Familia,
Como estan? Que de nuevo?
Everything is going super well over here in Illinois, in fact, it is even starting to warm up and the rain is less frequent haha! I love it here so much. The area is pretty busy as per usual and there is always things to be doing. We saw some pretty choice miracles this week as well! This week we had 2 zone conferences and 2 exchanges, so it was slightly less swamped. This next week is our only week this transfer without a meeting, so we are going to get some serious work done! We have back to back to back exchanges. By the end of the transfer we will have exchanged with 12 different companionships.
Some highlights from the week:
While on exchanges we went looking for some of the investigators that we have that we haven't been able to contact in a while. Unfortunately, one of the doors that we knocked on we could hear the people inside but they wouldn't open up. So we smiled and turned around to knock the apartment door right behind us across the hall. A man opened up standing in his underwear, his name is Jamal. We talked with him for a little while and then he let us in to say a prayer in his home. We started teaching him (btw he put some pants on) and turns out his has tons of the most perfect questions - the ones that we have the answers to! So we are going back again tomorrow. It is amazing how the Lord gives everyone a chance to accept His Gospel.
Another miracle was a dinner appointment that we had with Farren! I've talked about her before...she is the lady from Hong Kong that has been investigating the church on and off for a really long time. Anyways, we don't actively teach her, but she invites us over for meals sometimes. This time she also invited a friend, Jimmy, who ended up being a long lost member of the church! She didn't even know that he had been baptized already haha! Super incredible. So now we can send his info to the missionaries in his area. Farren also came to church yesterday!
One last cool experience was with our investigator, Ahmad. He is a muslim man that grew up as a Christian. Probably one of the nicest people you will ever meet. We stopped by on Saturday night and he asked if he could come to church the next day, so of course we got him a ride! When he goes to church he wear the traditional turban of his faith, which is bright red and pretty noticeable in our congregation. During fast and testimony meeting I could tell that he really wanted to go up and bear his testimony, but he was nervous. So finally I told him that I would go up with him if he would like. So we went up together and he bore a simple powerful testimony, even as someone of a different faith. Our ward loved it and loved him.
I am grateful for a God that sees past any cultural differences and appearances. We are all His children. I am also grateful to belong to an all-inclusive organization such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This truely is Christ's church on the earth today. I love Him
I love you all! I hope you have a fantastic week,
Con mucho amor,
Elder Stewart-Chester
1319 Butterfield Rd Ste 522
Downers Grove, IL 60515
FOTOS:
1&2 Exchanges w/ Elder Maughan from Pete, ID
3&4 Zone conferences, We matched with President&Sister Griffin
5 Elder Dallas Anderson came to visit the mission! He is such a stud
Como estan? Que de nuevo?
Everything is going super well over here in Illinois, in fact, it is even starting to warm up and the rain is less frequent haha! I love it here so much. The area is pretty busy as per usual and there is always things to be doing. We saw some pretty choice miracles this week as well! This week we had 2 zone conferences and 2 exchanges, so it was slightly less swamped. This next week is our only week this transfer without a meeting, so we are going to get some serious work done! We have back to back to back exchanges. By the end of the transfer we will have exchanged with 12 different companionships.
Some highlights from the week:
While on exchanges we went looking for some of the investigators that we have that we haven't been able to contact in a while. Unfortunately, one of the doors that we knocked on we could hear the people inside but they wouldn't open up. So we smiled and turned around to knock the apartment door right behind us across the hall. A man opened up standing in his underwear, his name is Jamal. We talked with him for a little while and then he let us in to say a prayer in his home. We started teaching him (btw he put some pants on) and turns out his has tons of the most perfect questions - the ones that we have the answers to! So we are going back again tomorrow. It is amazing how the Lord gives everyone a chance to accept His Gospel.
Another miracle was a dinner appointment that we had with Farren! I've talked about her before...she is the lady from Hong Kong that has been investigating the church on and off for a really long time. Anyways, we don't actively teach her, but she invites us over for meals sometimes. This time she also invited a friend, Jimmy, who ended up being a long lost member of the church! She didn't even know that he had been baptized already haha! Super incredible. So now we can send his info to the missionaries in his area. Farren also came to church yesterday!
One last cool experience was with our investigator, Ahmad. He is a muslim man that grew up as a Christian. Probably one of the nicest people you will ever meet. We stopped by on Saturday night and he asked if he could come to church the next day, so of course we got him a ride! When he goes to church he wear the traditional turban of his faith, which is bright red and pretty noticeable in our congregation. During fast and testimony meeting I could tell that he really wanted to go up and bear his testimony, but he was nervous. So finally I told him that I would go up with him if he would like. So we went up together and he bore a simple powerful testimony, even as someone of a different faith. Our ward loved it and loved him.
I am grateful for a God that sees past any cultural differences and appearances. We are all His children. I am also grateful to belong to an all-inclusive organization such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This truely is Christ's church on the earth today. I love Him
I love you all! I hope you have a fantastic week,
Con mucho amor,
Elder Stewart-Chester
1319 Butterfield Rd Ste 522
Downers Grove, IL 60515
FOTOS:
1&2 Exchanges w/ Elder Maughan from Pete, ID
3&4 Zone conferences, We matched with President&Sister Griffin
5 Elder Dallas Anderson came to visit the mission! He is such a stud