A Poem about Missionary Work

HE'S BEEN THERE BEFORE
By Elder Troy Whittle, Texas, Houston Mission

The alarm rings at 6:30; I stumble to my feet.
I grab my companion's bedding and pull off his sheet.
A groan fills the room, is it already time to arise?
It seems like just a second ago I was able to shut my eyes.

The morning activities follow - study, prayer, and such.
When it's time to leave the apartment, you feel you haven't accomplished much.
"We have a super day planned," my comp says with a grin.
I lowly utter a faithless breath, "Yeah, if anyone lets us in."

With the word of God and my faithful Schwinn, we ride off in the street
Prepared to face another day of humidity and heat.
It's 9:30 in the evening, the day is almost through;
My companion and I are riding home, not accomplishing what we thought to do.

We ride up to the mailbox, hoping to receive a lot.
Only to look inside and hear my echo reverberate "Air Box."
We go up to our apartment, the day is now complete.
The only thing to show for our work is a case of blistery feet.

It's past 10:30 PM, my companion is fast asleep.
Silence engulfs me all about and I begin to weep.
In the midst of sadness, I kneel down to pray;
I need to talk to Father, but I'm not sure what to say.

"Oh, Father," I begin, "What happened to us today?
I thought we'd teach somebody, but everyone was away.
My hands, my aching hands - worn, hurt and beat;
If our area was any smaller, we'd have knocked every street."

"Why on missions are the days so much alike?
The only difference about today was the flat tire on my bike.
Will you send some cooler weather? The heat is killing me.
I sweat so bad, it gets in my eyes; It's very hard to see."

"Why do I have to wear a helmet, isn't your protection enough?
People always laugh at me and call me stupid stuff.
Please send us investigators so I may give them what they lack;
I want to give them Books of Mormon, the weight of them hurts my back."

"And what about my family? They don't have much to say,
I'm sick of not hearing from home, day after day after day.
Oh Father, why am I here, am I just wasting time?
Sometimes I just want to go home, I'm sorry but that's on my mind."

"My companion, Heavenly Father, what are you giving me?
The way he rides his bicycle, I don't think he can see.
Now you have it, I can't go on, I don't know what to do;
That, my Father in Heaven, is the prayer I have for You."

My prayer now finished I stand up, then jump right into bed.
I need my rest for tomorrow; we have another long day ahead.
Sleep starts to overtake me, I seem to drift away,
Then it seems a vision takes me to another time and another day.

I'm standing alone on the hill, the view is very nice;
A man walks towards me and says, "My name is Jesus Christ."
Tears of joy well up inside, I fall down to His feet,
"Arise," He states, "Follow Me to the shade - you and I need to speak."

My attention's toward the Savior, total and complete.
He says, "Your mission is similar of what happened to Me,
I understand how you feel, I know what you're going through;
In fact it would be fair to say I've felt the same as you."

"I even know how you felt when no one listened to you.
At times I felt not quite sure what else I could do.
I know you don't like to ride a bicycle, for you a car would be sweet;
Just remember the donkey I rode wasn't equipped with 21 speeds."

"I understand you don't like sweating, in fact it's something you hate;
I remember when I sweat blood from every pore, oh the agony was great!
I see you don't like your companion - you'd rather have someone else.
I once had a companion named Judas who sold my life for wealth."

"It's hard to wear a helmet and have people make fun of you.
I remember when they put thorns on my head and called me King of the Jews.
So you feel burdened down by the weight of your pack.
I recall how heavy the cross was when they slammed it on my back."

"Your hands hurt from tracting and knocking on doors all day.
I guess when they pounded nails into mine, I ached in a similar way.
It's hard not to hear from home when your family's not there to see;
I lost my communication on the cross and cried, "Father, why hast Thou forsaken Me."

He embraced me with His arms, His light filled me with His love,
With tears in my eyes I watched as He went back to the Father above.
I stood with awe and wonder when a beep rang in my head,
I listened and heard the alarm, then realized I was in my bed.

My companion let out a groan, "6:30 already, no way!"
I sat up and said, "Come on, I'll even carry your scriptures today!"
No matter what we go through, when we feel we can't take more,
Just stop and think about Jesus Christ, He has been there before.

Hi Hi Hi

Hey Family, How's it going this week? It has been good but the most crazy thing is the weather we had this week. This morning we had fog so thick you couldn't see 10 feet in front of you, it was crazy- it is getting cold.
We have been trying hard to teach and to find people. It is so hard but must happen. Ok I got to get going but I will talk to you later. I love you!
Temperature: ~55°F, Overcast

Yo, Yo, Yo

Hey Family,
How’s it going? I hope you are having a good time in the snow and cold.
Well not much has changed here in Southern Cal. The people are not willing at all and I am getting in patient. I don’t know what I am going to do. I feel a hard responsibility because Elder Marks and I are the ones to make sure that everyone in our area gets the gospel; and they aren’t because they are stubborn. It’s true the church is getting it hard in So Cal and preaching is now harder than ever. The persecution is getting bad... but hey, what you can do? When life gets too hard to stand kneel and that’s all I can do, pray like no other. Now we just have to wait for the elect to show up and our spiritual radar. Elder Marks and I always talk about waking up one morning and finding a good looking GPS outside our tent (oh wait I mean house) to lead us to the elect. That would be sweeeeeat. Dream on Elder Stones right!
Well I got to go, but I love you all very much. Things are going great other than the finding people part. Love you.
Temperature: ~ 68°F, Clear

Low to the Floe

Yo Family, How’s it going today? For p-day we went on a hike to Ortega Mountains. Man, it was awesome and I will tell you it was high, it was so high that we could see the ocean and Camp Pendleton, it was fun.
Also our investigators are now officially members. Elder Marks gave them the gift of the Holy Ghost last Sunday (or yesterday), now we are back in the process of finding and giving the first lesson. I will tell you what, finding is a hard thing to do especially in my areas; there are a lot of prideful people. I thought that the economy would humble them but all it did was make them cranky, grrr. Yeah, we are not getting a lot of nice people to talk to. I have never been so surprised at how rude some people can get. It truly makes me so sad to see people reject what they don’t even know. Sometimes I wonder what it to be done with these people. How does the spirit manifest the truth of this work to these people.....? But I guess I can’t say that because I know that the spirit is one of the most powerful things ever. I mean come on it is the 3rd member of the god head... don’t under estimate the power of the spirit ha-ha (I swear you can relate star wars to just about any part of the gospel). It is a great conversion for those star wars nerds out there, oh wait that’s me!! he he.
Well fam, I love you so much and thank you for your support. Thanks Family,
Elder Stones
Temperature: ~61°F, Overcast

Lug Nut

Well Hey There,
How’s the fam this week? Well, the baptism went great and the spirit was strong. What a great couple and a great desire they have.
So thanks for that present! Man that was a great present. We use it all the time and it really helps. Man you don’t need to get me a Christmas present now- that GPS had to have been expensive. I am not going to lie, I still feel 19 but when I think about it.... WOW! 20 years old eeekk!
So I am going to spend another transfer with Elder Marks, which is awesome because he is so cool and we do good together. I am exited. We have a lot of cool people we’re teaching.
Okay so weird experience, one of the cool people we talked to this past week is named Jamie. She told us about her life problems and started to cry, and after that she was grateful she had someone to talk to about here problems and for the counsel. So when the time came to say good by she did a thing all missionaries tend to be shocked by when it happens- she came up and hugged us super-upper long and tight (well at least it seemed that way). Man I was sweating up a storm. I never thought that I of all people would have a problem with a girl hugging me- woo wee! Anyway, she is a good lady and has good hopes, so we have a return appointment but maybe we will go on a team-up.
Well, I’ve got to go, have a good week!
Temperature: ~88 degrees

Ok GREAAAT NEWS!

THIS SUNDAY AT 5:00 PM I WILL BE BAPTIZING OUR INVESTIGATORS! I don’t have a lot of time to write but I did want you to know that. This is my first one, and I am nerves but also if not more exited. Because this is a good husband and wife and they are so ready. Anyway I have got to go but I do love you and all your support!

Temperature: ~86 degrees

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELDER STONES

Michael turned 20 on November 9th!!!
The Gunther's made sure that he had a great birthday and had a fun time.

Low Low Start to Glow

Hey hey hey, How’s the fam doing? Hey sorry for not e-mailing you earlier (yesterday) but our p-day is today. Yesterday we had a meeting with a general authority. His name is Elder Johnson, he was amazing and is truly inspired.

Ok, I will write more later this week (we have permission to do so), but I am great and a healthy 20 year old man. But I have got to get going.

Temperature: ~66 degrees

Go with the Flow

Ok, so the week has gone pretty well. We did a lot of tracting, a lot of walking. So yes, I am vary tired. Well, Halloween honestly wasn’t that fun, just because we have to be in by 6:00 so we don’t really get that “Halloween effect.” And I am freaking out because I am almost 20 years old and I don’t want to be. Well, I do it just is coming so so so fast and I can’t believe it- aaaaaaaaaaah! Hey mom look at the bright side at least you don’t have to deal with the teenager stuff anymore.

Ok this email might be short just because we have to go to appointments but I love you so I will talk to you next week.

Temperature: ~66 degrees (Partly Cloudy)

Yo Yo What Up Bro?

Well, how’s the fam’ doing ya’ll? Ok so this week has not a lot of cool experiences but I still have some cool stuff to tell you. We had Pres interviews and Pres told me a few things; in the next two transfers there will be over 50 new missionaries. In the next two transfers, Elder Marks is going to be going home and I will be hitting my year mark and may be training a brand new missionary! Crazy, huh? I am a little scared but I will do what the Lord wants. If I had my choice I would never be in a leadership position and always be a junior companion but most likely that will never happen.
You know what? I don’t know if I ever told you this but did you know that elder rose is my zone leader? How cool is that?
Great news, I totally forgot about this; our awesome investigators, Roger and Sunshine are getting married on Nov 16. Sweeeet! I can’t tell you how cool this family is. They are so sincere and have an awesome testimony; I don’t know why I would ever forget about that.
Oh yeah I got bit by another dog this week. It was just an overly protective PIT-BULL yea a pit-bull, gosh it scared the bageesers out of me!! But luckily he only got my paints wooo-weee close one.
One thing you got right Dad, it is way hot and dry. All the houses that got foreclosed, their lawns are dead in about two days and because the economy is so bad we see a lot of dead lawns, it is sad that on one street of 20 homes only 8 are being used, yes we had a street like that. I mean if the people would just listen to the prophet they would be fine but nooooo they don’t want to do that they say there fine were they are at..... Anyway hopefully this humbles the people.
Well fam I do love you and will talk to you next week.

Temperature: ~93 degrees

Yo Fo Sho

Hey Family,
Sorry you didn’t get my last e-mail, I thought you got it, but I guess not. I thought it was a good one but oh well, I guess it was not meant to be- ha ha. So, this week has been pretty interesting. Our new transfer focus is Eternal Marriage, weird huh? That is odd that they want missionaries to focus on marriage but I guess it is a big deal here in California with Proposition 8 and all.
So I had my first problem with cops this week. Well I guess first real big problem with them, we were just tracting and this man comes out of the house next to us and starts to yell and curse (way to break the 3rd commandment and all kinds of bad stuff) and told us if we didn’t leave the neighborhood he is going to call the cops. Now I don’t know if I am getting to bold or if I was just having a bad day but I told him no....... plain and simple, I told him, ‘We are going to continue tracting. Go ahead and call the cops on us, they get those calls all the time.’ So we continued and the cops came and yelled at him instead of us for wasting their time, it was great! But still we went back to apologies after the cop left and he still was rude, but oh well. Not everyone is cool. I think the key thing we learn as missionaries here in so Cal is that we can prove anyone wrong and make them fell dumb and stuff but we need to be Christ like because that is where the spirit lies.
I love you!

Temperature: ~81 degrees

Elder Stones with Jennie Gunther

This is Jenni Gunther, "Elder Stones was in my family's area for around 5 months and he is definitely our favorite missionary. He's gone now though. I miss him already."

*Notice the "I can't touch you, you can't touch me, let's give an awkward thumbs up" pose. Claaassic.

CTR Ring; Serious Bling

Hey, how are you doing? How’s life in the cold (except for Andrea- I know what kind of weather you are getting)? No but really it is getting cold here, it is like 65 degrees and I am wearing a coat- burrrrrrr just joking. The weather is kind of nice, I actually get the ocean breeze around 4 or 4:30 and it is amazing. This week went awesome. I love working here. It is strait up country, if you go on Google earth and look up Elsinor High School- I live right next to that and you can see were I work. Then there is this other place that is a gated community and hard to get into. But the reason it is gated and so heavily guarded is because it is full of celebrities but no joke- full of them. I haven’t had the chance to talk or see any of them because we aren’t aloud to tract in there or any thing like that. It is called Canyon Lake Community and of course has a lake. There is also a Seventy that lives in there and I will get to meet him soon. It isn’t my most favorite place because the people aren’t that nice- but the members that live there are super nice.
So to answer you questions, well my companion is from Hawaii and does not snore (unless he had a big day). He eats way way more than me, yes it is possible. Our feet are similar but I don’t let him touch my shoes. He knows English very well, maybe even better than me. And one cool thing is he sings in his other language and plays the... oh man I am going to butcher this, the u-ca-la-ly (you know the small thing). Anyway he is way good at it and is teaching me. It is sweat! I am going to come home a Polly (Polynesian).
Well love you and will talk to you next week.


Elsinor High School (http://leusd.info/ehs/index.html)

Temperature: ~73 degrees

Spanky

Hey Family,
How’s it going? Well, it has happened again, I am moving to Medafee; covering two wards with Elder Marks, he is a Polynesian. I have served around him in Riverside, so I kind of know him. He is way cool and yes, I am sad, very sad, because I love these people and this past week we got 3 baptismal dates. I am so exited for them, I had the chance to teach them from beginning to end but I wont have the chance to see them get baptized; so that is a little frustrating but at least it is happening, everything should work out. The new elder that is coming in is Elder Lords and he is a good elder in some areas, so I am not to worried. To answer some of the questions that were given to me, I teach around 35 lessons a week; and we teach from the restoration to the commandments, plan of salvation, the gospel of Jesus Christ- pretty much everything. I have had a little time to talk to my Mission President in Pres. Interviews and stuff; he is a truly inspired man and is great. We all love him. Well family, love you tons and will talk soon.

Temperature: ~75 degrees

Melissa Dietzel (from CA): My family was SO SAD when Elder Stones told them on General Conference morning that he was getting transferred. My mom was so upset, and my little sister even started crying. We really do love him, but we know that he is going to go and bless other people's lives. As much as they would like to, my family can't keep him all to themselves. He is going to continue serving as a great missionary wherever he goes. :)

Hummmmm Dinger

Well family,
How’s it going this week from you all? I don’t know because I haven’t heard from you in a while. But for now, know that I am safe. Everything is going great. We don’t have a baptismal date yet but we are working on it. We are close but I may not be here because transfers are coming up- I may leave this area. Till you here from me again, love you.

Temperature: ~95 degrees

Letter from the Gunther's (Sept 21, 2008)

Hi, Brother Stones!

We sure appreciate your missionary son. He's doing such good work in our area. He's currently teaching a friend of our daughter's, as well as a couple who are friends of ours. Our kids really enjoy him when he's over here teaching Casey, at Family Home Evening, or here for dinner (which the missionaries in our ward have a standing invitation for--to come any time a dinner appointment cancels or if they don't have a dinner scheduled some night.)

Here's the video I mentioned to your wife.

http://tinyurl.com/3qjmkn

I'll be mailing you a copy, but thought I'd put it here in the meantime. This link at YouTube isn't published anywhere, so a bunch of other people won't be looking at this video. The views it has so far were just me, getting the format right.

Thanks for sharing your son with our mission! He's a really good young man.

Warmest regards,
Victoria Gunther

Bling Bling Everlasting

Well Family,
How’s it all going? So I hear we have a new little one in the family- Woohoo! Ok so I am on my mission, I don’t do math- so how old will this one be when I get home?

(Well Mom, how was talking with Sister Gunther? Did you have a good chat? She really loves you.)

Well, there are a few things that are cool that happened this week. I will start with the funny/crazy experience first. So we were walking like all of us do and to get straight to the point, we look over and see a whole bunch of lizards on a tree. And they were big ones too; some of them were as big as my forearm. Crazy, huh? I didn’t have my camera otherwise I would have taken a pic of it. It was crazy.

And another cool thing, my comp and I were chased down by a bunch of African gray parrots... no really they were dive bombing us. I don’t blame them, if some one threw a pinecone in your house would you be happy?... he he ha ha.

Ok so there are a lot of good things that are happening, we are going to set up another baptismal date for Jared Burk, our closest to baptism. We are both very exited. Oh yeah, there are a lot of missionaries from SO CAL going to the Denver North Mission, one of which is going to be Elder Carpenter. He is a member and his mom is not, and we are now teaching his mom because she wants to know what he will be doing. Remember Elder Carpenter- he will actually be coming from Arizona, but his mom lives here in Redlands.

Ok well next time you hear from me we will hopefully have a baptism date. Love ya.

Brraaaap

SWEEEEET week this week! We got two new investigators who are sold. They are a referral from the Gunther family (mostly from Jennifer Gunther because the referrals are her friends). One of her friends, who we are now teaching, is Kasey. She is 16 and loves the missionaries and has heard a little of the discussions before. The other friend of Jenni is Kat and she is way cool. She also has a strong desire to know more about her friend’s beliefs.
Ok cool experience I had this week. I was on exchanges with another missionary in my zone and I was up in Highlands and we went to go see a less active member. And they have this huge yard from the gate to the front door it was about, I would say, 50-60 feet and up hill- kind of steep at night, pitch black and we had a really hard time seeing. Anyway we started our way to the door and we heard a whole bunch of chihuahua dogs in the distance (or what we thought was in the distance). And the whole time we were walking it felt like something was trying to pull our pants down (no for real that is what it felt like) and as we got closer to the house the motion lights went on,and you will never guess what we saw. Each of us had, no joke, 10 or 12 little dogs hanging by there mouths on our pants; it was like ornaments on a Christmas tree. It was great. Finally the owner came out and was laughing so hard they were crying. Well, I would also if I saw two Elders being attacked by chihuahuas... it was great.
Well I sure would love to here from you all soon. Love you and make sure you do your missionary work. I love you all!

Pictures from the Field - Sept. 9, 2008

An exciting day in the mail. Michael sent us the memory card from his camera - 2 gig of pictures and videos from the mission field. Here is a small collection...

Foosboogle- Sep 8, 2008

Wellllll Hellooooo there family,
How’s it going? Well this week is still going pretty normal. I am just showing the area to Elder Spainhower and the more I do that the more I think I might be staying in Redlands for another transfer. But here is what I am going to do, I am going to ask President if I can be on bike and only cover the Third ward (because we are getting new missionaries and we can split the two wards we cover). But the thing is that I my be training in that case, but of course, that is all up to the Lord.
Well, I see you have asked me a few questions. The suit that I ripped was not the stealth suit. We always go home for lunch. Members actually do give us cookies. We drive a Toyota Corola 2008 and I am the driver. My comp is from North Ogden. And all the other stuff is happening, don’t worry mom.
Well I also hear that it is 55 degrees there in CO; well we are still at 105 and one day it got to 109. Wow that day of tracting we were soaked in sweet, but hey that’s our ticket into doors. They feel really bad for us and let us in. It’s great.
Well I am trying to think of a good experience for ya’ll......oh, of here’s one for ya; you know how I am always serving in a place with a university? Well, school is back in so there are students everywhere and we end up teaching half the students there. Just by walking through it almost all the kids know us know, it is sweet.
Well family, I love you and will talk to you later.

Sweet as a Treat

So this week is going great. My new companion Elder Spainhower is so cool and a lot like me- so I am really exited to work with him. He has been out 17 months so he knows what he is doing. He is from Ogden Utah, born and raised in Logan. Well this week has been pretty cool, just going around showing my comp the area and visiting important members. Not a lot of cool exciting things have happened this week... oh other than the fact I got two packages and a lot of letters (I got the one from Mom and Dad, a package from Abby and a whole lot of letters).... now that’s what missionaries like.

Well, I figured one thing out; I am probably going to be working in ghetto/poor places my whole mission. I found that you ether work in rich areas or really poor areas. The reason I found this out is because my comp and I didn’t have a dinner-so we went with the 4th ward elders- they are the elders in the really rich area. We had the wonderful opportunity to eat at a multi-million dollar house (My word was it the coolest experience ever). We weren’t in the house much because it was a barbeque but their backyard was awesome. They had a swimming pool that looked like the one in Casa Bonita but bigger. And it was killer because I couldn’t go in it. But this is the cool thing there is a part were we could walk in the water were it went up to the mid-calf oh man did that feel good..... but that is probably the only time in my mission (or ever) that I will have that opportunity but it was a good one.
love you , ELDER STONES

Read These: 3 Nephi 9 and 10; SS chapter 4 this one is weird; D&C 130

Transfers

Well Hello Family, How’s life? I first want to say I love all your encouragement, it keeps me going through the week. It lets me know that my family is right behind me the whole way. Anyway, Elder Anderson is off to Palm Desert, pore boy; his last area is the hottest one at the hottest time of the year. My new comp is Elder Spainhower, I haven’t met him yet but I will tonight, so I am pretty exited but also sad to see Anderson leaving.
Otherwise the week is gong pretty smooth. I had to go to the doctor to get some tests and I think it was to test my kidneys. It wasn’t too bad but I hate wasting time like that. I feel like I could be working, but it must be done... I guess. Oh my gosh, I have been doing a lot tracting so I am so tan…no that isn’t that important but it is still really cool. The work is noticeably high and I am developing a strong desire to do better. Just keep praying for the people I teach. Love you family and will talk to you in a week.

Yo Yo- 8/18/08

Hey Family,
How’s it going? I keep hearing about the reunion, man it must of been great. The only thing is I don’t know if I would want to get in the water- after hearing about the monster that was in it…ha ha.
Well not a lot has happened. A lot in Redlands, our baptism was going to happen on the 24th but he told us he needs more time and that the date just came up to fast for him. And that he wants to make sure that he is doing this for the right reason; which is really good! That actually makes me feel better, that he now knows how important this really is; how important this ordinance really is.
Oh yeah, guess what? Elder Anderson got bit by a dog. Imagine that it wasn’t me for once. It was actually the Gunther’s dog and he is way big too (he is a Beethoven dog what is it called.... Saint Bernard?) Any way he is fine and we are all just way scared of that dog now.
Well lately we have been doing a lot of tracting because we don’t have a lot of miles left on our car. So now I am way good at talking to people on the door steps its awesome.
Well not much else has happened but I may have a new companion next week because transfers happen Saturday so...
Well, love you all and I will talk to you all later.

Yay- 8/11/08

Hello Family,

How are all of you doing? Ok, I have heard that you all have heard of the earthquake here and I want to say sorry for not telling you about it; because it was pretty big. Well, we were at a district meeting(and I was in Highlands during it) and it was so big that it actually threw us off our chairs on to the ground- it was way scary but also fun at the same time. I am not going to lie it was really cool and fun but it was also fairly long to (about 30 seconds long) but I am ok. [See article from NY Times below]

My new Mission President’s name is Reeves and he is from Bountiful Utah and really cool man. We also got some news this mission has a 90% chance of going Spanish, cool huh.

The answer to the question of did I have a hard time with not dancing at the dance festival...... it was super hard! In fact you will see when I send my camera card.

Also yes it still is hot but not to bad- it only stays around 110, so yeah it’s not that bad. But I do drink a lot of water. I didn’t know that once you drink water it comes right back out as sweet in seconds.

SAN DIEGO all the way in soccer! Knowing that the Olympics are on is killing me- ahhhh!

I love you family talk to you next week. Not a lot has happened this week. Maybe next week will be better.

Earthquake Rattles Southern California

LOS ANGELES — A moderate earthquake, the largest in Southern California since 1999, struck 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday morning. It swayed buildings and tossed food off grocery store shelves, but there were no reports of major injuries or damage.
The earthquake, which registered a 5.4 magnitude, was centered near Chino Hills in San Bernardino County and was felt as far east as Las Vegas and south to San Diego.
“This is moderate,” said Erik Pounders, a geologist with the United States Geological Survey in Pasadena. “Which means it was strong enough to be felt, but wasn’t even powerful enough to knock everything off your desk.”
The quake began slowly about 11:40 a.m. and continued for several disarming seconds. Many residents experienced an eerie, dizzying sensation of having rolled from side to side on rollers that are common in high-rise buildings retrofitted to withstand earthquakes, which leave buildings swaying for several seconds after a quake.
The quake was the largest in Southern California since a 7.1 magnitude quake hit an unpopulated area of the high desert in 1999. The last powerful earthquake in urban Los Angeles — among the most seismically active regions in the world — struck in 1994 and was centered in Northridge, a section of the city in the San Fernando Valley.

New York Times (nytimes.com)
Published: July 30, 2008

PICTURES

New Pictures have been added to earlier posts (4th of July and 6/30)... go check them out!!

Hey Hey Hey

Well not much has happened this past week. The only great thing that happened (that actually happened yesterday) was that we got another date for someone to get baptized. His name is Jared Beck and he is 14. His family is members so his date will be on the 24th of this month, so that will be good. Other wise not much has happened. We have just been working really hard on getting more work. We found that tracting in San Berdino is way effective because the people there are so humble. It may sound weird but I like the poor places more than others, the only problem is the safety; but the work must be done.
Anyway that was my week maybe more stuff will happen next week... but hey we still got a date. Love you all.

Crazy Week, But FUN!!

Well Family,
I have had an interesting week. The first three days were great- we got a lot of work done. Then came Thursday, that was our multi zone conference, it was awesome. President taught us about temptations, and staying focused. It was one of the best ones ever, and then I got to go to CTR Books. I love the environment. Ok, here comes the crazy part of the week, on Friday/Saturday we had the opportunity to go to the Redlands bowl, at the football field and do security and help with the dance festival. 15 stakes from CA did a whole bunch of sweet dances. It was amazing and one of the cool things is that we got to see all of our old companions and fellow missionaries. It was great, it was like a missionary reunion and every one there was Mormon, so they were all really nice to us which is rare in Cal.
So on the way home, when all the members were leaving in there cars they waved out there windows at us because we were walking home(because we live so close). But the bad thing about walking is we were walking home at 11:30pm because it went so late but on the way home we saw a helicopter in the distance that looked fairly close to were we live and as we got closer we met a cop who told us we can’t go to our apartment because there is a killer in your apartment complex running from the cops. So we walked to the park and waited for a long time- by then it was 1:30 am and we turned around to look in the park and we saw a man running full speed right at us with cops chasing him just as fast. By then our ride had just come, so we ran to the car piled in and took off just as he got to us- it was intense. And when we got home, we heard gun shots close by, so I don’t know what happened there but that was a crazy night. Good thing there were four missionaries with us.... but we are safe.
We had a baptism, which was that great. It went perfect the less active husband was reactivated and baptized his wife which completes the family. The president even came. And to make it even better, she has just made a sacred ordinance and then walked out of the church door to see the temple and there next step.
Well family, I am glad that you had a great reunion. I love you and will talk to you in a week.

Monday July 21, 2008

Hey hey hey Family,
How’s it going with ya’ll? Hope life’s treating you well. This week has been great. Elder Anderson and I got Alisea’s baptism ready. She is as exited as I am for her. I don’t know if I told you but it is on the 27th- so pretty soon. Also Elder Anderson and I have been making a lot of progress with our other investigators. So things are looking good in Redlands.

Oh so dad I heard you sent the video of me making a salad and dancing to the Guthers. That is so cool- they thought it was awesome. I also got the chance to see it and man did I have some really long hair (and I was really fat or at least it looks like it). But anyway I heard they sent you some videos of me here- so you will have to tell me what you think and what you think of the p-days we have.

Oh there is one more thing that I wanted you to think about- and that is… what if you came down to see Andrea at the end of my mission and I went to Camp Pendleton instead of flying home. That way I can take you to all the places I served and have you meet all the people I taught. The reason I say that is because we just had a missionary do that here. But it’s just a thought; I thought it might be cool. That way I have Riverside county fresh in my mind but it would only be for a week or two. Just think on it but it isn’t a big deal right now- so don’t think to hard. I still get to serve for 17 more months!!
Well I love you family and I will talk to you in a week.

New Transfer/Good News

Well family,
It’s a new transfer and both Elder Anderson and I are going to be staying in Redlands. I am so glad because Elder Anderson is way cool and I don’t quite have the area down. That is one thing that I have noticed, that you don’t get to know the area in car as you do on bike. But that is not all; Elder Anderson and I teach very well with each other.
One other thing, Elder Anderson and I just got another baptismal date and it came out of nowhere. We are teaching a lady named Aliseea Kauaes (weird name); her husband is a member and introduced her into the church. We have taught her the 1st 3 lessons, she attends church every Sunday. And one day she pulled me aside and bore her testimony to me about the Book of Mormon and asked us when we were going to ask here to get baptized. So Elder Anderson and I set a date with her to be baptized on the 27 of this month (of July). We are both very exited for her. Well family, I love you tons and have you in my prayers and will talk to you next week.

4th of July

Well Family,
How are all of you doing? I am doing a lot better than last week. We have found a new family to teach from Guatemala. They are so so nice. The only one who is a member is the Mom, all the others haven’t been baptized. She has 5 girls that told us they want to be baptized; it is all happing so fast. I don’t know what to do. Well I guess that is why I have a companion right, to help each other out.
Also, dad you got the pictures of me in my cool tie die outfit. That was a great p-day activity. I love that family they are so loving to the missionaries. The kids said they would rather ditch there friends and come see us when we visit them. You should definitely keep in contact with them. Well how was your forth of July? Did you all have a booming time? I did, I had a great time. We went with the Gunther’s to a show were you lay on the football field and they play music (of course good music- like America the Beautiful and such) and then shot the fireworks off over our heads (about 150 feet away). It was the coolest show ever. Some 4th of July when I am done with my mission we will come to Redlands for the show, it was awesome. I even have a scripture about the 4th of July. I don’t have it right now- but I will give it to you later. Well family, I love you and will talk to you next week.

Letter from Brother Gunther

Hello Stones Family,

I just wanted to drop you a note to tell you that we really enjoy your son here in Redlands. What a good son you raised. Our family loves him and loves it when he comes over. He's a great missionary and is the kind of person that draws people to him. He's also a bit silly, which seems to make him even more at home in our house. My wife loves to tease him and he's very good natured about it. My kids absolutely love him. Last P-day, him and Elder Anderson came over and they made tie-dyed shirts. I attached a picture of him with his creation. He added the shorts as well. This isn't the best picture of him, but it's the only one that I had. I wanted to ask a favor. My wife loves to cook favorite dinners for the missionaries. If you know of a particular meal that he likes and have a recipe that you could send, we would love it. Thanks again, Jay Gunther

Sad Week- 6/30/08

This week has been very sad and not that good. We lost the new Russian family. They got anti-ed which basically means that some person told them bad things about our church, or should I say rumors about our church because there is nothing bad about our church. Anyway this person who told them rumors was their uncle, he told them that they need to go to a Russian church. And the uncle thinks that the Russian church is the seventh day Adventist church. We even got a message from them saying they don’t want us to come back- So I called them and asked them if we could still be there friends and they don’t even want that. I had so many thoughts going through my mind. Anger, so sad, confusion-Every thing! I don’t know what to do. Not even Elder Anderson has had this happen to him before. So all we can really do is pray for then and love them. Otherwise the week was great we went to this family’s house to do tie-die and I did tie-die shorts, it is going to look sweet. They will be great p-day shorts (or service shorts).
(Quote from Melissa Deitzel, “My favorite part was when Elder Stones, who is completely color blind and only sees in black, white, and gray, wanted to put blue on his shirt and Amber said "The darker blue will look cool with the yellow..." and he said "I put YELLOW on it???" He was quite distraught. Haha. Best. Ever.”)
Question for ya’ll, I have decided I don’t want to get old. How would some one achieve this goal? The reason for this question is we had dinner with this old couple and it just seemed like the worst thing ever. You can’t move super fast, do 100 sit ups, fly, swim and enjoy it, eat a lot of food it sounds SO SCARY… Ahhhh!!! Well what are your thoughts? Love you and will talk to you later!

Great Week- 6/23/2008

Hey family,
Again I have had a wonderful week, full of positive attitudes and great experiences- and absolutely full of culture. What I mean by that is that we got 8 new investigators and they are all from other places. We are teaching a family from Iran and Iraq. It’s way sweet and they are way exited themselves. We are also teaching a Tai lady from Taiwan. We are also teaching a Hispanic family. But the most amazing thing ever- we were given a referral from other Spanish missionaries and there is this Russian family with 2 girls, a sweet 18 year old boy and a mom and dad. They are honestly the happiest family I have ever met, and love the church so much and the missionaries- and they have only meet us once and been to church once. Well I could go on and on about this family and how wonderful they are but just remember them for when I talk to you on Christmas. And the most important and cool thing about all of this is that they are all REFERRALS. I have a testimony in member referrals- that they are one of the strongest tools to build up God’s kingdom. Remember your testimonies are stronger than you think, I have seen how strong they are.
Well family, I want you to know it is going to be the hottest here it has ever been in the history of Redlands because the other day it got up to 110 and its only June. I am ready for it. Also I want you to know I love you and will talk to you next week.

GREAT- 6/16/2008

Hey Family,
How are things going in Colorado? Well, all I can say is that I have really learned a lot in the last week. One of the cool things is that I love the people of Redlands; most of them are nice and not as rude. I don’t know maybe it’s because I am in car. Ahhh, I really don’t like the car, just because I don’t get to talk to any one and I just love to be outside (hot or not). So for now my bike is in storage on our porch. Well, I have learned a lot from Elder Anderson. I honestly think that our companionships are inspired by God. We help each other; it is great. This will be a eternal friendship.
One of the cool things about Redlands is that on Thursday nights there is a place you go to, it is called market night. It is kind of like Pearl Street but way cooler and they have tons of people there- so we get to talk to a lot of people that night.
Well family, if there is any thing YOU need from me let me know because I am doing great and my desire to work is off the roof. I love you all and will talk to you next Monday.

5 Months Out

Well Family,
I am now in Redlands with my new companeo Elder Anderson ‘The Second’ and I absolutely love him. He has been out about a year and a half and is so smart. Elder Anderson- the reason I love this kid is because he is 1, a great missionary and holds the spirit strong. He is super smart and about the nerdist geekiest guy ever and I love it. It has only been one week and I have already learnt so much from him. He is also one of the best belchers in the world- no joke. It makes me laugh so much.
Oh yeah, I am covering 2 wards and that means I am in a car- which I don’t really like at all but oh well. I guess I have to experience it at least once. Well, the area is really dead so we are going to have to work really hard on everything.
Well family, how are all you doing? I want to here all about what is going on in your lives. Well, I have to go because the computers I am on have a time limit on them but I want you to know I love you very much and will talk to you later......5 months out!

First Transfer- June 2, 2008

Hey Family,
I don’t have a lot of time to write because I have been transferred to Redlands and my comp is Elder Anderson. There are two Elder Anderson’s in the mission and I got them both. I have to go pack now but maybe I will be able to write later- if not you will hear a lot from me next Monday.
Love you

Weird Week

Hello Family,
How’s it going? Well this week has been a little unusual. Well guess every week is like that for a missionary but this one was more unusual. First of all the temperature dropped to 60 and we got rain for 3 days strait. It was weird but fun because we got stuck in the rain while riding on our bikes, so we had to ride fast back top the apartments because we were drenched and that’s not very good when you are in white (if you understand what I mean), but it was still fun.

One way bad thing happed, Ci Ci our top investigator was going to have her baptism this week before I go maybe but we found out that she isn’t legally married to her husband- so now we have to move her baptism back. It makes me a little sad/mad that I won’t be there maybe, but I am happy because she is still willing to do whatever she has to do to be baptized. She does truly have a desire. Also her husband sparked an interest in the church and that is awesome because then not only will Ci Ci and here son be getting baptized, maybe the whole family. It makes me so happy.

Hey, I want to know more about this tornado because every body in California is talking about it- they say that it hit a small city and it worried me. When we had a rain storm here we also had a tornado it was around march air force base. That is way weird for that to happen here, I guess at least that is what the people tell us. Oh man, maybe these are signs of the second coming- ha ha. Which brings me to another thing, what are your thoughts on the Aztec calendar ending in, I think it is, 2012? And what do you think will happen that year?....just a thought.

Well family, I love you all very much and love your prayers and pray for you my self.

Not Much

Hey Family
How’s every one? Well I don’t have much to say about this weekend, other than it is so freakin’ hot outside. We have been riding outside all week in 110 degree weather- it’s brutal. But there is a good thing about it the people feel bad for us and let us come in- so that is good. We got into a few doors that way, plus we need water, were else are we going to get it- he he he. Well like I said, that’s about it.

I love you all and will talk to you in a week. And I am going to give you all an assignment- you all have to help build up the kingdom of God by helping the missionaries in your ward. Give them someone to teach (aka a referral).

Love you

Monday 5-12-08

Well family,
I don’t really have much to say (considering I just talked to all of you just yesterday). But I just want to thank you for all you do for me. I thank you for your prayers and your support. Thanks for talking with me. I love you and will talk with you next Monday.

Family oh Family,

I have so many good things to tell you. I was going to tell you on Mother’s Day when I call you but it is to exiting to hold for that long. This week was amazing. All of it was spiritual. The coolest thing was Adam Carlson’s baptism that was this past Saturday, everything went so great. The session was great, he got baptized and confirmed by his grandpa’s. And the best part was the end, were the missionaries had a surprise were we had to go up and bear our testimonies. I honestly never thought that I would ever cry giving my testimony to a 11 year old boy and tell him how much his Father in Heaven is so proud of him for making the decision he made to be baptized. It was one of the best experiences of my life, and I hope to enjoy it again.

The reason the rest of the week was so good is because we got 3 new solid investigators who have that longing thirst for the gospel. We also have met the record of excellence. All I can do is thank the Lord for putting those elect in our path for us to teach.

Also I am starting to realize how amazing the human body is because my hand is nearly healed, it is truly amazing-our bodies. My fingers weren’t stitched just glued and taped. I will have one cool scar though.

I love you all and will talk to you more on Mothers Day. And I ask a favor, that you will bless me and my companion and the Lords investigators. Thanks,
Elder Stones

Urgent Care

Hey family,
How’s the week going in Colorado/ California/ Idaho? Well, things are going great here. We are having a baptism this week for Adam Carlson (I don’t know if I told you about him). But he is way cool, about 10, and a good kid; It’s on the 3rd. Then on top of that we got another baptismal date for a lady called Cici. She is also way cool; she is going to get dunked on the 1 of June.

Everything is going great... oh except one thing. Now when I say this don’t freak out too much. Your going to but just don’t to much ok? I had a little trip to the urgent care again. I was hit by a car on my bike and almost had my fingers sliced off, literally (no joke). I was going down a huge hill, when a car was pulling out of a parking lot and wasn’t looking, and I couldn’t stop so I got hit and sliced my fingers on the spoiler. It hurt really bad. So I got a ride to the hospital from a member and now everything is good. I am just having a hard time typing... still cool hua! Otherwise the week went pretty normal. The temperature is about 105 but I guess that’s normal here.
Well, that’s this week. I love you all and will talk to you soon (because Mother’s day is coming).

Crazy Week

So this week was everywhere. First of all, it’s the end of the transfer so every thing was intense. I am staying in Riverside another transfer, it is going to be a sweet one- I can feel it.

Ok then there is not a lot to say. There is one funny experience that happened at church. Elder Anderson and I were getting ready to welcome everyone into sacrament meeting and then we look outside, only to see a little boy who just dropped his slacks and bent over and started to poop right in front of the church building. Then it got worse, he kicked his pants off, they went flying, then he started to run around the front of the building. It was one of those things that reminded me of a Spencer-thing, it made me giggle

Well I hope every thing is going well with all of you. I love you and will talk to you next Monday.

Cool Stuff- Answering Parental Questions

1. Andrea called and said it got to 96 degrees where she lives. How hot has it been getting in Riverside?
The hottest it ever got was when we were directly in the sun, that was 103. Pretty hot, huh?

2. Do you think you will be transferred soon?
No I think I will probably stay another transfer

3. We read that Riverside has the largest paper cup in the world - it is a statue of a paper cup. Have you seen it?
YES, it is in my area and the first time I saw it I freaked out. It was the funniest thing to see, I have a picture of it on my camera so you will get to see it.

4. We also read that Riverside has a famous hotel called the Mission House. Have you seen that?
Yes, I have been in it. It is so cool we call it the ‘Mission Inn’- its amazing.

5. Where is Elder Anderson from?
West Jordan, Utah

6. What has been your favorite service project?
I would have to say re-planting ‘birds of paradise’- the reason why it was so fun was because it was so muddy.

7. Are you getting along with the members in the wards?
Oh yea, they love me, its awesome.

8. Are you washing your sheets, and your face, and brushing your teeth?Yes Yes and Yes

9. What is the newest thing that you have had to eat? Was it good? Let’s see… I had an octopus. It was the sickest thing ever because when you bit the head the ink squirts everywhere- eww.

10. Are you drinking enough?
Oh man am I. We have to drink every 10 min but its good we have a lot of member pit stops.

Ok I got a few things to tell you, one of which is that we got a ticket for not riding in the bike lane and going over the speed limit. I am not going to lie we were hauling. We were probably going 33 in a 25 mph zone but its ok because it is all taken care of now. Another cool thing that happened is that we had a fire on campus. It was huge!! I don’t know what happened but you can hear it from me on the internet. Yes, you heard right, I am on the internet now. We were interviewed by students and put on the internet, go to "the palestra.com" then go to select school pick UCR and I should be somewhere on there. So cool isn’t it? I hope it works. Anyway I got to go but I love you and thank you for your prayers.

I love you, Elder Stones

Community Service- Apology Letter

Last fall, I did something dumb. Some friends and I put dry ice in a 2 liter bottle just to watch it explode. You may think this is cool, but it is not. I will tell you why. First, we could have been hurt. Luckily, we weren’t. Second, it could have caused some property damage. Luckily, it didn’t. Third, it could have scared people. It did and they called the police. I got caught and then I found out some other reasons it was a dumb idea. Fourth, I wasted the police’s time. They spent a lot of time figuring out who did it and then dealing with us. Fifth, it could be thought of as vandalism, especially if it hurt anything. But most importantly, sixth, making anything that explodes is a felony. I didn’t know that. I’ll bet you didn’t know that either.

I am really sorry that I did this dumb thing. I got in a lot of trouble. It caused other people a lot of trouble. I now know that I should think about the consequences of what I do before I do it. I won’t do that anymore. I won’t do vandalism. I hope you can learn from my lesson.

Sweet Week- April 7, 2008

Hey Family, How’s it going? Thank you for the e-mails. I love having the window open and seeing all the e-mails. Anyway this e mail is going to be a little random.
First I got a cool Rock Aztec calendar from an investigator. (I will probably end up sending it home but its way cool.)
Also, man have I been riding a lot- we ride around 20 miles a day; its way cool and a good work out. And I am loosing weight- woo hoo!
Ok this week we did the coolest service project ever, we basically played in mud. We planted a plant called ‘Birds of paradise’- way wet, way muddy, way fun.
Oh by the way, (ok Mom brace your self, this is a bad one) the one day I wore a suite and ride a bike- I crash. The coat is fine but I ripped my pants. That’s ok, I got one other pair.
As for conference, my very favorite talk was by Holland; just because he helped all the missionaries in what to say when people argue with us or bash. We also have the funniest prophet ever; I didn’t even know he could wiggle his ears. It was a great conference.
Till I talk to you all again. I love you.

Pictures FOR Our Missionary

Michael has requested some more pictures of his friends and family. If you have any new and/or great pictures that you would like to share with him, please e-mail them to sto04033@gmail.com and I will print them and get them to him
Thanks- Breanne

So Much- 3/31/08

I have so much to tell you all- I don’t know were to start, so if this letter is kind of random sorry. Ok so first thing to tell you is that Elder Anderson and I got chased by a drunk man, it was late at night and we were coming home from a great lesson (which I will tell you about later) and we almost hit this drunk dude- because he came out of no were and he got so mad he started to curse, swear and then started to chase us. We were on bikes so we smoked him but still, and we were so close to our apartment that he found out were we lived, so we had to act like we weren’t home and turn out all the lights (and planned in the closet). It was scary because he was outside the whole time trying to find which apartment was ours. Its a good thing that he was drunk and didn’t notice the picture of Christ but one other thing happened, at 12 at night he started pounding on our door- it was bad but I am ok we have good locks on our doors.
So that lesson that I told you about was a lesson with Sirgo, an investigator, and is a missionary dream. He has so many questions I love it. He was scared at first because he didn’t know what he was feeling was the spirit but he is one of the best I love him.
I love you all and would write more but my typing is slow and bad (as you can tell) but I am great and love the mission it is going to fast. I can’t believe its been 3 months- aaaaa. Love you Family.
Oh, I forgot to tell you, I got sick again but I am better. I had a cold

Easter Week- Mon 3/24/2008

Well, it sounds like all your Easter’s were interesting and fun. I didn’t even know it was Easter till the day before it came, I just lost track. My Easter was way cool, the whole week we had a great excuse to get all our less actives to come to church- telling them that that we have a good one coming. Because of us we had so many people come to church, it was so cool and we had great talks about the atonement and the resurrection. It was kind of hard to pay attention because there was a kid chewing on my shoe and I couldn’t get him off. I hope he doesn’t get sick. Well, the temp has already got to 100 degrees- ouch. But it wasn’t that bad- It may not be that bad for me. I got a haircut and its a good one because we got it from a hair stylist, Sister Powers, she is awesome. This Friday we are going to the Redlands temple, I am so pumped and exited. I love that temple.
Ok, way funny experience, we were asked to do a service project by the zone leaders at the old folk’s home, serving them food. Here is the thing we were serving them during a model show... board walk and every thing. And if that’s weird enough the ones that were modeling were old! Ewww- Oh well at least we got a tip.
I love you all and thank you for the e-mails

Feeling Better

Hey, how’s my family doing? Sounds like everyone is sick- well I hope every one is feeling better- I am feeling way better. The best thing that happened this week is we have a baptism date, May 3. It’s for a boy named Adam, he has had all the lessons and is so ready. The only reason we got this baptism is because Elder Anderson is so forward and flat out told him to get baptized. So that made me more blunt than I normally am, so this whole week we have been pretty forward. Well other than that nothing else cool happened, other than my thighs and butt are huge from riding all over- but don’t get me wrong I love biking. Elder Anderson has been on his mission 9 months, the whole time in a car till now, so he is pretty sore but it goes away fast. Elder Anderson and I get along great! My abs hurt more than anything because he makes me laugh so much. We are probably going to be together for a long time here.

The weather here is pretty hot, I am starting to get a tan woo hoo yeah! Its pretty dark to you can tell the difference hard core when my watch is off.

Well I guess I should say Happy Easter to you because I wont be able to talk to you till next Monday but its weird because I don’t even know that there is holiday coming like I didn’t know today was St Patrick’s day- tell Sean I said happy b-day. Well tell all my friends I love then and miss them and pray for them to stay strong in the gospel. I love you all so much and pray for you all the time. Love you Elder STONES

Sick but Happy- March 10

Well, this week has been really different. First I am getting a new companion already. The transfer is over, Rose is going to Murieta as a zone leader and I get Elder Anderson. I get to meet him is 5 hours and I am sick out of my mind. I also have the flu really bad, I have been throwing up all day but it is good because I get to find out how to live on my own and apply mom and dads teachings to life. Drink water, wash your hands- stuff like that but with trial comes treasure...I say. Nothing new really just the ward boundaries changed so we have a huge area to bike in- 400 active members- a lot of work. Well I love you all!

MTC Pictures

Here are some MTC Pictures!! I just send home my camera memory card when it gets full- so there will be more pictures to come!!

Monday March 3, 2008- To Brea

Aaaaaaaaaaa it is killing me there is such good music here to dance to and i cant do any thing about it I WANT TO DANCE!!

Monday March 3, 2008

Hey how you all doing I have a lot to tell you but little time so I will just tell you the good parts. First I want you to know that our ward boundaries have changed so it seems like I am new again because I don’t know everyone again. But the good thing is that we just got more members and didn’t lose any that means that there is a lot more work which is way cool it makes me exited. Before that happened we got to go on campus and teach a class of hundreds just us two about our religion it was a good experience. We talked to a lot of people. Oh, I don’t know what is up with me and the dogs but they only go after me, yes I got chased again.Well we have a baptism date for two of our investigators. but for a while all of our investigators had something wrong with them we had one turning up as a hit man, one was a stalker, one was a Muslim- it was so weird but we will get past that in do time. One scary thing is that me and elder rose saw a huge gang fight- it hard core bad, and our area only gets worse. We are now proselyting in the full on ghetto but no worries, we are totally safe, we know were not to go. Oh, I forgot I was going to tell you about one of our progressing families, the Carlson’s, they are all members except one boy but he is one of the ones that is getting baptized. Man they love us, like our family loves the missionaries at our home. They even have the games and I get to teach them all of our games, it is fun. Well I love you sorry I don’t have a lot of things to say. Maybe I will have more the next week. but I love you all and love to hear from you it means so much to me to here from you.your elder stones

2/25/08- Week 4

So this week has been hard but worth it. As a lot of you know with every trial comes reward, trust me on that. the week was starting out hard no one wanted to talk to us it just seamed like we had a disease or something we got cursed at, spit on, rained on 3 days in a row it was horrible and i wasn’t in the best of moods, i couldn’t focus, i wasn’t lost in the work i just didn’t feel like i should. but if life gets to hard for you to stand KNEEL thats what i did around 3 in the morning i got down on my knees and prayed asking what am i doing wrong i need help then i went back to bed, woke up refreshed the sky was blue people were out and weren’t rude. now here is the reward, or something, that i will never forget we were tracting and we found that a man was following us we went to talk to him introduced ourselves he said he knew who we were and wanted to be a part of what we were in our church i was shocked and almost started to cry.

I know for a fact that our heavenly father answers our prayers i know, and now i pray all the time. i have an assignment for you family listen to, Childs Prayer that great song.

any way dad you asked what i am eating well believe it or not some of it is really weird. we eat a lot of mexican food…a lot. and it is all hot they put habaneras in there food HOT! lots of steak.

one thing that has been killing me is NOT BEING ABLE TO DANCE. i hear such good dance songs and we cant do anything about it- it is killing me. the other night the young ambassadors came to riverside and we missionaries were ushers i could hardly stand it i wanted to dance so bad but i resisted. my companion was laughing at me the whole time because i would pull a little move every once in a while. and at home, it is really hard to salsa to motab but the robot looks really funny when you do it to motab you all should try it

i miss you all and pray for you each day also and thank you for your prayers i can always feel them and tell when you are.... its like a power i have i can tell when you pray ha ha. well love you lots till next Monday

2/19/2008- ANSWERING DAD'S QUESTIONS:

1. Has your laundry turned a funny color?
no not yet but i am expecting it to happen soon. i mean you know me
2. What kind of bike do you have?
the bike i have is called the liahona because it is a mission bike
3. Did you write a check for your bike?
no it was only 80$ and i didnt have the check book so i did it with cash.
4. Tell us something about your companion Elder Rose.
oh man we get along great he is the coolest, right now he is my best friend. when they say i will meat people i will know for eternity one of them is him. he is just so funny and a great missionary.
5. How far do you ride every day?
we ride about 6 miles or more a day
6. Has it been raining?
Sometimes it is right now
7. Do you have to cook for yourself?
yes i cook some times mostly lunch because we get fed by members all the time at dinner.
8. Have you washed your sheets, brushed your teeth and washed your face?
my hygiene is very good
9. Are you flashing your big smile?------at girls?
i am not going to lie i do smile a lot but i cant help it i am just so happy when i get to share the gospel. plus smiling is fun.
10. Tell us what you do in the morning?
well we wake up and work out for 30 min then we take showers while the other is eating then 1 hour of personal study then 1 hour of companion study then we are off to proselyte
11. Tell us about someone you are teaching?
lets see...sergio he is a referral from the Spanish missionaries he is one of those guys that are golden (he is one of those guys that all missionaries dream of having) we have taught him the first and some of the second lesson (you should get a preach my gospel and read those lessons.) but yeah he is so cool and i cant wait for his future.
12. Are you getting enough letters?
yea i am getting letters two or three a week it makes me really happy
13. Are you teaching on the university campus? Becky Eland has been there and says that it is sooo pretty there.
some times we have people we get to see there but we give alot of sisters to go there because we get girls interested and set apt. and then send the sister missionaries to see the girls.
13. Lots of people ask “how is Michael?’ What should we say next week?
tell them i am happy and love my mission and great things are happening to me i am growing in every way and tell the preasts it is something to look forward to.
14. Are you tried?yes there are many trials but nothing the lord cant help with.
15. Are you working hard?
o man! i have never worked harder in my life but i love the work. but yes it is hard.
16. Are you learning when you study?
i learn every moment especially when i study and from elder rose
17. Is your mission what you thought it would be?
i dont really remember what i thought it was but i guess that could be a good thing
18. Your room is still so clean. Can we paint it pink yet?
yea sure... pink dragons would be awesome he he ha ha
19. Lunch is still well and happy. I guess I have a new pet.
20. Gretel has only gone 36 miles since you left. Only to church and back.
21. Are you happy?yes. i love it here it such a blessing in my life
22. Do you miss our snow and cold weather?
Remember scrapping the ice off the windshield and car.well i will because i hear it gets 110 degrees here, then i will miss it
23. Do you know your President Ewer very well?
Oh i love him and enjoy him when i get to see him
24. Have you met other Elders yet?oh ye i know at least 40 others elders
25. Have you met other Sister missionaries?no not yet
26. How often do you teach?i teach every day it is so amazing i dont know how i do it
27. Is it still scary?no not at all i am totally use to it all
28. Do you do tracting?
oh man we do tracting all the time at least once a day it takes about one hour depending if people want to talk
29. Do you know that your family still loves you and misses you everyday?
yes i do and always will
30. Do you know what a great example you are to those who know you and love you?
yes i have to be a good example i am representing Jesus Christ
31. Did you know that your whole family prays for you every day?yes i can feel it every day

ok so a couple things that happened to me this week was the lesson with Sirgo that was the best thing that ever happened this week. and a major thing happened to me this week i got BIT by my first dog. it hurt really bad at the time but i am fine now i have a pic of it on my card you will see when i send it to you i love you all

Mon 2/11/08

Hey all you,
How’s it going I got all your pics and e-mails they make me smile and laugh but as for your questions I am in my own apt, our ward is the university heights ward (it’s full of college student because our area is on a campus UCR). We are getting fed very well. The towels are up. On my first day I was picked up by the Pres and AP. My comp is Elder Rose he is from Oakland Idaho. I am on a bike, we eat a lot of Mexican food but it is good.well I have one experience I will never forget we went over to talk to a investigator and taught him the ten commandments but we found out that he has a problem with “thou shall not kill”- evidently he was a hit man back in the day, so we have to talk the Pres about that but his baptism date isn’t looking to good, now we just have to tell him. But we are making progress on a lady named Cici, she is doing great and is so golden and is ready.I have another experience we were riding to an appointment and stopped to talk to a hobo he didn’t know who we were and said "At least your not one of those JW’s or what I like to call morons" we told him we are Mormons he was speechless ha ha ha ha- it was pretty funny.
The days are so nice here I love it but they only get hotter so... people say ‘oh your from Colorado oh man it is going to get so hot here’.....they are probably right they say it gets up to 110 here- ouch but oh well! Oh I am all ready way darker- its pretty crazy. You guys will have to tell me if you get these e mails or not because I don’t want you to think I am not writing- that would be bad.Well I love you all and I will talk to you later

Mon 2/4/2008

Hey how are you all doing I hope you all great. Ok first I want to tell you how amazing cal is it like a paradise. Ok any way I have got to tell you the weird things that happened to me you know the cool mission experiences. Ok don’t freak out mom I am always safe but I have placed in the center of Riverside that just happens to be the poorest place in the whole mission. So it very eye opening for me to see how some people live and they have so little but seem to be so happy to see missionaries; most of them are so humble and willing to listen I love them all, they are great people, but there also those bad places were everyone hates you! It kind of is sad hopefully they will let us teach them in the next life- it is so vital that every one hears our message but oh well.
Well as for weird, bad, and crazy things. First DOGS they are everywhere! I am slowly getting over them and my frights. I have been chased once, but bikers are faster than dogs....YES! Oh yeah the other day well yesterday me and Elder Rose (that’s my comp) got spit on while we were on our bikes on the road eww haaa- but oh well.Investigators- well I am only going to tell you about one he means a lot to me his name is Victor. He has a very very bad past with gangs but I am vary proud of him he has totally turned his life around, he is all set for baptism except for the word of wisdom he kind of smokes and drinks but we can easily get over that. The only problem is he spent time in prison and has killed at least two men. But I still think he can do this- he so golden we just can pray. Well I love it here I have had only experiences that you can only have on your mission I love this gospel and love sharing it I have to go now because people are reading my e mail so I love you all

Jan 25, 2008

Hey Family,

I have now been here two weeks, crazy! But still I am still learning a ton. I have given Lessons 1 and 2 now. I love the RC (ask Mat what the RC is, he will tell you all about it) all I can say is that I love it. It is awesome and I have great experiences. Well, I haven’t missed a day of pills, or teeth. I shower everyday, sometimes twice a day. The food is pretty good.Oh one very important thing, on the 29th I go to Cal. We are going to call home, we got permission to. The only thing is that I don’t know what time. Here is my card, hope you like my pics. I need more pills soon to. Anyway, I am so glad to have the MTC. I learnt so much, its fun. My testimony grows so much. I love you all. Thank you for the letters, they make me feel good. I encourage you all to bear your testimonies on Fast Sunday.

Elder Stones

January 15, 2008

Hey Family,
How’s it going? To start, I am safe. I am eating; the Lord is helping me with it all. We as far as the MTC goes, the food is really good, honestly. The classes are so fun. I have never been able to concentrate as well as I can here. If I work hard and be obedient the Lord will help and that is what he is doing. My district is so cool. I love them all, especially my companion, Elder Peaden. I have been keeping a tape log for you- it’s cool. I you family and I can feel your prayers and your love. I know what I am doing is the right thing for me to do. I now truly have a testimony of Joseph Smith and what he saw and in the Book of Mormon. In our District there are 6 elders and 4 sisters. I will have to find out how to spell their names correctly but…you will see in pics. Family I love you so much.
Elder Stones

Michael's First Letter Home

5:36pm Monday, Jan 14

Hey Family,First night at the MTC, everything is awesome. I love it here. I already know that this will be a tough work but I am all up for it. I feel safe hear and loved. My companion is Elder Peaden, he is awesome. He will be a great leader. I hope to learn a lot form him. Well today that’s all. 2nd day: I can tell you that I have never worked harder in my life but I love it. I love working for the right reason. I am all ready eating, sleeping, and drinking everything the gospel, its great. You were all right, it’s tough but rewarding. Faith is everything. I love you all and will right you soon with more wonderful experiences. Mom, I love you.Elder Stones