Humidity? What's That?

June 15th, 2015

Haha hello family! Holy tamole guacamole I have no time to write today because my district went to Baltimore today!!:) It was SO FUN! I love the city! We took the metro because we're about 20 minutes from there. I loved it so much and Inner Harbor was so beautiful! This past week has been awesome!! First off Happy Father's day to dad this upcoming Sunday! And happy wedding anniversary Cate & Jared! I love you all! I can't believe it's been a year already! Also thank you SO MUCH Lani & Jamie for the beautiful journal! It was a awesome surprise at zone conference:) & thank you Erin & McKell for the yummy cake in a mason jar:) 

We are teaching a family from Haiti! How cool is that? So the parents don't really speak English well, but lucky for us Brother Krieger in the ward went to Haiti on his mission so he was able to translate. I've never wanted to speak creole before until now! Hahahah. We ordered them 2 Book of Mormons in Creole and we are getting all the pamphlets in French. How fun! :) 

So Tuesday we had Zone Conference & it was President and Sister Richards last one :( I'm so lucky to have known them for a month. They also spoke in Stake Conference for Columbia this past weekend and it was so good. They are amazing people who have done so much for this mission. We all get to go to transfer meeting next Wednesday and say bye to them. There are so many missionaries going home, but a lot coming in so that is awesome!:) Can you believe the MTC will be 51% sisters this summer?! 

The humidity here has been KILLER. I'm not going to lie. I am definitely a desert rat through and through! It rains so much here, but it is totally cool with the thunderstorms.  

Okay and my street contact for the week: This old man was sitting outside and we started to talk to him. He said he's been reading the Book of Mormon for 6 years and that it has taken him 40 years to read the bible. When we told him about living prophets he said "Oh naw get on that curb girl! Monson aint my prophet!" So then I asked him how the Book of Mormon came to pass. He didn't know so I told him it was translated by a prophet and he kinda just huffed and looked away. 

Another one was this guy from Trinidad who had awesome dreads. He said "Oh you 2 are so pretttttttyy, everyone should see it." Welp. Thank you random stranger for calling me pretty even though I sweating and walking around in da heat! Hahaha. We asked if he wanted the Elders to come by and he goes, "I just want to hear what you 2 have to say." Bahah. We gave the Elders his number anyway :) 

Last night we went to a choir potluck at the Bush's and it was so fun getting to sing and all that:) Also another miracle! Remember Mama? Well one of her family members we get to start teaching! I am so excited! I love when people tell us that they are searching for something more, it makes me so excited to share the gospel. Also another miracle was that a less active in the ward went to Stake Conference and he started to tell us all the things he has learned and all that he wants to implement in his family and how he wants to aim towards the temple. Man things like that make me SO HAPPY! I love this gospel so much. It truly is for all of us. I know, I know, I know that if we put our trust in the Lord and love Him enough to follow Him that we will always be okay. We can't do everything alone, but if we put our faith and trust in Him than we will always be okay. I know that there is nothing in this life that the Savior and our Father in Heaven can't help us with. 

Baltimore was so cool today! We were able to go to Tag Alley and walk all around the city. I love cities so much! 

Sorry this is so short but I love you all SO MUCH! And boy do I love your letters too! Thank you for YOUR testimonies and for you love and support. I would not be who I am or here without you guys:) I am so lucky to have you all. Have a blessed week! 

Love love LOVE, 

Sister Stolworthy :) 

June in Baltimore!

June 8th, 2015    

      Hi familia! How are you all doing?:) First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DA GREATEST DAD IN DA WHOLE WORLD!! I hope you have a fantastic day Thursday daddio. Thank you for being someone I look up to in so many ways. I'm so stinkin' happy God let me be your daughter. Would you believe me if I told you it was cold here and raining in June?! It's starting to warm up though! Baltimore is more weather bipolar than Vegas! 

     So last Monday we had zone sports and I was reminded of why I never played Volleyball in high school...haha! Then Tuesday we had district meeting and our zone leaders came! I love district meeting because it lets me play the piano for a split sec:) My district consists of 4 elders and 2 sisters so it's funny and I learn a lot at each meeting. Sister Donehue and I have been listening to the same David Archuleta Christmas Album on repeat. We love him.  

   

      So this week has been good! We have 5 new investigators because we got a family! We met the mom Monday outside of an apartment complex and we got a return appointment. When we stopped by the whole family was there to listen. We invited them to be baptized and all the kids started nodding and said yes. It was so cool! Our other investigator is 14 and is leaving for North Dakota this summer :( We hope that she'll be able to feel the Spirit and have her prayers answered in the Lord's timing. 

    My favorite part about missionary work is that we are never really the teachers, the spirit is!:) One of the greatest things you can learn is how to decipher spiritual needs and ask inspired questions. If you're prepared and invite the Spirit, than it has room to take over. I love feeling those promptings to ask a certain question, or say something. It's a really cool part of missionary work. 

     I'm not going to lie, yesterday was one of the hardest days I've had. We street contacted for about 2 hours and oh it was hard. I have learned that the greatest thing I can do is testify, and at the end of the day that's all I can do. Truth is still truth no matter what. I have felt my testimony grow so much already. I know that this is the Lord's gospel because I've studied it, prayed about it, and lived it. I don't have a perfect testimony, and I'll never be a perfect missionary, but I do know that the Lord calls us to share His gospel. The gospel is the only true and real way to dwell with God again. All I can do is try my best to share this beautiful gospel that has blessed my life. How lucky we are to have it in our lives. 

2 of my favorite street contacts this week:

1. A guy leaving for work in his apartment complex recited 2 poems that he "wrote." They were about love/lust/and adultery.

2. A lady opened the door and started saying "I'm not paying you, I'm not paying you" and slammed the door haha. Jokes on her because it's the Lord we're paying! #tithing

     I just want you all to know that I have a testimony of the Spirit. The Spirit truly helps us to plan and study in the morning. A less active this week asked, "How did you know that I needed to hear this message today?" and I told her that the Spirit knew. It was really awesome. 

    I love you guys so much. I'll talk to you all next week and I hope your summer is off to an amazing start. You are always in my prayers. Happy birthday again dad! Love you all!

PS - Bishop Gadberry said he remembers you and Stacey, dad! He said you guys lived in King Henry together at BYU?! Also I found out that a less actives in the ward ex-husband is the father of one of my really good friends from Legacy hahah. This ward is starting to weird me out:) 

Sister "Stol-diddy" is Finding Baltimore Quite Welcoming

June 21^st, 2015

Hi to my favorite family :) 

This week has flown by! The days don't, but the weeks do. I figure most of life is like that right? Well, I am still not over the green here! Hahaha. What I love about our area is that one minute you're driving through shopping centers and busy roads and then 5 minutes later you're in these neighborhoods with gigantic green fields and pretty houses. 

The Batson family in our ward is from Las Vegas and so I was laughing when I told them that I feel "claustrophobic" because of all the trees! Haha you literally can't see around them. #mountains4ever 

So this week Sister Donehue and I got to visit so many less active members! It was so awesome. I love getting the opportunity to visit with people. I also love the members in the ward. We get the opportunity to work with a lot of single sisters. They are so kind and their hearts have so much love. I also love having the opportunity to perform service whenever we get the chance.

No one can pronounce my name here at all. Everyone says "Stol-diddy." So basically like P. Diddy, but much, much cooler. 

This week we had dinner with Sister Kelly who is deaf and in the ward. She was Jade's visiting teacher! The first thing she said to me was, "You look like Jade." And I told her that I was her cousin! Haha. Also the Erekson's and Sheppards knew her too. How fun is that? Those Stolworthy genes are great :) 

If you could keep in your prayers all off the recent converts and investigators in the ward that would be awesome :) One of our investigators is leaving this summer :( 

The weather here is getting crazy crazy. It is so hot and humid, but then it will rain. And then comes the afternoon thunderstorms which are pretty cool to me since I haven't really experienced those much! You should see my hair mom. It is HUGE. Haha.

We share a lot of hastening the work videos which I recommend you guys all watch! Also the new Mormon Message, Lift. It is SO GOOD. It is so true that when we serve others we end up finding ourselves. It is a really cool thing. Charity is the one thing that will never fail or run out. We can always uplift, love, and serve. I've noticed that if my heart is filled with charity than everything is so much easier to bear and I have way more gratitude in my heart for those I am serving.

The most interesting street contact this week was a man we found in one of our investigator’s neighborhoods. He's becoming a minister, and both of his sons are ministers. Hahahaha. Talk about a fun conversation. I'm not kidding when I say there are churches on every corner here. At least they are filled on Sundays. Whenever we experience a lot of rejection, or people aren't the nicest, I always think of Jeffrey R. Holland's talk about missionary work and the Atonement. He said that we shouldn't expect it to be easy for us when it was never easy for Him. "Salvation is not a cheap experience." You know being a member of this gospel takes work on our part, and it isn't going to always be easy. Life is going to give us challenges, and we will experience heartache, rejection, and pain is this life. But thankfully Christ suffered all that we might find peace when it gets hard. No, life will never be easy, but if we follow the Savior it will become bearable, and peace will flow into our lives. I know that to be true. I love you all, have an amazing week! 

Love, 

Sister Stol-diddy 

Also mom if you could send me all the family addresses, birthdays, anniversaries, important dates that would be awesome!:) 

Sister Stolworthy Takes on Balitmore!

May 26^th, 2015

Hi family!! Holy tamoley guacomole. This week went by crazy fast. Sorry I didn't email the past two weeks, I flew in last week so I missed P-day and then it was Memorial Day so now I am emailing today! So my first area is Eldersburg, Maryland. The area my apartment is in is about 10 minutes from Baltimore. We live in good ol' Baltimore County where there is a church on EVERY CORNER. I think I counted like 10. Our ward and area we cover is huge so it's so nice we have a car because it would take an hour and a half to get from one side of the ward to another if we biked.(Thank you Emily for the CD's :) Out east there aren't a lot of members and sometimes the work can feel slow. Our mission is actually sizing down to 200 missionaries. But I have faith and know that there are people who are ready for the gospel. 

 

Fun fact, my bishop's daughter actually was in my BYU ward! And another girl just moved in to the ward and she was in my BYU ward too! Hahah isn't that crazy and random?! AND cousin Jade & Dan used to be in this ward Bishop said so that's awesome too!:) Such a small world hahah, who knew! 

My trainer is Sister Donehue from Roy, Utah. She is so kind and funny. She's been through so much and she has such a strong testimony. We relate on so many levels so it's always fun talking to her.

We work with a lot of less actives and ward members which is good. I think sometimes we forget that missionary work is bringing EVERYONE to Christ, not just people who don't know of Him yet. Since the area is so big, it is also so diverse which I love:) Sometimes it’s hard because investigators won't have cars so they can't get to church. I wish I could drive a huge bus like in Magic School-bus and take everybody I can hahaha. Also it is so green here!!! All the people in the area I talk with think it's so cool I'm from Las Vegas... if they only knew ;) It's so pretty here and sometimes we are in a more city-like area and then 15 minutes later we're driving through all these green trees crossing these beautiful bridges it feels like a postcard! Haha.  

I had real African food this week! Sister Okereke is Nigerian and moved here 7 years ago. She is in our ward. It was so good! Also, there's a less active who recently has come back to church! We call her Mama and she's hilarious. She has pictures of Jesus on her door in her apartment and always says "guuuuuurl please." So we laugh a lot together. She recently got her eyebrows tattooed on because she said she's getting older and doesn't want to have to bother with that anymore hahahah! I love her so much. Also yesterday these little 7 years old totally showed me up doing the nay nay and twerking. (is that even how you spell it?) They were killing it outside of the apartment. Another nice lady we met is La Phonda who is hilarious and so kind. She has a sweet heart and we're excited to teach her. 

It's been so fun getting to know the people here :) Sometimes I get sad because I feel like I am handing out a $100 bill and no one wants it. People think I’m trying to sell them something, NO I AM TRYING TO SAVE YOUR SOUL. Hahah but it's all good:) I know that the Lord knows who is ready for the gospel, and either way we are able to prepare the hearts of people who will someday receive it. 

The greatest thing we can do is always be grateful for what we have and for what the gospel has given us. Also, always be member missionaries! We can't do missionary work without everyone involved. It’s so imperative that we all love and serve together. That's something I wish I did more of when I was at home. But now that I am out here I see the importance of us all bringing souls to Christ. It takes all of us :)

God is so good, we just need to always remember him in our lives. I love you guys so much, I pray for you always. Remember that you are so precious to Heavenly Father. And that by doing the important aspects of the gospel (faith in Christ, using the Atonement, relying on the Holy Ghost, sacrament, enduring to the end) we will always be okay through anything.

Love you!!! 

Love love always, 

Sister Stolworthy 

PS they speak "Balmorese" here. 

it's "bal'more" NOT "baltimore" :)

Sister Stolworthy - MTC Edition

May 13^th, 2015

Hi family!!:) So the shift button doesn't work so you'll have to excuse my weird typing.. hahaha. The MTC is a crazy learning experience. There aren't a lot of us here right now, but there will be like 4x the amount of missionaries in the summer!

I can't believe that I will be in Baltimore in a week. You learn so much about the doctrine of Christ, but most importantly about learning to love EVERYONE. I loved Elder Bednar's MTC talk "Character of Christ" about turning ourselves outward like Christ did.

The president over the missionary department came and spoke to us last night at our devotional. He said that soon a lot of missions will have iPads and that all the missionaries in the MTC will too in a few short months. I think it is so cool how God hastens the work. i have learned so much here about how loving others is the key to missionary work. The Lord loved his whole life, even as he suffered. There will be tough times in life, but if the Lord could turn himself outward than we all can try to. Ahh I love it.

My companion is Sister Waite and she is from Hawaii! I love my little district of 7 missionaries. Most districts have 15 but the MTC is lower on numbers right now. I know that my companion and my district were put together for a reason. The Lord truly has a hand in everything.

On a serious note I really do eat pineapple at every meal! The food reminds me of the Cannon Center at BYU and the residential facilities are just like the dorms:) The district ahead of us leave this week to Canada and Nauvoo! We get to welcome a new district today. It's crazy I am only here for such a short amount of time, but I've learned so much already and will continue to the next 18 months:) My companions been sick so we missed a little class, but that's okay because I know the Lord will make up the rest if we try our hardest to do our best. His hand is always in our lives, we just need to look for it.

        Well I love you all and pray for you every day!! Say your prayers and remember I love love love you. Let me know how you are all doing! I leave for the airport May 19 at 4:30 Am but my flight isn't until 9:30 so expect a call in between then mom! Haha. Thank you so much for the prayers and letters, they mean so much.

Talk to you so soon!

Love, 

Sister Stolworthy