I have a lot of great pictures but the first is one of my favorites! These little dudes are all over campus, but easy to miss. El CCM is an oasis in this crazy city! The weather is perfect and we have palm trees and el Espiritu Santo. Everyone is sooo friendly and understanding of how hard it is transitioning and learning only spanish. I have the CUTEST and sweetest companera ever! Hermana Dearden is from Huntsville Alabama and we could not be a better match! We laugh til we cry every day and just love what we do. Our classes and church is completely in Spanish, but I'm pleased to say that after 2 days I can understand 90% of what is being said! We've taught our investigador 3 times already and what an experience! We pray so hard to have the Spirit and channel Christ's love for him! He's doing well and I know that everything he needs, this gospel can give him, and same for everyone else in the world! La Iglesia es verdadera! 

In relief society on 

Sunday we watched President Monson's talk from April 2014 conference and it has a message that we can all use to improve our lives. It's called "Love, the Essence of the Gospel" It was exactly what I needed to hear and I hope it helps some of you too! I am so guilty of not being as kind as I should and I apologize to each of you that I have hurt in the past. We can all do something every day to be a little more kind: smile, wave, show interest in another's activities, patience, or a sincere compliment. "May we begin now, this very day to respond in love and kindness to whatever may come our way." We never know the eternal consequence one act of kindness may have. 

Here's something, I have seen a few people here that I know! ... best of which is Elder Elijah Bingham who I was good friends with at BYU! Turns out he's my zone leader. How neat is that? Also Elder Weston Sundwall from the KTX and Elder Andrew Robinson, also met at BYU. 

The Lord is so good to us and I KNOW that he is with us every moment of everyday, even more so when the going get's hard.

I love you all so much, and pray for you each day! Please lift someone up with a kind word or deed :)

Hermana Stone