Alpine, Utah
Sunday Aug 13th 2017 9:00 am
Pleasant Grove, Utah
Sunday July 30th 2017 9:00 am
Alpine, Utah Sunday Aug 13th 2017 9:00 am Pleasant Grove, Utah
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Familia.
Ay como los quiero! Well fam, this is it! I will be seeing you all in a few short days, and of course I am incredibly excited. The reality of it all is quite shocking, but I trust that there are good things to come. This last week in the mission field has been extremely busy and satisfying. We put everything into these last moments as a companionship and we saw our efforts come to an incredible climax. On Saturday, I had the privaledge of baptizing Eddy Pagan a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint. The sweet spirit of that ordinance, I will never forget. We had a huge attendance from our branch at the baptism and I was blessed with the opportunity to see the effect of our labor here; unity and strength. I will miss these people with all of my heart, they have become my second family as I have learned to speak their language, love their culture, and admire their faith. I love the people of Illinois. There are so many experiences that I could share, just from this final week! But I will be able to tell many stories once I am home. Instead I would just like to report that my mission means everything to me. It has changed so much of who I am for the better. I could never express adecuately my gratitude towards everyone who made my experience what it has been. It is startling how things have changed from the begining of my mission until these final days. One thing however is irrevocably consistant. The Savior Jesus Christ is the center of everything in my life. He is "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end," From the first moments until the last, He is why I choose to serve. All because of Him. I love Him. See you all on Wednesday bright and early! Con mucho amor, Elder Stewart-Chester Hola Familia!
Que tal? Buenos dias! What a beautiful day. The sun is shining. Good things are happening. There is work to do! Well, this is officially my last full week of service as a full time missionary. I will have another opportunity to write to you all next Monday, and then I will be home on Wednesday. I will spare you all from the heart felt details until that time comes! This upcoming week is stacked with lots of people to see and lots of work to do. I cherish every moment. Incredible news! Hermano Eddy Pagán passed his baptismal interview on Sunday and will be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ this coming Saturday. I am incredibly excited for him, and he even asked if I would be willing to baptize him. As my friend Edward Leon D____ would say, "God is good. All the time." - (a man that we met and passed off to the English Elders, from the South) Many other great things happened this week, I wish that I could write them all to you! The bottom line is that nothing will ever be able to fully describe what has taken place each day in my mission. God's hand is in the details of our lives. One experience that calls my attention was on an exchange with the English Elders. We accidentally turned down a completely wrong road on our way to our apartment to have dinner. Elder Western, who was driving, said, "Why did I do that?" My response was, "I don't know, but I see someone walking over there, let's go!" We jumped out of the car and met Marissa. Miracle. She is currently staying at a domestic abuse rehabilitation center for women and she just happened to be outside and willing to let us talk with her. There is no other way we would have been able to meet her becuase the Rehab center is closed to male visitors and hidden from the main road. She told us how she feels like her relationship with God has been lost. She was more than willing to set something up in order to have the Sister missionaries return and visit her - she wants to get all of the women at the Rehab involved. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that is aware of the needs of His children. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to serve and experience here in Illinois and witness His tender mercies. I am indebted to Him for everything good in my life, and somehow He just keeps on giving. Follow that example this week! Look for opportunities to GIVE! of yourself, your services, your time, your talents. Luke 9: 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. 25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself Los quiero mucho! Que les vaya muy bien! Con amor, Elder Stewart-Chester Fotos: 1 Chess (No Shame) 2 Foto from my Birthday that a member took awhile back 3 Foto of Elder Gubler's Bday with the same family Hola Familia! Que tal?
Como les ha ido? Wow! It is Monday! Crazy. Well this email should hopefully turn out to be a little more satisfying than last week's. Cross your fingers! Much has happened and I am still so incredibly grateful to be a missionary, what's new? Rockford, IL is a little slice of heaven. (probably slightly more violent and ghetto than heaven) I love it here! I don't even know where to begin! Thursday and Friday we were on an exchange in the English area. Our area basically covers the equivalent of 4 english areas, so we worked in our own area just with all the people that would attend the english congregation. Notice how I didn't say "all the people that speak English" becuase there is way to much diversity. The amount of people from central Africa that I spoke to was pretty incredible. Rockford is a diverse place! Usually we greet the people saying "Jambo" which is hello in Swahili. People are incredibly surprised when two white blonde haired missionaries yell out "Jambo!" and talk about the Kitabu Cha Mormoni (the Book of Mormon). However, we went to another appointment at the end of our exchange with a family from Africa and we tried to speak Swahili and found out they are from the other side of the African Congo! I spoke some French to them and they laughed so hard! We ended up singing a hymn with them and meeting one of the most prepared men to recieve the Gospel. He said, "There is only one truth! That is what I am searching for!" Followed with things like, "I have the Holy Ghost, why can He not tell me what is the real truth?! I think He can." We were forced to agree with him(; (we also may or may not have gotten bed bugs from their apartment...again poverty is pretty intense over here) Overall, I really have been focusing on how much I love the people that I serve out here in Illinois. There are so many different backgrounds and experiences to learn from. I am continually impressed by the way that God works in each of our lives. I am reminded of a scripture about the Savior Jesus Christ, 1 John 4 19 "We love him, because he first loved us." Despite what seems to be unfair or unjust in the world, I am constantly reminded of the goodness of God. His works are innumerable. I would be nothing without Him! The work is pushing forward! I love my life! Pray for Eddy Pagan, he is preparing to be baptized on the 22nd! I love you all, Elder Stewart-Chester So we had some tornados touch down this week.... It was an intense storm! We couldn't leave the church building for a few hours...
1&2 Melany Chavez was baptized! 3 We made "Pepián" with a member. Sorry the foto doesn't really include the food, but it was delicious 4 Today we met this guy Tom (in the middle next to me) who taught us some great bowling tips, and we shared the Gospel with him! |
Fletcher Stewart-ChesterFletcher is called to serve the Lord in the Chicago West Spanish Speaking mission. This is a blog of his letters and adventures CategoriesArchives
July 2017
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