There Is Sunshine In My Soul Today

Hola Familia,

We got news from Keidi today. The reason we are not allowed to Skype the baptism is because The Mission president doesn't want anything there that will break the spirit. So I guess we will just hear how it went, but that's okay. The joy is in the journey, and I felt that Joy as I saw her grow.

Sunday 06/11/2017

Today was really good. We talked about the word of wisdom during 2nd hour of church. It was really cool because each row was given a little slip about one aspect of the word of wisdom and they all got up row by row and shared their thoughts on it. We got something that talked about how we are able to control our desires and passions. The word of wisdom isn't impossible to keep nor is it impossible to overcome when you have done it.

We had our first member dinner from the 259th ward today as well, which was awesome. It was with the 2nd counselor and his wife and their grandma. Their names are the Bullocks. They are super nice. When elder Savoie and I arrived at the house, we were welcomed in and shown into the kitchen. It was small but beautiful. We each made our own sandwiches on sourdough bread. They all had great stories. Their grandma told us stories of when she was called on her mission. She said that she was originally called to Vietnam, but she was moved to a pharmacy and she did work around there. We talked about the referral center and what we do here. We also got onto the topic of disabilities. It turns out Sister Bullock has seizures as well. We were talking about different times we had fainted and had a seizure. She mentioned that she only has hers when she is asleep like me, and when she wakes up she doesn't know where she is. She told us this funny story after:

Sister Bullock: I was doing sealings in the temple with my husband one day and I remember just having this dream.
Brother Bullock: She doesn't do sealings well.
Sister Bullock: I opened my eyes and I see all these people in white around me as well as a fancy chandelier. I thought I had died and was in heaven, and then they handed me a juice, and I realized where I was.
Brother Bullock: They don't have juice in heaven?
Sister Bullock: Well, I don't know.

A super cool fact we learned today is that the father of one of the missionaries that is teaching Josefine in Scotland was at the ward that she was visiting in Denmark, so the Dad of her missionary confirmed her today.

Monday 06/12/2017

Josefine was super happy when we talked with her today. She talked to us about one of the talks that was harder for the missionary to interpret. She said that the man was talking about the stars and how we think sometimes that the sun is the brightest and biggest star but in reality some of the farther away stars are bigger and brighter, and the stars will always be there. He compared this to the Holy Ghost, and recognizing it.

Tuesday 06/13/2017

Brent H. Neilson of the seventy and his wife Sister Neilson came and spoke at the devotional. They both said good things.

Brother Neilson: Heavenly father preserves the lives of all those that serve him.

Sister Neilson: He will give you what you need when you need it. She also said When you empty your mind God will fill it.

Wednesday 06/14/2017

Elder Savoie and I talked to a new investigator. Her name is Kyarria. pronounced K-eye-ra. Both Elder Savoie and I were confused when we heard it because it is spelled so differently than it is pronounced. Her birth name is Mickayla, Kyarria is just a name she has been using for the past few years. We did introductions and taught the first lesson. Kyarria lives in New York and is 18 years old. She seems really interested in our message and improving her relationship with Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father.

Thursday 06/15/2017

I saw Elder (Chandler) Rast on my way back from Spanish, which was really fun.

I had my first Zone Conference since I have been here. President Martino talked about the effect that the referral center is having. He said that The M.T.C. is going to start it's own pilot program with some of the five hundred new missionaries that came in yesterday. He said that they will come into the referral center occasionally and we will teach them about what we do here. They are also going to start letting missionaries bring phones to their mission.

We had dinner with the Abbott's today: Sister Sharalyn Abbot who works in Scheduling for the MTC and Brother Abbott who is the ward clerk in the 259th ward. It was really good. We had ribs and watermelon which tasted really good. I led the spiritual thought this time. I talked about love and the positive effect it has on others, and how it has helped me in my life.

Elder Savoie and I got back and we had our first meeting with Selena, which we have been trying to set up for more than a month. We mostly did introductions with a short spiritual thought. She is from Canada and has been searching for God most of her life. She went to church last Sunday and she said that she felt it was like a homecoming for her. On Sunday she asked the Sisters to meet with her, and it sounds like they are having scripture study together.

We found out the new companionship arrangements for after I finish training this week. I am going to be with Elder Withers and Elder Jacobson and Elder Savoie will be with Elder Woodruff. I officially start teaching in Spanish on Monday.

Friday 06/16/2017

Elder Savoie and I split up the investigators today. I got Sagan, Donna, Tammy, Kyarria, Josefine, and Liz, and he got Kaitlyn, Keidi, Selena, Timothy, Ana, and Michael.

I did my first weekly planning with Elder Withers and Elder Jacobson today. It was super cool. It was cool to plan for new investigators and old investigators at the same time. We talked about how we will do our hour of Spanish study in the morning. They have a wheel with a bunch of different Spanish verbs on it, and they practice the lessons using the verb that the pointer lands on, so that should be fun.

Our talk with Keidi was really good. She said that she really wants us there at her baptism, because she doesn't have many friends in Tallin (which is where the baptism will take place, not in Tartu). Also she doesn't think that her parents are going to show up to her baptism either. She said the reason that she wants us at the baptism so bad is because she was ready to kick the LDS church out of her life, but we helped her see that there is good in the church even if the world tells you that it is not.

This week went really well. We talked to Josefine. She is super happy that she can tell people she is a member now. She got a picture of Christ and a picture of the temple. She loves when people see her picture of Jesus Christ because she can tell them what it means to her and she can use it to talk about our beliefs. Her picture of the temple has a place at the bottom where she wrote her baptismal date and there is a space where she is going to write the day that she will first attend the temple. She is already an awesome missionary.

Saturday 06/17/2017

Something super cool happened today. I saw Brother and Sister Sparks at the temple. We didn't talk, but I did get to shake Brother Sparks' hand and wave at Sister Sparks. It really made me happy.

I went to Olive Garden for the first time today, and they give you a lot of food, but it was delicious. Elder Savoie, Elder Buckway and I were the only missionaries that went there. Also the restaurant was basically empty, and there was super soft music playing so the whole thing was just really relaxing.

I love you all!

Elder Stevenson