|
|
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
June 2013 - 2nd Area
San Gabriel - North East LA Zone
June 24, 2013
Hola Familia!
WARNING. THIS IS A LOOONG LETTER!
Big changes have happened! So I have been transferred to the San Gabriel Area. My new companion is Hermana Richards. I still felt like there was work for me to do in Rimgrove, but it's okay. Herman Richards entered the MTC the same day as I did, but I hit the field sooner than her. Oh and Hermana LaPierre is returning to Rimgrove with Hermana Southworth! They were companions in the MTC. I wish I could be there with those two.
Well this has been a crazzzzy week! First off, on Friday, we decided to do a "no car Friday". So we walked for a long while and only met one person, who didn't even live in our area, but we passed him off to other missionaries. Then we had a lesson with an investigator named Rafael. He has never received a testimony of El Libro De Mormon, even though he has had missionary lessons, because he has never even read it!!! Later he was complaining how he has had that book for ten years and the missionaries keep assigning him to read the exact same stuff. So then I said, "WHAT?!!!! You have had that book for ten years and still have not read it????" He laughed cause he knew he was getting into trouble. He has lots of questions. First off, he had issues with the picture of Christ in the Book of Mormon. He said, "how do you really know that is what he looked like"? Then he pulled his Catholic photo out of Jesus and asked who it was. So I said, "Jesus?"(while thinking what are you trying to point out?) I told him I didn't know if that is exactly what Jesus looked like. Then he said, "how do you know if you're even praying to the right image of Christ?" HOLD THE PHONE!!! I said something like, "whoa whoa whoa. We do NOT pray to images of Christ because that would be breaking the second mandamiento!" So that resolved that doubt. He mainly just has a bunch of questions like that. But I won't have to answer them anymore since I was transferred.
Then on Saturday, Elder Austin and Elder Teuscher, before futbol, started playing basketball. (Elder Teuscher went to Pleasant Grove High School as well, and graduated the same year as me. We even had the same friends, but never knew each other!) Elder Teuscher shot the basketball and didn't grab his rebound because he was distracted by a dog. The ball hit Elder Austin's head, which made him bite down really hard and break off part of his front tooth. So later, we get this urgent phone call saying they needed to use the car so that they could make it to the dentist in Arcadia in an hour. And the other Elders, Mendoza and Mancia, had their car. So we got the privilege to trade our car for Elder Austin's and Elder Teuscher's bikes! It was wild!
So just a little background on our bike riding: I am used to riding a bike. It was my form of transportation and I have ridden a lot next to traffic. Hermana Southworth though, is blind in one eye, it has been forever since she has ridden a bike, and has only ridden on calm bike trails-never next to traffic. I'm 5' 4" and she is 5' 1", and we were using tall Elder bikes. And she happened to be wearing a long skirt. So on our bike ride, poor Hna Southworth fell twice, ran into bushes, every 100 feet her skirt kept getting caught in the tire. Then I'm just cruising a long like it's no big deal. Oh and of course I forgot the cellphone in the car because I was smart enough to trade my bag for one of the Elder's backpacks, and we were going to be receiving transfer calls that night. So we finally arrived at Oswald's house to help him write a talk. After we arrived and were safe on the ground, the tears just started falling from Hna Southworth's eyes. I felt so tremendously bad for her. Oswald offered his stapler, and I stapled up Hna Southworth's skirt for her. It looked funny, but that solved one gigantic problem. After, we were on our way back to the church since the Elders came back earlier than we thought. It was much smoother sailing on the way back until the last part. I had crossed the street and Hna Southworth didn't see that. So I got her attention. I looked all around and made sure the street was clear of traffic. I double and triple checked. So finally I yelled, "Cross the Street!" And I knew she would listen to me, and immediately cross, since I'm the one with the experience. So she started crossing. Then all of a sudden a car came zooming around the corner, didn't stop at the red light, and I heard tires squeal and the car came to a halt. Hna. Southworth almost got hit because of me!!!! But she was well protected by the Lord. Then we finally made it really close to the church, just in some neighborhood. I was praying and saying, "thank you so much for protecting her. Please just help us make it back to the church safely." So I looked back, saw her and turned on the street to where the church was. I assumed she knew where the church was as well. So I made it into the drive way and she is nowhere in sight. I started to freak out and I felt the feeling of being lost and alone. It is very weird to be alone after spending so much time with someone else. So I go zooming back to look for her and she was nowhere in sight. I saw a glimpse of what I thought was her, but as I arrived, it was a trash can. Anyway, we were only apart for 5 minutes, but it was scary!
So we made it home safely in the car. We were convinced our companionship was not going to change. Then we get the dreaded phone call from the AP's. At first we played hot potato with the phone, then I took the liberty to answer it. And I was told I was being transferred to San Gabriel.
I enjoyed the conference yesterday. Sorry I have no time for details. But it will be exciting and I'll keep you updated on any changes taking place in my mission. We are for sure abandoning the cars soon! And don't worry mom, I have not forgotten about your birthday. Something will come soon. I've just been way busy! Love you all!
Con Amor, Hermana Taryn Stohlton
July 1, 2013
Hola mi Familia!
Well, my missionary life has immensely changed. I am in a new companionship, a new ward, new apartment, and a new area. But change is a very good thing. Hermana Richards is my companion right now. She doesn't really use the right side of her body because when she had a stroke before she was born. It has been slightly difficult trying to get used to the dynamics because we were both trained very differently. Maybe I am biased, I don't know, but I really like the way I was trained better than how she was trained. But it's all part of the mission, humbling ourselves and finding out new ways to do missionary work!
I live in a 6 pad with four English speaking, sisters. That is kind of fun! One of the sisters, Sister Baum is from Orem, Utah and went to Mountain View High School and knows Julia and Aryn DeMott. So it's fun to find connections. I feel like where we live is almost too luxurious for missionaries. We have 3 stories, a fire place, 2 balconies/patios, a dishwasher, and they are installing a washer and dryer for us. Oh, and a really wonderful part is the carpet! It is so long and so soft. We live in Temple City, which is 3 minutes away from Arcadia. I can pick up my mail for myself!
This area is in a rut. So I am going to personally make changes and the way things are run in this area. Yesterday, we contacted so many people, so that felt really nice. Probably only a couple of them have true potential. We were on a door step and were teaching through one of those cheese grater doors where the lady could see us, but we couldn't see her. We started the restoration. After we had recited the first vision, her voice trembled and all of a sudden, she said that she was done listening and didn't want to hear more. So we left her with a prayer and she loved that. Than she gave one of her memorized prayers in return. After, I had the impression that she felt the spirit so strongly during the first vision that it scared her. She only spoke English so we will be sending the Elders by her house then!
And mom, I think I have inherited a trait from you. I don't know why, but all the Latino men love me! And they are all in their 40's, I feel. But anyway, an investigator of the Elders was there at soccer on Saturday. His name is Alex. He was spending extra time to teach me how to kick the ball and learn more control. Then later, he went out his way to pour me some Gatorade out of a used cup. Then that night, we had a fiesta for Father's Day. When he arrived I shook his hand, and before I know it, he pulls me into a hug. So I awkwardly got out of it. Then I kind of avoided him the rest of the night! I asked Hermana Richards if that has happened to her with him before and she said no. Cause she's not his type. He would also try and hug her old companion, Hermana Aydlott, all the time though!
For the fiesta at the church, we had to do a talent as missionaries. So I played Book of Mormon Stories on the piano while Elder Perry played the violin. Then Eldesr Knapp, Chadwick and Giddens all did the actions. Elder Chadwick was dressed up in a bright blue body suit and did the worm during it. It was so funny! Then Hermana Richards was in charge of the curtains. I messed up a bit during the piano part, but nobody even noticed because it's a bunch of convert Latinos that don't even know the song. So some parts I just pretended I knew what I was playing. I felt really nervous though cause that is my first time every playing piano in front of people. So that was fun!
One other part of the fiesta that I just loved, was the obispo's wife and another hermana acted out a song. And it was about 2 friends. One of them had their man dump them, while the other friend was trying to encourage the friend to keep going on in life, and to carry on. In my opinion, quite the interesting song choice for celebrating Father's Day. And let's just say, their number was definitely a live super novela! Oh my! I was very intrigued throughout the whole thing though!
Next day at church though, Alex was there. He brought me a bracelet that says "Jesus' Blood" on it. jaja. And it is supposed to help me remember my faith, he said. I don't think I'll be wearing that around though! Then he kept giving me chocolates during combined priesthood and and relief socitey.
Well family, that is all I have time for today. I really feel the support of your prayers for me. Without them, there is no way I would be able to make it through this mission. I love you all so much! This church is true and makes you truly happy, but you just have to live it in order to know it! Continue on, faithful ones!
Con Amor, Hermana Taryn Stohlton
July 8, 2013
Hola Familia,
This email needs to be short. I'll hand write more. I have lots of letter for you that have just not made it in the mail. So be prepared for about 4 letters coming your way!
Well, this week was great! We have 5 new investigators! Things have been a little loco trying to figure everything out but things are much smoother now.
We went to find some potential investigators and they live in the back house. We had to pass this group of men. Of course they kind of hollered at us and asked us how we were doing. So we said good and passed on. But we knew we would have to end up talking with them again. Unfortunately the investigators weren't home. So we had to pass them sooner than anticipated. So as we approached them they started kicking up conversation again and said they wished they could offer us holy water, but couldn't cause we're Mormon. Turns out this group of men is a gang. One of them is actually a wayyyyy less active member. He said he was going to try and be Bhudist next. They were all playing dominoes and invited us to play as well, but unfortunately couldn't because we had a meeting. So I guess I can officially say, I was offered to play dominoes with one of the gangs of East L.A.
I only have 7 minutes left, but just a quick update, we have 5 new investigators this week and two of them agreed to be baptized on 11 Agosto. A mom and dad their names are Baldomero and Laudes. So if you could keep them in your prayers that would be great!
I'm going to spend the remainder of my time sending photos.
Love you all! The church is true!
Con Amor, Hermana Taryn Stohlton
July 15, 2013
Hola Familia!
I'm glad you enjoyed all the letters! Sorry I haven't written as great quality of letters recently, but this transfer has been crazy for me. It's one of those, trying to figure out what kind of a missionary I am/want to be. So I guess we could say a mission mid-life crisis. jaja! But things are definitely smoothing out here. Hermana Richards' birthday is the same as Justin's. I know Britt's birthday is in July and that has passed already. Was her birthday on the 11th? I'm working on getting a fun card prepared for her.
Baldomero and Laurdes are improving greatly. We had a lesson with them last night and they are more on board to be baptized and wanting to be more like Christ. Baldomero is so funny though. He jokes around a lot and invites us over for sleepovers, and says he wants to be baptized in Utah if he is going to be baptized and dumb stuff like that.
We picked up a couple more investigators this week. Their names are Miguel and Patricia. And they have a cat because they couldn't have children. Miguel was so excited to find out that we were Mormons. He was very fascinated in Joseph Smith. They are Christians and so far are planning on continuing going to their church for now. But we were invited to come back and talk more. I think he is very ready, but his answer will be more based around Patricia. So we are praying very hard for them. So things feel great here!
We had a mission party and it was so much fun! There was a water fight and we played games and got to here some worldy music, but without the lyrics. So I was loving it. I hardly ate any lunch because I was so busy talking and catching up with Hermana Southworth. I saw her, Hermanas Lapierre, Johnson and other hermanas that I have gotten to know, like blonde Johnson, Ward, Jardon and I met a few more. It was the best time ever. Lets just say, water fights are crazy with missionaries. Especially cause we haven't been able to do things like that much at all. I got sunburned though. It was fun cause I launched a water balloon and it hit this random Elder in my zone. I can't remember his name. I was laughing so hard cause it was close to his groin area. Then all of a sudden I see him and another Elder chasing me with this huge bucket of water! I was able to dodge the majority of the big splash.
We also visited a less active name Esperanza. She is very old but crazy! She can barely walk cause she loses her balance so easily. And she decided to take the liberty and give us a tour of her house and the back yard, even though she is prohibited to go outside on her own. She took us to her grapefruit tree and started whacking down grapefruits with her cane. She was trying to shake the tree and I thought the grapefruits would fall on her head and kill her! Then she was practically force feeding us whole milk! Oh, that was horrible. But that was all the drama for this week.
Love you all!
Con Amor, Hermana Taryn Stohlton.
P.S. The church is true! You just have to live it in order to know it and receive of those wonderful eternal blessings Heavenly Father has promised us conditoned upon our obedience!
July 22, 2013
Hola Familia!
I only have 8 minutes so I'll get to the good stuff fast.
This week we wanted to support a less-active since she had just given birth to stillborn twins. She was selling tacos. I heard it was tacos de carne asada (roasted beef) and that she likes to put a lot of meat in them. So I'm thinking, of course I'll buy some tacos! My favorite! We arrived and I bought two tacos. I am alarmed, though, to hear as she is preparing them, that they are tacos de cabeza. And i just felt mortified inside. TACOS DE CABEZA??!!! COW BRAIN TACOS??!! EWW!! So there we are, sitting at her table, being served cow brain tacos. There was some green chili sauce, so I made sure to pour a lot on. She was in the kitchen as I took my first bite. (By the way, talking about this is making me gag right now.) Anyway, I have no idea how, but from behind me she saw that I pulled a face. She asked me if it was because the chili was too hot. So I immediately said yes. So Hermana Richards has downed hers, and I am still struggling to finish one out of the two. Then I don't know what possessed her to be so generous and give us an extra free of charge. I was just thinking, "Great, how am I supposed to get out of this?" Hermana Richards enjoyed watching me struggle, though! So I "indiscreetly" (according to H. Richards) looked at my watch, and said that I thought we had a lesson soon. So she fortunately let me take it to go. Wow! I couldn't talk for 15 minutes after cause i kept on gagging. Mind over matter is all that it was. But my mind won over that matter.
love you all! church is true
love hermana
August 5, 2013
Hola mi familia!
Sorry I did not report to you last week. Things got a little crazy, I guess. Last week was so great. Investigators are doing really well. Oh, and I heard little Ryan was born! I'll be looking forward to seeing a foto of him.
Tomorrow, we are getting a visa waiter,Hermana Munoz, and the mission that she'll be going to is the Comorado Argentina Mission. And yes I am EXTREMELY jealous. But that's okay. I am still very happy here in California.
I am going to do a brief report on each investigator since it's been a while since I've updated you all on who I'm teaching.
Lady: So, remember the man Alex that I was telling you about who has a crush on me? Well it is his mom that we are teaching. She is from Ecuador. She gets into these really long rants. She is a hater of her own kind it seems. She talks about how all these people come from South America and destroy this land. And that they all need to get out or to change. But she talks about herself as if she's perfect and says that she respects everything, and so on and so forth. She loves when we come over. She has decided to start feeding us each time that we come. She and I have a pretty strong connection and she's one of the few latinos that actually says my last name. She has come to church and loves the Book of Mormon, but is hesitant on accepting baptism. She wants to study more and get a better feel for it.
Camille: She is 15 years old and wants a complete change in her life. We started teaching her when she was on house arrest. Unfortunately, we never got the details as to why, but maybe it's for the better just to cut down on all the chizmes (gossip). She has accepted a baptismal date for Aug. 25. So if you can keep her in your prayers, that would be great!
Patty y Miguel: They are members of a Christian church. They are so much fun to talk to. They don't have any kids. They are in their 40's I think. Maybe 50's. Miguel just loves reading the Book of Mormon. He is very fascinated in Joseph Smith and has started trying to memorize the first vision. They really like the fact that our church has authority to baptize. So we will be giving them a baptismal date on Thursday.
Joanna y Salvador: So Salvador is really into it and really wants to accept baptism. He has in his heart already. But since he's married to Joanna, he doesn't want to make a decision without her. They are the cutest couple ever! Joanna has rheumatoid arthritis, and he just cares for her. You can really tell that they love each other. They still haven't been to church because Joanna doesn't feel good in the mornings. But she is more skeptical to receiving baptism. She thinks that her baptism counts already. So we are still working with her. We only get to see them once a week right now but I told them we want to come by twice. So we'll see what happens. I would hate to drop them but they aren't progressing too much, just listening to the word of God.
So that is who we are actively teaching right now. And I do agree with Papa John that missionaries are not tough enough these days. And I fully agree with that, and I fit under that category when it comes to eating food! But oddly enough, I do feel slightly smarter, and taller.....must have been the cabeza! And to add to this, I ate immitation crab without realizing it. Later when I found out, I was very disturbed.
This week I hit a pigeon on accident. Well, more like the pigeon decided to fly into the car. Then we felt the bump.....poor pigeon. I saw it laying there in the street when I looked in my rear view mirror as I continued to zoom off. jajaja--that is my very first road kill.
I got the privilege of leading the music in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. You think it would be easy to do that, but it is a little bit harder than what it seems. But it was fun! It was Elder Chadwick's and Perry's last Sunday on the mission and they are going home now. It was fun serving with them.
I got the privilege of leading the music in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. You think it would be easy to do that, but it is a little bit harder than what it seems. But it was fun! It was Elder Chadwick's and Perry's last Sunday on the mission and they are going home now. It was fun serving with them.
I got the privilege of leading the music in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. You think it would be easy to do that, but it is a little bit harder than what it seems. But it was fun! It was Elder Chadwick's and Perry's last Sunday on the mission and they are going home now. It was fun serving with them.
Con Amor, Hermana Taryn Stohlton
August 12, 2013
Hola Familia!
So we are in a trio now! It is such a blessing. Our new companion is Hermana Munoz. She comes from Canada (Toronto), but her parents are Colombian, so she has the language down very well. And as I stated in a previous email, she is a visa waiter for Argentina. I love having her around because she has that fresh faith and is not corrupted by pessimistic companions or experiences on the mission. We let her make our companion goal for 5 baptisms for next month. So hopefully that will happen. I believe it can. We just need to make our plans as effective as possible to make that happen.
This week we experienced quite a milagro! (miracle) So Camille, our investigator who just got off house-arrest, moved. We had no idea where. We talked with the members who referred her to us, and the man said that he had helped them move and that she now lives around the corner from the church. Before leaving the house to try and find her, we said a prayer that we would be able to. We made it to the church and drove past it. Then we approached a stop sign. We sat there longer than usual. We felt that we should go right. So as we turned, I spotted her dad and siblings going for a walk. So we pulled over and got her address. It is really amazing that our prayers were answered. Specific questions get specific answers. I love that so much. My testimony on prayer has been strengthened. It really is amazing what happens when you ask in faith.
We were walking through a trailer park and we stopped and talked with a couple of men that Hma. Richards had talked with before. Hma. Munoz had mentioned that she really needed to use the bathroom, and I had to go as well. So I decided to ask them if we could use it, and they said of course. For me that isn't anything scary. When I have to go, I have to go. So in my mind, I was doing us both a favor and I didn't feel uncomfortable at all. But Hma. Munoz was freaking out in her mind, wondering why I had even asked! jaja It's fun having someone new around. Oh, and they were drunk too, so that made her a little more hesitant. I guess that was my bit of fun then! But I would never enter an area where the spirit tells me not to, just so you aren't worried.
I had a crazy dream. So my two companions and I were at a Dodgers game. And there was a sudden announcement that a couple of other people and I were going to be giving a talk. So I started to freak out a little bit. I had nothing prepared and what was I going to say to everyone?!!?? Then somehow the scene changed to a General Conference kind of setting. Hermana Richards told me to just follow the spirit when I get up to speak. I was so nervous. When it was my turn to speak, Hma Richards woke me up. We had accidentally slept in a little bit! Then the next day at Stake Conference I was paranoid the whole time that I would be called up to give a talk on the spot!
FYI. Chinitos do hold up to the reputation of being horrible drivers. It's funny though, because whenever I accidentally cut one of them off, or make a driving move they don't approve of, they shake their pointer finger at me. Today we are going to China Town and I'm so excited about that!
How is everyone doing? How is Mel doing with Ryan? Is there anything that I should know about? Anything specific I can pray about?
Thanks for all of your support. I can really feel all the support and prayers for me. This is the only true church!
Con Amor,
Hermana Taryn Victoria Stohlton
August 19, 2013
Hola Familia!
We had another great week. Lots of our plans cancelled or fell through but it felt like the majority of the time we worked really hard and kept ourselves busy.
We found out Joanna is pregnant! She and Salvador are really excited about that. They weren't sure if she would ever be able to have children, with her disease, but she's a month along. That was wonderful news.
We found out Joanna is pregnant! She and Salvador are really excited about that. They weren't sure if she would ever be able to have children, with her disease, but she's a month along. That was wonderful news.
Oh and I almost forgot! We ate dinner at the obispo's (bishop's) house, and while we were there, he asked Hna. Richards to play the piano for a special musical number in church. She then threw me and Hna. Munoz under the bus and said we would sing, so he agreed to that......then we got a brilliant idea by telling the Elders that the obispo wanted all the missionaries to sing while Hna. Rchards played the piano. The twoof us didn't want to o sing a duet. The Elders were complaining, saying that they don't sing, and yada yada yada. But we knew, as typical Elders, they were just saying that. So Saturday night after our correlation meeting we decided to practice. We chose to sing "Nearer My God To Thee". We all started singing and Hna. Munoz and I started laughing so hard. I guess they were NOT kidding when they say they don't sing. Anyway, what ended up happening, is that Elder Giddens and I sang the first verse together, and Hna. Munoz and Elder Knapp sang the second verse together. Then we sang all the choruses together and the last verse together. But it was to the extent that Hna. Munoz and I sang solos because the Elders sang very quiet and off tune. So that was my first musical number that I can check off now! I was extremely nervous! But made it through! After, we decided not to tell them that the obispo had really not asked them to sing as well, because they were not happy about it. We asked Elder Giddens how he was feeling after we practiced and he said, "uncomfortable and akward" which just made me and Hna. Munoz laugh really hard. Oh well, it was a good run. Then it turned out their investigator had filmed it as well! But anyway this story has droned on way to long.
But that is about the extent of my week. Except seeing a 5 foot tall spider web. How are you though? Any questions or anything that I can talk about?
I hope all of you are doing well and that you're choosing the right! Love you lots!
Con Amor, Hermana Taryn Stohlton
August 26, 2013
Wow, so it sure has been quite the week. I only have about a year left on my mission. And the inner fire is really starting to get bigger and hotter. I feel so much pressure and urgency to pick up the pace now! I CAN'T believe I have 6 months already on the mission. I have 1/3 of my mission completed. Now that I know what I'm doing, it's time to run and pick up the pace.
We had an interesting experience this week. On Thursday, while Hna Richards was in the office, Hna Munoz and I were going to visit a less-active. We were parked a little bit around the corner, but decided to just walk. So as we were crossing the street, I noticed a guy outside of a liquor store just watching us. So I said hi, but he kept on watching us. So it was one of those awkward, "I don't know if you want to talk to us or you are just watching us" type of moment. So I decided to go talk to him anyway. He had on a wife-beater, tattoos all over and an earring. Hna Munoz was carrying her Bible and Book of Mormon. She of course felt alarmed and uncomfortable talking with him. Then he asked if we were handing out copies of the Book of Mormon out. So we said,"yes!" We went and got him one in English and talked with him a little. It also turns out his name is Moses. So we explained a little bit about the Book of Mormon to him and he was super excited to get one. When we asked for his address, to come back and teach him, he gave us a really generalized address, saying it was across the street from the USA gas station in apartment B. He also said his mom likes it when the missionaries come over. So that was a plus. The next day we wanted to find him and invite him to church. So we went to the gas station and looked for the apartment complex. And of course there were about four different ones all across the street. So we had it narrowed down and were waiting to cross the street after the light changed. Then I spotted him across the street! He waved to us and motioned for us to come over. So we were excited and went! He was asking us to help his friend out because the friend was really scaring him. His friend turned out to be in his 60's and drunk, of course. All he could do was just stare into my eyes and say that they were pretty. He did that to Hna Munoz and Hna Richards as well, but then turned back to mine. He was cracking jokes saying, "I only wanted one wife but now I can have 3!" Moses was really embarrassed and got him out of the way. But we taught Moses a little bit. Every time he swore he immediately felt so embarrassed and would apologize. He was drinking beer, but felt embarrassed by that as well. It's nice when we don't have to say anything and they already know that there are things in their life they have to change! So we talked with him a little and invited him to church. We have a lesson set up with him tonight!
Apart from that, 0/8 investigators showed up to church, so that was so uncool! Camile, the girl on house arrest, has been difficult to contact. We finally saw her yesterday and we invited her to church about 30 minutes before it started. She said she was too lazy to come yesterday. But we were able to have a lesson with her. We weren't sure if we were going to drop her or not because she was never there for her lessons. At one point a couple weeks ago she had asked us, "What church is this again?" So that was bad news. She was supposed to be baptized yesterday but that didn't happen. It's really hard to teach her because she hardly understands anything, and we have to teach in a very simple way. We watched the Restoration video with her yesterday and figured out her desire. She is a typical teen in my opinion. She really wants the change and is inspired for the day, but she has no other help or support so she just goes back to her normal state.
I love you all! Family, keep up the great work!
Con Amor,
Hermana Taryn Stohlton
September 4, 2013
So last week we had a zone conference. There were some pretty incredible announcements made! So, they are getting rid of all of the cars now. Which means, sisters need to buy a bike! And so that means I will need one by September 15. President Becerra just found that out last week. Then, we'll be the very first mission to get i-pads. So I'll have a MISSIONARY facebook and contact/teach online during the slow hours of the day. Then we'll be taking the bus around as well . So we'll have bus passes instead of cars. I'm really excited for this change! I don't know how we'll want to do the whole bike thing, but I guess that will get figured out.
This last week, Lady finally came to church! That was really exciting. She loved relief society and wanted to get all involved donating stuff for a humanitarian kit. She knows everything is true but still won't accept a baptism date....but we have a lesson with her tomorrow so we'll see what happens.
Camille is back on house arrest. Of course. But she's starting to understand what we teach her a lot better now. And ever since she was put back on she has opened up so much to us!
During the zone conference, President made us a promise. He said whoever listens to him and implements what he says, will have double the productivity and double the baptisms. And it was kind of about dropping investigators.
Pretty much we need to keep in mind, Que Evidencia? What evidence are they showing that they are progressing? And keeping that in mind has changed a lot of things. So we are in the process of getting rid of some of our investigators. But it's interesting. We have been making our purpose clear to all the investigators we have been teaching, but they have had a sudden change in heart. They want to go to church and read and pray now.
With Joanna and Salvador, I was impressed that Joanna finally said she will come to church. We discussed eternal families with them, so maybe that struck a change in them, especially since Joanna is pregnant. But before that lesson we thought we would never be able to help her understand the importance of what we have been teaching her.
I also fasted for church attendance for our investigators and more and more are saying yes, that they'll come to church! It truly is great what the Lord will do if you put Him first.
We are teaching a less active family. The mom is Evelyn (member) but her kids Jasmine, Cameron and Chastity aren't members. Chasity is only 7 years old, but she is a big influence on her family. Cameron is 13 and Jasmine is 15. I don't remember if I explained their family, but in July ,Evelyn gave birth to still born twins. And the July before that, she also gave birth to still born twins. So that same thing happened two years in a row. When we met her, she wasn't even praying to God. But after we taught the plan of salvation to them, we don't know what it was, but she started praying. We were very surprised when she said she would offer the prayer. But that little family is slowly progressing.
On Sunday, to our surprise, the Hermanas had to teach Gospel Doctrine class. Thankfully the topic was missionary work, so that was right up our alley. I was really nervous at first, but then things flowed very smoothly. You would think I wouldn't be nervous for those kinds of things anymore, but I still feel that way.
Last week exchanges were so much fun! Hna Jardon. (the o has an accent) was with me in my area. Probably one of the best days of my mission. We got along really well and our teaching flow was great. We had a great time together and laughed a lot. She comes from Toronto, Canada, but her parents are Mexican. I would love it if we got to actually be companions one time.
I'm trying to think if anything out of the ordinary happened last week, but nothing is coming to mind. Anyway, I love everyone lots and the church is true! Otherwise I would be soooo loca being out here.
Con Amor,
Hermana Taryn Stohlton
September 18, 2013
Hola Familia!
It has been quite the ride these last ten days. There's so much that I don't even know where to begin--and thank goodness for a journal because I can't even remember everything that has happened.
Anyway, transfer calls came this Saturday. I was anxiously waiting for a call. Then one finally came! But it was for Hna. Munoz, transferring to the Fletcher West Area. So with that being said, Hna. Richards and I are starting our 3rd transfer together. I am very sad that Hna. Munoz was transferred. As of this point, she has been my favorite companion yet! (Things were tough with Hna Johnson while we were companions, but we are best friends now. Crazy how things like that happen!) Hna. Richards is still working in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so to my surprise, I was told that I will be working with the Pasadena ENGLISH Sisters on those days. I'm not going to lie, so far (from the one day that I've had) it's been really fun! But I would never want to be permanently English speaking. But anyway, it's my job to be a "gatherer" and meet people on the bus and get their info to hand out as referrals to other missionaries, and then I help them teach their lessons. I now have to email on Wednesdays because the library is closed on Mondays and I'm with the English sisters on Tuesdays.
All the cars were taken away on Monday(except Hna Richards has to always have a car because of medical conditions), and yesterday I had an AMAZING bus contact. It was just proof that there is a God, and if you're doing the right thing, He will put you where you need to be. So I got on the bus with the English Sisters. I frantically searched for a spot and ended up sitting next to a girl. She had headphones on and sunglasses. So anyone in their right mind would read that as: Please do not talk to me. But being a misionera, I have an excuse to not follow body language. If I want to talk to you, I will! But I will admit, I almost chickened out talking to her. But finally mustered up the courage and asked if I could give her a pass along card. She took out her head phones cause she couldn't hear me. So then I asked her again. And she didn't really give me a straight answer. She just said she was Catholic. So then I gave her the formal name of our church and she didn't recognize it. So then I said, Have you heard of the Mormon church? And she said very excitedly, "Oh yeah! I have a friend in one of my classes who's a Mormon!"So then I asked if I could give her the pass along card again. It was one with a picture of The Book of Mormon on the back. So she hesitantly took it. I asked her if she knew what the Book of Mormon was and she didn't know. So I gave a brief little summary and said how it's similar to the Bible, but written by prophets here on the American continent. We had approximately 26 minutes to talk. So I took full advantage of that! I ended up basically giving the whole entire Restoration lesson on the bus. I even recited Joseph Smith's first vision to her. Which right before I quoted it, I thought in my head, "Wow, I never thought I'd be reciting this on a bus!" But I did it, and it brought this sweet spirit onto the bus. It was really neat. And she was in awe by the experience. I'm so grateful that I had snatched an English pass along Book of Mormon with me that day to use for my English scriptures, and I immediately gifted it to her. She asked me if I was wanting a donation for it so I told her, "Of course not!"I read a little bit of the intro with her in the BOM and she said she was really curious to know if it was true or not. I got her contact info. Her name is Rosio. And it turned out she lives in my area! She is a college student going to PCC (Pasadena Community College) and she is studying liberal arts. She's Hispanic as well, but speaks English, but I'm pretty sure we'll be able to start teaching her. That was the best moment I think I've had in a loooooong while!
And so much more has happened besides that and I won't have time to explain it all. One funny experience last week when Hna. Munoz and I decided to test out the bus and we were talking to this guy. asking him directions. He went off into this big long thing how he had met with Mormons before and they couldn't "convince" him that our church was true. He had a BOM but didn't read much in it. We got talking about prophets and I testified of President Monson. And then invited him to listen to him speak at General Conference. Anyway his bus was coming soon, but asked me a question and phrased it as, "I have a questions not doctrine related." So we said okay. Then he turns to me and asks, "Is it true that all red heads........(Now I'm expecting him to ask.....have no soul?).......origin back to the Celtic heritage?" But he pronounced it keltic instead of celtic, so I had no idea what he was talking about at first. But I couldn't even hide my laughter at all. But I ended up telling him I had no idea if that was true or not.
Then last thing. One major change is one of the wards in my stake got dissolved. The Montebello ward was dissolved. So our ward has extended the boundaries. And we now have 8 missionaries in my ward: 6 Elders and 2 Hermanas. And my companion and I are no longer roamers, we are now in a set area, the San Gabriel North Area. In which of course we had hardly any investigators in that area, or any contact. There are only 4 members in that area as well. Our Bishopric changed from Obispo Castaneda to Obispo Miranda now. They are both great men! The Elders are so lucky though that they got tons of our investigators like Daniel, Joanna and Salvador, Camille and a couple other. All the sisters had to get bikes. I should get mine next week and it's bright blue. Our new area would be perfect for bike, but Hna. Richards can't bike.
I wish I could keep on telling some other miracles that have happened this week, but I don't have anymore time now. I love you all! In order to know this church is true you have to live the teachings and see/experience the blessings for yourself.
Con Amor,
Hermana Taryn Stohlton
September 25, 2013
Hola mi familia,
So another week has passed. Right now it's taking lots of faith and hard work to get our area up and moving. Our area is untouched for ten hours a week right now. At least I feel useful going up to Pasadena with the English sisters. I've been able to hand out referrals almost like candy! My dreams of teaching Rosio, my amazing bus contact from last week, were shattered. Of course she happens to live in the Elder's area. Oh well, it's all the same work in the end. Some slight drama: The Elders went to go visit Camille(house arrest) since she is now in their area. As they went by and knocked, her younger sister answered the door. She told them that sister missionaries NEVER came and visited Camille. AHHHHHH!!!!!! That makes me upset! And after I spent seven dollars on a Book of Mormon reader for for Camille so that she could understand the BOM better. Ay ay ay.
Anyway, Rutilio came to church this week! That was amazing! I think he likes to hide his desire to to be baptized, and also when he feels the spirit. He is always joking around. Today, though, we are teaching him the Word of Wisdom. So we'll see his true desire about wanting to be baptized after we teach him that. During the sacrament, he was saying he would only take it if they were tequila shots.....we've got some major work ahead of us!
Not much more to report about my area. We pretty much just visit potentials and try and avoid the creeps on the bus. In Pasadena though, things are really picking up. There are currently a brother and sister, Elizabeth and Juan, with a baptismal date for November 2nd. I've only taught Elizabeth. But they are college students going to PCC.
We have taught the restoration lesson twice on the sidewalk to people. That was lots of fun! They both happened to be black. We committed one of them, Vincent, to come to church and take the lessons. He said he would be baptized if this really was the truth. He liked how much that I smiled and kept commenting that every time I was done talking, a huge smile would come across my face. Which of course then made me do that every time. I invited him to listen to the prophet speak during conference as well. It's really fun inviting people to do that.
On the bus I talked with two black guys and they recognized I was Mormon. So both of them are having their own conversation with me and at the same time saying, "praise Jesus!" "yeah we're on your team!" and I was laughing so hard. So with this whole busing thing we meet tons of interesting people.
Now I'm only down to ten months. That's a bit weird. Anyway, that's about all the exciting news that I have to report this week.
Keep on reading your scriptures!
Love,
Hermana Stohlton
September 30, 2013
Hola familia,
So, being constrained to one area has changed missionary work. Right now it's pretty slow. It will be about a month before we see lots of progress heading our way.
We have a family we are teaching. The parents are Adan y Raquel. Then the aunt, Cindy, and her daughter, Pita, are listening in as well. Adan and Raquel just barely had their son die. It was a little less than a month ago, and he was only 14. We did not hesitate to teach them the plan of salvation. It was such a beautiful lesson. There was crying involved! At the end I asked what they thought of the plan of salvation, and as I looked up, and heard their responses, I was shocked to see Pita with tears in her eyes. I would guess she's about 15 or 16. And during the lesson, I didn't think she was paying that close of attention. But she asked, "So does that mean we'll get to see Joel again?" It just made my day to see the look of hope in her eyes.
Well as short as this email is, it's about the extent of what happened last week. So sorry to cut you off so soon! The church is true!
Love,
Hermana Stohlton
October 9, 2013
Hola familia,
There has been quite the change. I'm no longer in a companionship with Hna. Richards. We had an emergency transfer. It wasn't because we couldn't get along or anything like that. She just had some things occupying her mind, and I encouraged her to talk with the President to get advice. Then it ended up he decided to separate us and get her in a place where she can work in the office 3-4 times per week.
Then on Tuesday I was supposed to be getting my new companion. And I would be training her! And it just so happens she is the one from PERU!!!!!!! I'm really excited to get my first hija (daughter) on the mission! Tuesday morning, though, I got a call from President, saying that the MTC called and said she won't be coming for another three weeks. So that has left me alone. But I will be with the English sisters of Pasadena for the rest of the transfer, and I'm supposed to cover my area as well. That is pretty challenging, but I'm becoming very organized. I no longer have a car, so I'm learning the bus system pretty well. The only challenge is when I teach lessons in my area, it's all me. Then I need to find a member who can go to district meeting with me, and take me to church. It's a miracle when you can find a latina who is home during the day, and drives. But I guess I could always have her take the bus with me, or if she has a bike that would work. That's my latest news!
But the area is doing fine for now. For Rutilio, I had to change his baptismal date to Nov. 3. Right now I'm helping him quit smoking. So I've only allowed him 2 cigarettes a day. I think he is trying really hard. He has determination. And he actually read his assignment that we gave him over a week ago! It was the pamphlet on the Word of Wisdom. So that is progress!
In the English area, we stopped by a man's house named Gez. He is from Ethiopia. He has been searching for the truth for 20 years. But for some reason, he has decided that when investigating this church, he doesn't need to go to church or read the Book of Mormon. So I pointed that out and he understood that he needs to do those things. I also gave him President Uchtdorf's talk to watch. That was really good.
I really enjoyed conference this week. Of course I was a huge fan of Elder Ballard's talk. Because it's so true! If everyone at least reached out to ONE person by Christmas, millions will come to Christ. I really hope all of you are taking that to heart. I can't wait to come home and be a member missionary! I also really liked Elder McConkie's talk and Elder Nelson's talk. I think this has been the shortest conference for me yet. Time just flew! And that is probably a good thing.
Anyway, that is all I have to share for this week. We went to the temple this morning and I am so tired I can barely even think or remember anything else that's happened. Love you all! If anyone has had any spiritual experiences, please share with me! It really helps during lessons!
Con Amor,
Hermana Taryn Stohlton
October 14, 2013
Well, the work has a little spin on it now! It's always hard to remember that now we are covering two areas, we do not have double the time. We only have time to go to our set appointments and the rest of the time is traveling from area to area.
So as you heard, Elder Page has died. Last night we had a service for him. It was very sweet. It was taped and will be sent to his family.The whole mission got together, and there were powerful talks given. One was by his companion, Elder Ostler. I feel very sad that one of our team members had to get transferred to the other side so early. We could've used more help here on earth---- He wasn't doing anything stupid on his bike. A car just came out of nowhere and hit him. It was really hard to not cry during the service. I can't even relay in words how beautiful it was. The whole mission united together. And now, more than ever, everyone is ready to share the message of the plan of salvation. The interesting thing is right before Elder Page was set apart, his stake president told him he would touch all the lives around him through the plan of salvation. And I guess he was a direct part of that by dying. His dad had also died a few years previously. His trainer also said that every contact Elder Page dmade was about the plan of salvation. So that was really interesting.
I had to go to district meeting with a member and it's the first time I have felt so alone. It's really hard adjusting to this new thing, not having a companion, but it's only two more weeks. Then another member took me to church. She is the young women's president so I got to go to YW. That was so much fun! I forgot how much fun it is. But the girls sure like to talk and laugh.....hmmmm... which reminds me of how I was at that age! jajajaja
This week we went to member's house up in Pasadena to try and get dinner. We were wondering how we were going to get in because the entire place was fenced in Thankfully a car left, so we went through the motorized gate. We went through into a garage type thing.Then there was a stair case we could take upstairs but the door was locked. Then we looked up and there were bars. (It's really hard to explain.) But we were pretty much caged in. There was no escape and we had no idea what to do. The member was not answering the phone and nobody came driving in or out of the gate. So we prayed to know what to do. After a while, I was looking around, and there was a different door on the side of the cage (other than the motorized gate part). But that was locked too. But I saw that I was able to fit under the door. But on the other side there was a pretty big wall. I was somehow able to climb up it though. It took a lot of upper body strength. The best part of it too, though, there was a camera that caught it all on tape. I sure hope I didn't flash the camera, but if so, oh well! My companions were so shocked that I was able to do that. They had to follow my lead though. Sister Carrell made it up and over the wall. I was on the other side and helped pull her up. But Sister Scott was struggling. So I had to climb back over the wall and give her a boost. By the time it was my turn to climb back over the wall, I barely had enough strength to pull myself over. It would be funny to watch the film of us three escaping! Hopefully this story made sense but it was kind of one of those things that you just had to be there to witness! It's been a while since I've done something like that!
Well some highlights of the week were: teaching a lesson to Rutilio and having the English sisters almost fall asleep during it; having an investigator, Larissa, (English) getting baptized this Saturday; and getting to see Hna. Munoz yesterday! And I have my own cellphone. But that's all I can think of. I love you all. I know that after this life we can not only see our family, but also friends, on the other side as long as we are faithful to the commandments of God! I love you all!
Con Amor,
Hermana Taryn Stohlton
October 21, 2013
Today we went hiking in Pasadena and it was so much fun! I foroet what it was like to do that, especially when me, Braden and Justin would hike Mount Cornwallis all the time.
Well, pretty much nothing happened this week! It is difficult finding the balance of working in my area and the area of the English sisters. We spend more time in Pasadena. My area has plummeted significantly. We are still teaching Rutilio, though. But pretty soon my area is going to blossom once I get mi companera!
Larissa, an investigator that I taught twice with the English sisters, got baptized. I pretty much feel very awkward and alone. But at least it's only like this for one more week. I had a youth go on splits with me. She'll be 18 in one week and she came dressed kind of immodestly. That was a little bit embarrassing. I think she enjoyed herself a lot and she'll be coming out with me this weekend again. Lately everyone is asking her if she plans on serving a mission. She was baptized about 7 months ago.
This week, on the bus, there was a really weird guy. Every time he looked into my eyes, it seemed like he was staring straight into my soul. I felt a dark feeling. I struck up a little conversation with him, then felt a huge prompting to give him a Plan of Salvation pamphlet. I offered it to him, and told him it had helped my life knowing about it. Then he told me he was not an atheist. I told him it was perfect then, because the pamphlet talks about Jesus Christ. But he refused to accept it. Then he got off the bus soon. It was a weird experience and I have no idea why I felt the need to give that to him so strongly. Sister Scott told me that everybody was watching us.
Sorry to cut you short but things will get better and more interesting soon!
I love you all!
Hermana Stohlton
October 28, 2013
Hola familia!
Alright, I only have one more day in English work! I'm going to be back in my Latin roots tomorrow. My companera, Hna. Garcia, arrives tomorrow. I seriously can't wait. I'm going to give her a huge hug when I meet her! It turns out the reason why it took her three extra weeks to get here is cause the MTC felt she needed to learn/practice English.
I saw something alarming on the streets the other day. There was a guy and girl yelling at each other. (This was my entertainment while waiting for the bus.) I saw the girl try to attack the guy, throwing punches. The guy stopped her, grabbed her, and I thought that was so he could control her. To my horrific surprise, he picked her up and threw her on the ground in the middle of the street as hard as he could. Then they had a friend trying to break up the fight. The friend helped her up, and took the other guy away in the car. I felt very relieved after they left.
This last week I had an off and on fever. It didn't help very much. We had a member of the 70, Elder Satati, and his wife (from Kenya) come talk to us. They really drilled in the purpose of missionary work. I had a horrible time understanding them, and one of my contacts was blurry, so that wasn't fun. But I got to see Hna. Munoz and all my former companions. I always love meeting up with them again!
In the English ward we had a trunk or treat. We set up a car and I really enjoyed handing out candy. Lots of non- members showed u,p so it was good we were able to interact with them, and it was a casual way to meet us. There was a chili cook off and they wanted us to be the judges, but Sister Scott made it clear that she couldn't do spicy food, and then we were uninvited. Lets just say I was devastated. But life goes on.
I had Hna. Christiansen come out with me for 4-5 hours cause the English sisters had their mission tour a different day than the Spanish people. It was great! I finally got to see Raquel again. We were able to just talk, and I invited her to baptism and she said she would! Hna. Christiansen relates well with her because her husband died 24 years ago, so she knows what it's like to lose someone you love. I bore a powerful testimony and I don't even remember anything I said. The spirit was so strong that it drove tears to my eyes. I can say I truly feel the love for her that Christ does. For her and her family. Well, maybe not completely, but very close. I have a better idea how much love Christ has for everyone.
That is one thing that I have learned on my mission: brotherly love. I really do want the best for everyone. We are all brothers and sisters from our Heavenly Father, so I just want all of us to get along. It goes further than just our immediate family. That's what helps keep me out here. Knowing that I have so many brothers and sisters that need my help.
Well familia, you're amazing. I can literally feel the help and support from everyone of you and your prayers for me. I know that I have been protected both spiritually and physically, and with safety, because of them. I know Christ did not atone for us for nothing, so get repenting!
Love you!
hermana taryn stohlton
November 5, 2013
Hola Familia!
Life is back to normal! I have a companion and am back in my area of San Gabriel full time. My companera is Hermana Garcia. She is from Peru. She served 5.5 months in Peru and then spent 6 weeks in the MTC. So she has 7 months on the mission. She is 21. It's really fun to have her around. We get along really well and we work hard. She speaks very little English, but I can already tell she is much improved after being here a week. She's also helping me with my Spanish. I've been speaking a lot more in Spanish now.
Her first day here we got her used to everything. She adjusted really fast. I was amazed that she made herself 3 sandwiches for dinner. The poor thing must have been starving! She loves chocolate too. She likes to tease people. But when she does, she gets really serious and likes to make people think she's mad at them or something. I don't really quite know what she's aiming for. But with me, it is impossible for her to keep a straight face. She always asks me why I'm smiling. On Sunday she bore a really nice testimony, saying how she didn't want to leave Peru but now she's glad that she's here. She commented several times in it how I am a great companion and how I always have a smile on my face. Of course everyone turned to look at me, and of course I happened to be smiling. From then on, Hno. Martinez, a counselor in the bishopric, called me Hermana Smiles.
We are on bicycle now. I feel like a true missionary now.That is pretty fun. I feel my legs turning into steel already! We get a lot of honks. People honk and give us a thumbs up when we are riding up hills. I had one man stick out his thumb to try and hitchhike as we rode past. So I stood up to allow him to sit on the seat and pointed to it, but we just laughed and I kept riding. It took us 50 minutes to make it to church.
Right now we are going through a lot of potentials and if the potential isn't home, we'll knock on the neighbor's door. Before we can even talk to the neighbor, they start telling us they're aren't interested, and every time we go to talk they cut us off, saying how busy they are. Then finally we say, well we're actually just wondering if you know your neighbor. Which shocks them, but they never seem to really know their neighbors. We dropped Rutilio. And we are finally getting set appointments again. We have a lesson with Raquel y Adan, and one with Cindy y Pita on Thursday. I'm really excited for them.
Halloween was fun. We went to a ward fiesta the day before. I loved seeing all the kids dressed up. Of course people asked us if we decided to dress up as missionaries for Halloween. Then on Halloween day we stayed at members' houses because we were not allowed to be out on the streets. So we spent time with a couple of less active families.
I heard we'll be learning how to use facebook on Thursday for missionary work. I-pads will arrive between January and March.
Other than that, life is great. I feel like it's too hard to capture everything of this past week. I love life and having the spirit with me always. He is my best friend. I love you all!
Hermana Taryn Stohlton
November 12, 2013
Hola Familia!
Wow it has been quite the week! We have worked so hard and gotten so much done, and have experienced so many miracles, along with lots of laughing and enjoying ourselves--maybe a little too much!
So let me start from the beginning. We started teaching again the less-active/part member family of Evalyn. We picked her two kids, Jasmine and Cameron, as investigators again. Jasmine is 18 and Cameron is 13. They said the would prepare themselves to get baptized on December 15th. So that was very exciting!
Then there was this lad Alma,we tried to teach back in June or July, but she never answered the door. It seemed she was avoiding us. We were walking through her apartment complex, looking for someone else, and I saw that her door was opened. We stopped, knocked, and were able to speak with her. She has a sister who is a member who lives in Mexico. We were just casually talking, and then Alma asked us when we were going to come back. Those were the most beautiful words I've heard in a loooooong time! We were able to come back and she now wants to start taking the lessons. She has a family, who we haven't met yet. But she has a husband and she has 4 kids, and two of them would be able to be baptized.
Then we started teaching Estela. She is the sister of Evalyn's boyfriend. Estela has two crazy kids Bryant and Odalys. They are 5 and 3. We try and keep them entertained during the lessons but they sure are distracting! But Estela and her kids came to church this Sunday. It was pretty funny, though, because she slept practically through the whole entire thing. It was also very funny to watch her during Sacrament Meeting. It was the Primary program, and as the kids were singing, "siga el profeta" (follow the prophet) she was repeating those words in her sleep. When it was time to take the kids to their class, Bryant went just fine, but Odalys was crying and didn't want to go to class. (Remind you of anyone Papi??) For a little bit Estela went to la guardaria (nursery) but then escaped! That was a thrilling moment for all of us, to run down the hall before Odalys noticed!
That is just an update of the families we are working with now. And we are continuing to find more and more people each day and making appointments. It feels great!
Well, some interesting things did happen this week. I don't even know where to start! First of all, as we were riding on the bus, we talked with someone. I don't even remember his name. I gave an invitation to church for the English ward time because he's white and doesn't speak Spanish. But we extend so many little invites like that, so I didn't think anything of it. But he really wanted to add us on Facebook. We told him we wouldn't be getting on for a really long tim,e though. We had a total of a 5 minute conversation and departed ways. Then on Sunday, I was shocked to see he had actually really come! He was done with Sacrament Meeting and was talking with the Elders. (Sounded like a conversation that would've been really annoying to be in. Both arguing ideas back and forth.) We made eye contact, so I went over and said hi to be polite. To my surprise, though, he had picked a bouquet of roses for me, and gave them to me. And all this is in front of Estela. I hesitantly took them away from him. He stated, "Well, things just got awkward didn't they." I gave no response. I just smiled. Then told him it was nice to see he had come, and departed in to Sacrament Meeting.
One day we were walking past a gas station, and I smiled and waved a black guy who was filling up his car. He motioned for us to come over. I was very excited because minutes before I prayed for Heavenly Father to put someone in our path. We went over and started talking a bit. All he could say was how pretty we were, and asked if he could marry us both when we were done with our missions. I told him, "No." jaja There were other cars waiting to get in his spot, so he asked if he could move his car really fast. As he moved it, he drove one of his wheels over a little curb thing that was in the parking lot. We didn't realize until we heard this loud crunching noise. I was laughing sooooo hard! Hna. Garcia kept telling me to "eStop laughing" in her little accent. It was too funny though. Then we got the pleasure of watching him reverse the tire back over. Then the same thing almost happened to him again. We gave him the English sisters' information at the end.
The last significant thing worth reporting this week just happened last night. We were invited over for Jasmine's 18th b-day party. I was really excited. because that meant food and it would be casual, yet we would still be supporting and helping our investigator. We had to knock on the door three times loudly before anyone answered. Then one of Jasmine's friends answered, looked so shocked to see us, and then slammed the door on us! There was music playing as well. So we just patiently waited there. Then she answered the door again and apologized for having slammed it on us. It felt super uncomfortable as we entered. There was drinking that had been going on, couples sitting together, and it was not the scene we had expected or imagined. It was very awkward for everyone when we first entered. We were offered cake. One of Jasmine's friends, Juan, started talking with us casually. And as Jeffery R. Holland promised, whenever you have a conversation, something of the gospel will always come up. And he talked about how he use to drink and stuff, but then stopped. But he started again. He asked us what we really taught, or what our church was about. So we taught most of the Restoration. And it was amazing! There was a huge change in spirit when we started talking about the gospel. It was the craziest thing ever! That just goes to show that the spirit of the Lord always takes over the spirit of the devil. Juan is interested now, and we are starting to teach him. It was very painful spiritually to be in that environment for a while, but it gradually changed around. We decided to leave, though, once some people started throwing up from alcohol not settling well in their bellies. jaja
I know this church is true. As long as we have a firm testimony, no matter what spirit we are around, even if it's bad, we can change that into the spirit of Christ. I love you all and PLEASE keep the Word of Wisdom. There is too much misery attached when one doesn't follow it. I love you all!
Hermana Stohlton
November 18, 2013
Hola mi familia!
Right after email last week, we got chased down by this black guy telling us to research the difference between Mormonism and Christianity......what a headache trying to talk to him. First of all, he chased us out of the library and asked if he could print some stuff off for us, since I told him we would not research that. I told him not to. Then we continued on. We were at our bikes, and two minutes later, he was at the side of the road in his car. He was telling us the spirit told him to give us a pamphlet. So of course I pulled that exact same card. We were trying to give him a Restoration pamphlet. He had the window rolled down and we were on the passenger side of the car. He was stretched across trying to hand it to us out the window. I told him I would take his if he would take ours. I really contemplated on just dropping it in his car, but decided I didn't want any trouble with the police in case that was illegal. The spirit helped me constrain from doing that. I never took his pamphlet, and then he finally drove off. ay ay ay.
This week has been great, but rough. I've been sick pretty much all week, and having to ride the bike has not helped. I'm still trying to get over my cold. I lost my voice one day. Well, almost lost it, but I had prayed that day to have a voice to teach all the lessons we had planned. Right after my very last lesson, we walked away, and as I tried to talk, hardly anything came out. It was awful! But at least I was blessed all day. Then I've had a cough....not to fun. And sleepless nights. One day though I slept in until 7:25 and felt horrible that I had! But it was good for my body I think. Then today I woke up at 7:10. Last night I woke up several times and had many coughing attacks.
Yesterday the Elders had a baptism and guess who had to play the piano? Me!!! Then the missionaries had to do a musical number in between the baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost. Thankfully an hermana played that song for us on the piano, because the version of "I am a Child of God" that I made up sounded pathetic! I tried to sing the melody line to it, but hardly anything was coming out, so I had to try hard to not laugh at that. Then I just sang the same tune as the elders. I played "God be with you til we meet again" for the closing hymn. It turned out pretty nice. There was a big crowd and I was very nervous. I'm growing in so many aspects on the mission!
We have a family we're teaching, Alma and her two kids Raul and Josaline. They all have dates for the 29th of December. We are really excited for them! But they didn't show up to church.....how disappointing. We haven't been able to get the dad in for a lesson yet, but this week we are going to do that. It is so much fun teaching them!
Anyway that is all that I can think of about this past week. We had to take it kind of easy. Right now I'm fasting for zone conference to have the desire to baptize monthly since it's a commandment! Thanks for your support and prayers--they help a lot. Specific prayers will get specific answers. Love you all lots!
Con Amor
hermana taryn stohlton
November 25, 2013
Hey there familia,
This week was pretty good. We still have lots of laughter and great times. I am now on the down hill.....that is so sad to me. I hit 9 months on November 20th. My hump day. And I loved the package mom. You are very creative and clever I must admit. Every time I get a package from you, everyone huddles around to see what you have sent me. I really love the little camel necklace you sent this time. Thanks!
Alright, Alma and her two kids showed up to church this Sunday! It was the best thing ever. But her kids were a little sick, so they left after Sacrament Meeting. It felt like a miracle! Having investigators that actually progress is the best thing ever. It's all I could ever ask for.
We had a pretty cool zone conference this week where, instead of doing role plays, we went out and had to contact three people, and were supposed to come back with at least one name and number. We saw a Taco Bell lady worker trying to open her trunk, so we asked if we could help her. She told us her keys were in her pocket, and without hesitation, Hna. Garcia stuck her hand in the lady's pocket, snatched the keys out, and opened up her trunk for her. She was speaking English to us, but we started speaking in Spanish to her. She let out a surprised noise when Hna. Garcia started speaking in Spanish. The lady said, "Oh you speak Spanish?!" and conversation continued. Then later I chimed into the conversation, and she almost jumped, and could not believe that I speak Spanish as well! So that was pretty fun.
Speaking of Taco Bell, we went there to use the bathroom one time. As I was waiting for Hna. Garcia, one of the workers, Marcos, came over and started talking to me. I accidentally responded in Spanish because that's what I'm so used to. But of course he was instantly impressed that I could speak Spanish. He shook my hand, but was concerned that it was so cold! So he took the liberty upon himself to warm my hands up for me. But it was really weird because it felt like he was just holding my hand. I just shook his hand so that it wouldn't feel quite as awkward. He offered me food and a coffee, but I told him I don't drink coffee and that I had just eaten. He insisted on something, so I accepted a water cup. Hna. Garcia came out of the bathroom, so I was able to let her talk to him for a little. It turns out Marcos is a membe,r but hasn't been to church in a while. He was very nice though! And since it was Hna. Garcia's first time ever at a Taco Bell we got a little food. Marcos gave us some dessert as well for free. We looked at our watches and realized we had about 15 minutes to get home before curfew. We were pedaling like crazy, but Hna. Garcia kept falling behind. I took it upon myself to ride behind her and give her a push/boost every time I was about to pass her. I almost fell several times doing that. She ended up with a flat tire and had to walk the rest of the way home. It was a fun/entertaining night at least!
Hna. Garcia decided we are a great companionship because we're so opposite. She's morena and I'm the rubio. I guess there's some song that talks about that. I have no idea, though. I attract all the people and she talks to them with such power! Sometimes I think we have a little too much of a good time. But as long as we're working hard there is no problem enjoying ourselves at the same time.
Lots of times on the bus it is full of chinitos. And so we've been having people teach us phrases to say. Someone taught me how to say God loves you. So I have a lot of fun trying to say that to all the other chinitos. They laugh and get a kick out of it. They have told me though that I have a pretty good accent. And since we are always around them (chinese/mandrin/cantonese or whatever you want to call it) it actually sounds more like a language to me now instead of a bunch of noises.
We had a very powerful lesson with Evalyn. We haven't really been able to figure out what to do with her family because they aren't really progressing, but we feel they need some serious spiritual help. We visit them as a whole family, but we felt we needed to visit Evalyn alone. We called her up and she said we could come over right then. This was in the middle of weekly planning, and so we put it on hold to go visit her. As we entered her home I felt extremely nervous and I had no idea what to say. She had made us some taquitos of potato, and I was excited to eat them, but right then was not the time to dig in. So I began casually chatting, and then finally we were making direction with our conversation. Loooooong story short is, Evalyn feels she has no control in her life and is trying every other option except for getting God back into her life. I've been visiting her family off and on for 6 months now, and I know I have their trust. It feels like they are my family. And so I gave her some "tough love" as Papi always said. I was very bold and upfront. The conversation was too in depth and too inspired to even try and repeat it and give it justice, so I'm not going to try and say what we talked about. But the shocker about it all is that she cried, I cried, and the spirit was there. She felt it. She knows she needs to repent. She has the desire. It will require some serious work, though, and we'll need to help her. All I can say is, when you don't teach with the Spirit, you are only talking. It isn't going to drive men to repent or act/change if it's our own words. I can truly testify that as missionaries, we are only the instruments in God's hands. We only preach, and the Spirit is the one who does the teaching.
I know this church is true. This church would be chaotic and untrue if it wasn't the way it is. God is of order. He will always work the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. It's here. It's right in front of us. Are you going to accept it or push it away? God lives and he loves us. I love you. You are my family. I hope we will all make it back in the presence of our Heavenly Father together.
Con Amor
Hermana Taryn Stohlton
December 3, 2013
Hola mi familia!
We had another pretty good week. I feel like something crazy has to happen every single day, or else it wouldn't be complete. But we are working hard with lots of laughing. We've been busy making sugar cookies every spare second we get, thanks to Mel and Stacey who sent me a lovely package! All the sisters love the cookies so much!
Let"s start out with Thanksgiving. We had district meeting and no appointments. We decided to ride the bus all day and contact until dinner. We had two Thanksgiving dinners planned for us. This was Hna. Garcia's first Thanksgiving ever. We ate first with the Familia Martinez. And it was pan con pollo. Chicken sandwiches and tamales. It was fun to experience how Latinos eat and celebrate Thanksgiving. Then after, we went to the bishop's house from the English ward. He has been begging us to come to his house for the past three months and so we got permission to go. Now that was a real Thanksgiving feast! They were so nice to us. But I thought I was going to throw up with each bite we I took because I was so full. Then they gave us a whole pan of leftovers. They're really nice.
Hna. Garcia got a flat tire. It was a very long process trying to fix the tire. I don't even know how to describe it. In the course of it though, we had two people help us. First we went to the gas station and paid a dollar to fill up her tire. Within 20 seconds it was flat again. So I had to use my pen to strip off the tire and we were able to find the hole in the inner tube. But we had a lesson in 30 minutes and had to abandon the bikes and catch the bus. We climbed on to the bus with her tire in my hand. And this lady told me I needed to wash up because I had grease all over me. Of course our lesson fell through. Actually they all did that day. So that gave us prime time to work on her tire. We were right outside the K-mart and I bought a new inner tube (for myself for emergency) and then a couple different forms of slime. Well, as we were working on it, a guy on a bullet bike pulled up and asked if we needed help. And we accepted, knowing that we would be able to talk to him about the gospel while he helped us. It was pretty fun! In the end, he wasn't interested though. But he fixed her tire......so we thought. As we were continuing to ride I heard Hna. Garcia hollering at me. I had a feeling it had to do with her bike, but decided to just keep riding. We went down this pretty big hill and approached a stop light. She was riding awfully slow and finally caught up. And her tire was flat again! Conveniently, we were by another gas station and we ended up having to change the inner tube. This man came over and helped us. And in the process he said, "So you're Mormon". We excitedly said yes. He said he went to a Christian church and did NOT want to talk about our church, because he has strong feelings. He was 5 inches from our face and yelled at us. For a looooong time. I just stood there waiting for him to finish. But Hna. Garcia gave him a piece of her mind! It was very entertaining. All we could do was just bear testimony that Joseph Smith was a true prophet.
No investigators showed up to church...arrrrg. We dropped Estela. And we had a very powerful lesson with Raquel and she wants to be baptized and agreed for the date Jan. 19. We are very excited. After the lesson on the First Vision, she simply said that she believes it. She wants to know why her son died and is still waiting for an answer from God. I know the answer, but I'm going to wait until after she's baptized to share. At the end of the lesson, though, we got on the topic that my accent is hard to understand. WHAT?!!! Everybody tells me that I speak good Spanish. I kept on trying to ask her questions, but she never understood. So I have asked Hna. Garcia to give me lessons on pronunciation. It's so frustrating, but my accent has greatly improved.
Things are going sooo great together. Transfer calls are this Saturday and we are praying that we get to stay together. Well family, this church is true. We have the proper authority. And baptism is needed. I love you all!
Con Amor
Hermana Stohlton
December 9, 2013
Hola Familia!
Saturday night was such a dreaded night. We received the call. The call of transfers! I got moved to the Chino area. Hna. Garcia is staying in San Gabriel with her new compa Hna. Palacio. (From Venezuela....how ironic.) Anyway, it felt like a forced break-up. I'm so sad that we are no longer companions. Pucha....esta bien. If anything, we were more like brothers than hermanas. I think she was so much fun because she reminded me of a blend of our family. Always laughing. And we were going to have baptisms together too! cryyyyyyyyyyyy.\
My new companera is Hermana Bardsley. She is from Washington. I've heard that she is known as the "energizer bunny" of the mission. Once she gets going she never stops. So I should be pretty entertained as well. She speaks very good Spanish and so I want to continue always talking en espanol to keep it up. That is one thing that I really miss already. She is very diligent, so I know we'll have baptisms together. I'm really excited to work with her!
Evalyn and her family came to the Christmas party on Saturday. So it was really good that they made it inside the church building and could feel the spirit. They had so much fun! It was really good. Cameron wants to be baptized. Jasmine isn't sure yet. Today Chastity turned 8 and she wants to be baptized. I really hope she gets the chance to soon!
Had an amazing lesson with Raquel, and finally the dad, Adan, sat in. He came in at the very end though. They want this gospel. They want the change. I'm so sad that I had to leave the area. The people I've been working with are finally progressing so nicely!!!!
Alma and her two kids have disappeared as of now. I don't know what happened to them. I think it's cause maybe Alma is working a lot now. Hopefully the husband didn't interfere with anything, because we've tried calling and calling and pounding on the door, but never seem to find them. That is a little rough.
But my new area is Chino. It's clear on the other side of the mission. It's actually out of our mission boundaries so it's kind of weird. It's nice to see new scenery and know that there is actually more to California than just San Gabriel and all the trailer parks. It's pretty over here. This area we use the car at night. All I know is that we cover part of Pamona, Diamond Bar, Chino, Chino Hills and one other city I can't remember. I heard it's where all the cows are. And that it smells like cow. Thankfully I haven't smelled that part of town yet. Other than that, I'm sure I'll have more to report next week!
I love you all! I know this church is true. It's for everyone, and it will help you if you open your heart. It is hard to always accept the Father's will, but if we put our trust in him, and take a leap of faith. it will work out. I've been humbled as I've had to accept the will of the Father with my transfer call. It hurts, but I need this change for whatever reason. I'll find out soon I'm sure!
Love,
Hermana Stohlton
Table of Contents:
Intro, Pre Mission for-fun voting, Mailing Address
Prophetic Call/Accept/President/Welcome
Mission Maps/Mission Office
Temple Day - January 22, 2013
Farewell Reception - January 27, 2013
Missionary Set Apart - February 19, 2013
MTC 1st Day - drop off February 20, 20131
MTC February-March 2013
Arrial in Arcadia - March 4, 2013
1st Area March 2013 - La Puente - Covina West Zone
2nd Area June 2013 - San Gabriel - North East LA Zone
3rd Area December 2013 - Chino - East Zone
4th Area July 2014 - Arroyo - East LA North Zone
Birthday greetings to the family
Other:
CA-Arcadia Mission Video (youtube posting)
Elder Braden Stohlton's website
|
|
| |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|