My! How Time Flies!

Forty minutes ... Lovely chance to talk with Andrew ... Flew by like lightning!

Andrew is well, happy, and working hard. He has a strong testimony that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and that is why he is doing what he is doing. He knows his message can make a difference in the lives of those who will listen.

From our conversation and his last email:

He is trying to eat healthfully, which can sometimes be a challenge for missionaries (aside from the very generous and filling once-a-day meal provided by church members). Sounds like the standard diet at most missionaries apartments consists of ... well, cookies. The mission "nurse" who helps the missionaries when they are sick, gave Andrew some instruction on cleaning fresh fruits and vegetables with a chlorine wash to remove pesticides and bacteria, so he as been buying more healthful food to prepare and eat.

Today I found a sale on peas and bought enough to last a few weeks. Normally I don´t buy canned food because it´s super-expensive. I also found black beans (ha ha!) and red beans. (He's missing Mexican food -- wants some of Dad's tacos.) On the way home, I´m going to stop by a fruit stand and buy tomatoes, onions, apples, mandarin oranges, and maybe some kale or broccoli. Yum! My favorite quickie mission meal is rice with tuna and sliced tomatoes. Pretty tasty! 

Groceries, in my brand-new wash basin.
It makes washing clothes fun!
(Well... no, that was a lie.) 

He has to wash clothing by hand in this area, which is not his favorite thing to do on Preparation Day. Once he left his black socks in the soapy water too long, and some of the color leached out, so now he says he wears black pants, semi-purple socks, and shoes that tend towards brown when they've been out in the rain and mud. Colorful fellow!

When we asked about Villa Amelia, his current area, he says it is part rural, and part city; some very poor areas, and others much more well-to-do.  He sent these pictures of their tracting on a rainy day in a less well-to-do part of town.

Elder Jimenez

Johnny, a member who accompanies them
on occasion

They are heading into winter, and he has heard predictions that this is supposed to be a wet, cold winter. Ugh!

We had a rainy day the other day, and it was pretty miserable! We tried to go out and work, but there was no one in the streets - and no one would open their doors! They say it is going to be a very rainy (which implies a very muddy) winter. Probably as a result of the rain, my companion got the flu and has to spend a lot of time resting in the pench. I´m doing my best not to join him! (So far, I feel great - I think exercise, hydration, and a good diet help a lot.)

Zone Conference in Castellar:

Some of his mission experiences:

On Sunday, we were in the Gospel Principles class with a nonmember who I hadn´t met before, listening to a class about the Priesthood. While we were listening to the teacher, a question popped into my mind that I had wondered about a long time ago: Why is it that only men can hold the Priesthood? I thought about it a little bit and came up with the answer to the question, then went back to listening to the lesson. Just a few minutes afterward, the investigator raised her hand and said, ´I have a question. Why is it that only men can hold the Priesthood?´ And I found myself prepared and ready to give her an answer. That was kind of nice - to be prompted beforehand and be ready to explain the answer.


(From my journal, a while back:)
Today Elder Jimenez and I were on a collectivo (that´s a bus) coming back from a lunch appointment. I saw a family - a dad, a mom and 3 little kids - and thought, ´I want to give them an invitation to church. Now, maybe I´ve written about this before, maybe no... but I have a fear of contacting on buses and trains. I just don´t like it! Maybe it´s because other people will be watching the contact - it´s not just me and the person. I guess I don´t like feeling like I have an audience. Anyway, I prayed to God, asking, ´Should I contact this family? I kind of want to, but I´m scared to. Is it Thy will that I contact them?´ And the words of a scripture came into my mind: 

´For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.
Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness.´

And I thought, ´Oh. Okay.´ And I did it! I realized that God is not going to command me to do everything that I can do as a missionary. Rather, he gives me plenty, plenty, plenty of opportunities to do good, and I can choose for myself how much good I want to do. Something I learned.


As I look through my journal, I notice that my handwriting is getting less legible over the weeks. What does that mean?


Love you all! Best wishes to Uncle Paul and the rest of his family, to both Grandmas, and to all my cousins and friends!

Hugs and mucho amor,

Elder Stockton

 

Mom's Day Mix-up

The much-anticipated Mother's Day phone call from Andrew didn't come as expected. He and his companion were out teaching some investigators, and by the time they finished, there wasn't much time for a call. He did call briefly to set up a time for next Sunday ... so we'll hope to hear a little more from him then. It WAS wonderful to hear his voice! He sounds good, and happy!

Andrew has a new companion, Elder Jimenez, from Nicaragua. As you can imagine, each new companionship takes some adjusting and a lot of give-and-take, but they are learning to work together for the good of those they are teaching. Occasionally they go on "splits," which means they split up and go out with another missionary from the area. He also learns much from these experiences. From Elder Valencia he has learned the value of self-confidence as well as genuine love for the people. He has seen that people are much more receptive to their message when they work with both qualities. 

He sees many people wearing Nike shirts which say "Just Do It." It reminds him to have courage and follow the promptings of the Spirit. (Probably not exactly what Nike had in mind ... but a good application nonetheless.)

Here are some excerpts from his last letter:

A miracle happened this morning. 

On our way to an appointment, we crossed paths with a disheartened-looking man. I felt like maybe I should contact him, but I didn´t do it. Fortunately my companion received the same prompting, listened, and did it. He greeted the man and asked if there was anything we could do for him. He looked up and said, ´Yes. My wife is dying of cancer.´ At first he seemed sarcastic and almost angry, but when he learned that we were in earnest and wanted to help, he said, ´Come with me.´ 

He led us back along the way we had come and brought us to a house. We entered and met his daughter, who we found out was the mother of a young woman we had contacted earlier. Then we went to the room of  the sick grandmother, who was in bed. We met her and talked a little bit, then gave her a Priesthood blessing of comfort and health. The grandfather accompanied us to the gate and thanked us for what we had done. And he shook my hand firmly and said, ´Thank you, my North-American brother.´ What a miracle that we ran into him just at the right time.  

Later in the week, they returned to visit the young woman, with whom they had scheduled an appointment.

We went back and Celeste´s mom answered the door. We chatted for a bit, asked how her mom was, then asked if we could share a scripture with her. She told us, ´Not with me. I´m mad at God right now.´ Upon conversing more with this woman we realized that she needed to be healed even more than her mother did. Although the mother kept her faith even in her sufferings, her daughter had allowed herself to become angry at God for letting her mother suffer so much. She asked us, ´How can God leave her in so much pain when she has spent her whole life serving Him?´ We reminded her that in the Bible, Jesus´ disciples were not exempt from hardship - in fact, they were some of those who expereinced the most trials and persecution. Jesus himself suffered beyond measure, beyond our ability to comprehend, and He is the most righteous Man who ever lived. 

At this point I remembered a story from the Book of Mormon: the story of Alma and his people in bondage. (Which, not coincidentally, I had just studied that morning in preparation for another investigator.) I told her the story - how directly after Alma and his people had made a covenant to follow the Lord and to be His people, they were captured by enemies and made to bear heavy burdens. How could the Lord allow this to happen? Didn´t He care that the people had just become righteous and promised to serve Him? But the Book of Mormon contains the words of comfort that the Lord speaks to His people: 

Mosiah 24:13-14

13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.
14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.

Her heart was touched. We explained that even though we may have trials and burdens, if we keep our faith in the Lord He will strengthen us and make us equal to the challenge. 

We left her the Book of Mormon so that she could read the whole chapter on her own time. 

It´s amazing how the things we should say are given to us, just like the scripture says. And how the Lord can use the things I studied recently to bless others. It´s great to be a missionary. 

............

Another experience:
Elder Carazas (his last companion) and I were working with a man who was baptized a year ago but stopped coming to church. He was receptive to having us visit him, but in our lessons we discovered that he has his priorities a little mixed: Work comes first, then God. So, for now, with his busy work schedule, he wasn´t going to make time to come to church. He´s a great guy. But he wasn´t progressing, so we stopped visiting as much. 

Elder Jimenez and I went to visit him a few days ago to see how he was doing and to share a scripture. And, although we had tried in the past to help him see that he needs to put God first, the Spirit guided me to find exactly the scripture that finally reached him. (Seek for treasures in heaven, not on earth.) He said, ´Ah. I understand. You´re right.´ And he promised us that he would come back to Church. 
...............

Yesterday an Evangelical Christian pastor blessed my companion and I. It was different, but, a nice gesture. I hope reads the Book of Mormon. He says he will. 

...............

I´ve started buying fruits and veggies to snack on, instead of the standard missionary-pench diet of... cookies. Mmm! Oranges to fight off the scurvy, apples, pears and potatoes.
...............

Mission life is great. Sometimes stressful, but great. It´s great to be an instrument in the Lord´s hands. I wish I had time to write everything that goes on, because there´s more. But, thank you, Mom and Dad and Family, for loving and supporting and teaching me. I couldn´t do it without your love and support. And the happy family that we have is giving families here hope that they can have the same thing.

The Gospel is true. It´s true and it´s what matters. Family matters. I love you all! Have a fantastic week!

Love, Elder Andrew Stockton

An abundance of cake!

Oh, hello, hello, hello! :-) 

Lots of mixed feelings right now, and more as I´ve been reading your emails. Thanks so much for keeping me updated so I can be a part of life at home, even though I´m in engaged in something else right now. All my best to Grandma Greenwood, to Uncle Paul and all his family, and everyone! I´m praying for them!

I had a fantastic and very happy birthday on Tuesday! 

I woke up for the first time at 4:30 to the sound of rain pitter-pattering on the roof. That meant that I had to get up and rescue my clothes, which had been hanging up to dry. Then I thought, ´Hey, it´s my birthday!´ and went back to bed. 

I woke up again at the normal hour, and was interrupted during my morning prayers by the voice of David Archuletta singing ´Joy to the World´. I wrapped up my prayer and stood up to see a smiling Elder Carazas holding a birthday cake with a firework stuck in it. (The kind that shoots flames rather than the kind that explodes.) He sang, I made a wish, and we ate cake for breakfast. 

We studied, then saddled up to head to a zone conference in Castelar, which was fantastic. I´m getting to know and be friends with some other elders in the zone now, which is fun. This zone is really friendly. Some remember me from my first day in the mission, on the rainy day in Catán. But I don´t remember them! (There were a lot of things going through my head that day.) One of them, Elder Lee, is from Tucson - surprise! He lived in the Tucson Stake, I think. 

We came back and went to lunch with Hermana Valle. It was a normal lunch, with a spiritual thought afterward, and that was that. But afterward, rather than having us go around her parent´s house to get back to the street, she had us go through it. We entered and the room was dark - except for a brightly lit CAKE! Surprise! There was more singing and more cake. 

We had a lesson with Jonathan, our philosopher investigator. (More about him another week - he´s a very interesting character.)

We ended the day with the Castillo family. I decided to take my birthday package and open it with them. It was very fun! We celebrated together and then had a very good lesson.

And, that was about it! (Not the whole day, but the most interesting parts.) 

We had a similar day on Sunday, on Elder Carazas´s birthday!

 (With all the cake we ate this week, it´s a wonder we can still walk. And we still have 2 cakes in our fridge. I guess those will have to be refreshments at a family home evening this week.)




And other news ...

I had my first marriage proposal yesterday! There´s a lady who has gone kind of crazy. Now she sees the missionaries as angels and is in love with Elder Carazas. We bump into her on the street occasionally and stop to talk. Anyway, she asked me yesterday if I wouldn´t like to marry her. I told her yes, so we´re going to get married next week. I´ll send pictures! Or, wait. No, I´m pretty sure I told her no. Never mind. 

Abigail and Karen didn´t get baptized this last Saturday. Hermana Nora, their mom, 

doesn´t think they´re quite ready yet. She doesn´t think that she´s quite ready yet, either, although she´s been receiving many witnesses that the church is something good that she should follow. The thing that´s stopping her is that she hasn´t yet read all of the Book of Mormon. She says, ´I can´t baptize into the Church if I haven´t read the doctrine and know that it´s good.´ Makes sense. But she also needs to have faith and trust the answers she has received! We´re going to keep studying the Book of Mormon with the family.

Changes ... 

Sad news for us - After 10 months of working in Villa Amelia, Elder Carazas is being transferred out of the area. This resulted in some tender and heart-wrenching goodbyes to members who he´s helped and become friends with. (The saddest of all being the Vera family, who came knocking on our door at 11:30 last night while Elder Carazas was packing. Monroe, their 3-year-old girl, was so sad she wouldn´t come along, but sent a pair of her striped pink socks as something to remember her by.) But, after all the sadness, Elder Carazas has a good attitude. He says that the end of every chapter of life is the beginning of another. Very true. It´s good to appreciate and love the past, but you can´t hold onto it forever. You have to look forward to what is to come. And ´what is to come´, for me, is a new companion and the new challenge of being the one who knows the area. I´ll be finding out who my new companion is in a couple of hours at the transfer meeting. 

And, I thought you might like to know - I often bring my photos along with me to appointments and lunches to show off my family and friends. These are the most-often heard comments:
-That´s your mom? She´s so young!  Awww :)
-You look just like your dad!
-You look just like your mom!
-You look just like your Grandma!
-Your brother looks like a stud!
-You have the same smile as your Grandma.
:-) Kind of fun.


I love you all so very much. Thanks for your prayers and your news. Life is good in the mission. (Well, actually there are some problems in the mission because we´re down about 50 missionaries due to problems with Visas. But in my part, life is good.)


All of my best and highest-quality love,
Elder Andrew Stockton

Service with a smile :)

Old news . . . 
A couple weeks ago, I told you that two little girls from a very nice family came with us to church. Their names are Karen and Abigail - they´re 9 years old, and twins. Abigail especially is fantastic. Her mom told us that she loved going to Primary, and that since that first time going to church she has been excited to go again. She told her mom all about it and told them she wanted them to come too. She even wrote a little reminder note about church and put it on the fridge so that they would remember.

Yesterday, Karen and Abigail came to church again - but this time with their mom, older sister, and their cousin Ariana, who Abigail had invited to come to Primary. How fantastic! They all loved it. We were so happy, all walking to church. When Ariana saw the church for the first time, she cried, ´Que linda!´ (How cute!) The 3 little girls had a great time in Primary, and Nora and Noelia (the mom and sister) enjoyed the meetings as well. It sounds like they were welcomed into Relief Society and befriended, which is awesome. And, one more miracle - Nora and Karen recognized Karen´s schoolteacher among the ward members, who came and sat by them during Sacrament meeting. Ha! It was a good Easter Sunday.

More recent news . . .
We had a great week this week. Remember the family that I was telling you about last week? Abigail and Karen (the twins) have a baptismal date set for this Saturday. So we´re excited for that! I got them a copy of the ´Book of Mormon Stories´ book (the Book of Mormon, but in captioned pictures), and Abigail at least is reading it. They are fantastic.

Nora, the mom, told us recently about how she was reading one of the Restoration pamphlets before she went to bed, and that she felt something good in her heart. That night, she slept peacefully for the first time in a long time. 

Earlier in the week, Elder Carazas and I quit our studies early and went to do service for a family in the ward. I thought we were going to mow the lawn. When we arrived, I realized that, more accurately, we were going to cut down the small forest in front of their house. The grass was knee-high and very thick. After trying for a while to cut the grass with shovels, we went back home to grab our trusty machete. After a neighbor showed me how to actually use the machete, we made great progress. As a result of our service activity,

1) the Vera family now has a lawn instead of a forest
2) the Vera family knows we´re really willing to serve and work
3) my whole body ached for two days afterward, and
4) I incurred two giant blisters on my right hand.

It was great! It felt good to really do some service.

 A little bit of pixie dust, and...

I ate cat food yesterday. Well, no... not cat food, exactly. It was mashed liver, and it´s called paté like the food Margaret eats, and it smelled and tasted just like cat food. (Or, uh... like I would imagine cat food tastes. Definitely can´t speak from experience here.) And, it came in the same can. They eat it on bread. Mmmm!


These days I have to do my laundry by hand, which is a pain! It takes a long time, and then it has to dry. But, I suppose the experience is good for me. It builds character.

My shoes, clean, polished and spiffy. Even ´Brownie´ looks black again.

The other day I went to a feria - a place where everyone goes to sell whatever it is they have to sell. There are shoes, clothes, food, books, figurines, electronic equipment, toys, cutlery... a little bit of everything. It reminds me a lot of the Artisan´s Market at Harelson, except that it´s outside and most people didn´t make the things they´re selling. And the whole thing is like a huge maze! I bought a (new) frying pan because our old one was warped.


My companion and I have been singing a lot of hymns lately. It´s fun. :-) He likes to sing Christmas carols, which apparently they don´t sing very much here. So there are often Christmas carols playing in our apartment. Fun!

My companion made spaghetti last week, and it was delicious. I´m going to learn to make Argentine bread. 

Submitting my name for the Tri-Missionary Tournament

A visit to a very cool park . . .

Good stuff from the journal:

´We stopped to ask a lady mowing her lawn today if she needed help. When she realized we were in earnest and were actually willing to help, she was very warm and friendly to us. We wrote down her address and plan to go visit her.´

Service softens hearts, just like a little notecard on my desk says.




Thanks for all your prayers, and your emails, and letters, and love, and everything. I love you all so much, and you´re always in my prayers.

With all the love I can send via email,

Elder Andrew Stockton

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELDER STOCKTON!

Since we can't all be together to celebrate this momentous occasion, we decided to take a stroll down memory lane, and revisit April 17th (or thereabouts) of years past . . .

Our beautiful boy --- not yet a "MANDREW"  :)

Krista & Andrew

New brother ... why won't he do anything?
(Except maybe eat, cry, and make a mess in his diaper?)

First birthday

Age 2

Second birthday

3rd birthday - preschool party

Happy Birthday to me ..........

Age 4

Age 5

Age 7

Newly baptized and confirmed!

Age 9

Age 10

 And a few years later ...

4/17/2010

Atop Picacho Peak

Many hands to light those multitudinous candles :)
19, to be exact!  2011

Wish?
To be an amazing missionary by this time next year?
GRANTED!

It's been a wonderful ride ...
... filled with love, and smiles, and joy unmeasured!
Here's to many more happy years to come!

Happy Birthday Andrew!