August 7th 2017

And then there was one week left. Crazy...

 

It has been a fun week here in Westcliffe Colorado, I am in a Trio for the last little bit of time and things seem to be going really great here! I am with Elder McCleve still and our new Comp is Elder Ulibarri. He is from Utah. Both are great missionaries!

We drove up Tuesday to pick Elder U up and didn't get back till late. This week we have been going around and introducing him to everyone. I am pretty sure that this is the only time ever that Westcliffe has had 3 missionaries. It has been really great! We have been helping out a ton in the community this week we were moving wood chips for a non-profit Women's center and just doing landscaping type stuff :) It has been a really good week!

It has been a really awesome 2 years as well, I have learned so much and I have been able to see so many lives changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I know that Jesus is the Savior of the World. He lives, I know that our Father in Heaven and the Savior appeared to the young Joseph Smith in answer to the young boy’s prayer. I know these things because I have asked of God and the Spirit of the Lord has confirmed these truths to me. We can return to live with our Father again and have peace.

I am so excited for the Temple to be dedicated in Tucson it is truly the House of the Lord. I hope and Pray that you all will read the Book of Mormon, it is another Testament of Jesus Christ. You too can know that it is true.

I love you and will see you all very soon!


Also this is a blog that president Stevenson started
amstevenson2017.blogspot.com
 

 

Elder Stewart

August 1st 2017

I am so sorry I forgot to write a group email yesterday so this is going to be super short.

 

It has been a pretty good week and the past transfer was a blast! Now starts my last 2 weeks in the Mission Field!! It is really crazy how fast time has gone but the great adventure of life keeps moving.

We have had a ton of service it was a blast! We helped redo a bathroom, we re-textured the walls and ceiling. We moved about 4 pickup trucks worth of wood and build a swing set. The Pueblo Stake also had a huge Service project with the City Park. I was at the Pueblo Zoo helping with a wood chipper. It was really fun we clogged it like 3 times and had to shut it off and dig out the clog. It was a good time!

I also got sick!! It sucked... A lesson for us all if you think you have enough Vitamin C, you are wrong take more. Also things sometimes just happen and might as well just get over it: p

 

It gave me a lot more time to study so that was really nice. I was reading about when Christ first appeared to the book of Mormon people. He came after they were looking for the Voice of the Father. We must also be Looking for His coming, we cannot just sit on the sidelines and be okay we HAVE to be playing the game.

I love you guys sorry this is coming so late hope you all have a great week!

Elder Stewart

July 24th 2017

Happy 24th everyone!

I hope that you all are having a great week! The time has gone by so fast from last week, it is crazy! Not very many people have been home this week but we have had a good amount of stuff to do!

We had our first interviews with the new mission president this past week, it was really good to meet President Stevenson. We talked a lot about the mission and I really enjoyed getting to know him a little bit better. After that we had to drive up to our mission office in Colorado springs, our truck was traded out and so we have a different one now. On a side note, I don't get why anyone should paint a car black. It gets really hot during the day. A/C is the best!

 

Sunday one of the speakers said many things I really like! He was talking about if Mormons are Christians. This is something so many people try to use against us, saying we are not true disciples of Christ. He talked about how it really does not matter at all if other people think we are Christian, the important thing is how we answer the important question. "Was I Christian today? Was I yesterday and will I be tomorrow?" That made so much sense to me, so many people are only looking to try and attack because they do not understand what we really are, so we have to just keep being ourselves and move forward, then good things will come! It really loved his talk!

I hope that you guys have a great week!

 

Elder Stewart

July 17th 2017

It has been a really good week!

We had a baptism Saturday and it went really well! We had it at the community swimming pool, Westcliffe does not have a font so we did it at the pool! It was really awesome, I was asked to perform the ordinance. I was really cool to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to help bring them closer to the Savior and our Father in Heaven.

We went hiking today to the Great Sand Dunes it was really fun. My camera died though so I don't have any pictures: / sorry it was super pretty and I should be getting some from another Elder but that will be next week.

Elder McCleve and I spoke on Sunday in the Branch. I really like what Elder McCleve talked about.

He talked about how the spirit will be a guide in our lives as long as we listen we will have a guide. He shared different experiences that has had feeling the Peace of the Spirit. It was awesome!

I talked mostly on what it means to give Service to others. A great man and friend, Brother Inagi, said it very simply "service is service" It does not matter where you are, just do the right things and good things will come! We all have things to share with others not everything needs to be big just do good things and try and help where ever you are. There is always so much to do. Just start no plan needed just be kind and things will work out!

 

Love you guys!

 

Elder Stewart

 

 

July 10th 2017

 

This has been such an amazing week!!

To start off with Tuesday the 4th we were in Pueblo West for a water Parade. It was so much fun! It was pretty much a 3 hour Water fight with 16-20,000 people, we did some math because math is really fun, and there was a bout 800,000+ gallons of water used. People had hoses and water guns and buckets. Every truck that was there was filled with water! In the Parade there was a few Semi Trucks going down just drenching everyone. We were able to talk with so many people and the Pueblo west Elders were able to meet a ton of family’s that had questions! Missionary work happens everywhere you go! As long as eyes are open good things come!

 

We then went and had dinner with an investigator family, I love BBQ's they are so much fun and who doesn't love grill everything! We then watched the Fireworks out at a member’s home who lives on the Lake in town. It was such a fun day! I have met so many amazing people in less than 24 hours it was awesome! I love missionary work!

We set a date for one of our investigators to be baptized this Saturday and our building does not have a font so we are going to the community pool! So many times people focus on the tradition of things and not the doctrine behind it. A swimming pool is just as good as a river, lake or church build font. The things that matter, the person preforming the ordinance hold the true Priesthood of God. It cannot be obtained at a school, bought or give by any mean of Man but as the scriptures say "they must be called of God as was Aaron" All things that come from God have order to them.

We also met our new mission president this week. President Stevenson. He is from Chino Hills, California. Not really sure where that is but for those that do there is the info... He is a really good guy and I am excited to work with him these last few weeks. I don't really like change but that doesn't mean it never happens. Live moves forward move with it!

I love you guys hope that you have a great week!

 

Elder Stewart

 

 

 

July 3rd 2017

It has been a pretty good week! We saw President Rehm, for the last time and said good bye to him. We also now have a new Mission President, President Stevensen. He is from California and at this point that is pretty much all that I know for sure. We will be meeting him this week.

It is kind of strange to me that we are going to have a new person my last few weeks but one thing I know for sure, life is all about change. Everywhere you go in life things change, no one is the in the same situation that they were when they were born. The story moves forward. It is all part of a greater plan and design. Change is scary but it is also very good. Set a plan and then wait for it to change. It will always turn out in a different way and that is okay!

Anyways it has been a really fun week! We helped a guy in the branch take a trailer to the land fill, and one of the investigators we work with we set a baptismal date with him! Several day apart but that is the two things that stand out the most to me... my mind makes weird connections sometimes.

Things are going super great though! Elder McCleve is a good guy and it has been really fun to work with him.

 

Happy 4th of July everyone be safe and go celebrate Freedom!

 

Elder McKay Stewart

June 26th 2017

 

It has been a fantastic week! We have been staying busy and trying to meet every member on our Branch lists. I am with Elder McCleve who is from Queen Creek AZ!! I think that is probably why Colorado is getting hot they put two of the Arizona Elder in the same place. We pretty much just bring the Heat with us. It is a blessing and a curse.

He is a really great guy. He has been out for about 11 months now, it is looking like it is going to be a great Transfer!

We taught Sunday School to the Youth and it was really fun. We talked about what a Prophets "job" is. A Prophet has been called of God and their role is to teach the Doctrine of Christ, they are tasked with a tough job of telling the World the Word of God. We talked about how Heavenly Father cares more about who we are becoming than if we have hurt feeling because we can't do some of the things we want and expect the spirit in our lives. In the words of Alma a Book of Mormon Prophet, "wickedness never was happiness" God’s word has never Changed. Our Savior and Father in Heaven want us to be truly happy and so we must follow what the Scriptures teach, Love one another, and follow the example of the Savior.

I think it was a really good lesson!

 

We went hiking in Rye Colorado today it is a small town up in the Mountains It was so much fun! We were in Graneros Gorge we found a way down into it going through some shrubs all in all a good time!

Love you guys! Hope you all have a safe week

 

Elder Stewart

 

 

June 19th 2017

Happy Father’s day to all the Dads out there!

But a special shout out to my own Dad who is such an amazing example to me and I know everyone that has been in any of his classes that he has taught has left a better person then when they started. He has helped out so many people and just keeps going. He taught me how to help when someone is in need no matter who they are. He has taught me and my siblings how to hold to the Iron rod and set the example of loving the Lord and serving in His church.

Go tell your parents that you love them!

 

It has been a really fun week, Elder Boyd has been out a year now so he went to the Temple on Thursday so I was in Canyon City which is a biking area, and it was so much fun to bike around all day! We also had exchanges with the Zone leaders on Tuesday and that was a blast! I got to work with Elder Garton again we were comps about 5 months ago!

Things have been going really well, Elder Boyd is getting transferred tomorrow, I am going to be staying here in Westcliffe another 6 weeks I am super excited! I love it out here!

Hope that you all have a wonderful week and go and do good things this week it will make you and everyone around you smile!

 

Elder Stewart​

June 12th 2017

It has been a super fun week! We had Stake Conference Sunday so that was super fun because I got a chance to see a ton of people from the Pueblo ward! The Denver Temple President and his wife were there and they talked a lot about how important it is to make the Temple a regular thing. Going often is really good but also setting a time where that is the day and time you go. Don't give yourself and excuse not to go. But make a plan to go. I loved that and though it so fitting with the Temple in Tucson about to be Dedicated here in little bit.

We had a really great exchange with the Rye Elders this week, I went to Rye with Elder Worthing, it was really good time we went to a Mission Call opening for one of the Young men in the ward, We also found a man would say he is a witch. He said he would like to learn more about our Church and we set up an appointment to go and meet with him! It was really fun to talk with him a little bit!

We went on an amazing hike today to a lake called the Lake in the Clouds. It was a 10 mile hike and we went up to about 12000 ft. Westcliffe is only at 7800 so we went up a good amount. The air was super thin, it was so worth it though! Parts of the Trail was covered in snow so it was kind of sketchy to not really be sure of where you were going or if I was on the right path.

It made me think about the different times in life I was not 100% if I was doing the right thing, but just like those times in life we have the help of someone who has been there before. On the hike it was an Elder who had a hiking GPS in life it is the Savior and the writings in the Holy Scriptures. I really liked the lesson I learned from that hike.

Trust in good sources and good things come trust in not so good sources and you will get lost.

I am so grateful for Jesus Christ, He will never lead me into places where I will get lost.

Love you guys!

 

If you get a chance to go tour the Tucson LDS Temple let me know what you thought about it! I can't wait to see it when I get home!

Elder Stewart

 

 

 

June 5th 2017

Hello everyone!

It has been a pretty good week here in Colorado, not too much has been happening however... Elder Boyd has been pretty sick this week.

We did have Zone Conference and it was fantastic! We talked a lot about Faith in Christ, and why it is so important. With what we know about God's plan of Happiness for His Children, us, we know that it is only through Faith in our Savior that we can be saved and have any degree of lasting joy. When we build upon Faith in Christ we are promised in the scriptures that "we cannot fall" not it will be hard to fall but that we will not ever fall if we rely upon Jesus Christ. I learned so much from studying this principal and I am so happy knowing that the Savior of the World has my back!

We also got a call from one of the Guys we work with one night and we talked for a long time about how much we are loved by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. They know us and care about who we are becoming and the steps we make every day. I feel so blessed having had the chance to testify of that to this good man!

Westcliffe is so Beautiful here are some pictures from last night!

Love you guys be safe!

 

Elder Stewart

 

 

May 29th 2017

It has been a really great week! We had a ton of people at church on Sunday! There was a family reunion so it was no one that we know or work with but it was really cool to have so many people there. It was pretty cool.

We also had interviews with our mission President on Thursday it was great to talk to him for a bit!

We had a barbeque today with one of our investigators, He is moving this week but he wanted to have a cook out with us, it was a lot of fun to celebrate Memorial Day with him. After that we went to Bishops Castle and climbed around the different towers for a bit it was a blast to explore that place. The guy who is building it just kind of made the choice to build a castle. It is really cool but also super sketchy but all part of life :)

We also had a really productive week as far as missionary work goes as well! We have been working to try and get into this one house and no one was every home so we went by expecting the same thing to happen but then a man opened the door! He was baptized when he 10 and just didn't come very often when he was younger and he wants to learn more about God and come closer to him! We are so excited to work with him! It was such a blessing to find him

 

Love you guys hope all is going well!

 

Elder Stewart

May 22nd 2017

It has been a great week here Colorado! Thank you so much for wishing me a Happy Birthday I love you guys! 

Story I need to share we are helping this guy move and he is older we packed a trailer and his truck bed with all of his stuff and he is moving out to Oregon, to be homeless because he doesn't want to pay for an apartment anymore and he likes Sea food. He is an interesting person.

We also had dinner at a members house and they have a Pig named Stuart, I felt the need to take a picture of him because 1 he is a pig and also because his name. He is really mean to their dog, it is really fun to watch the pig just flop over to get a belly rub he also is a very noisy eater. Super cute though!

Things are going really well here we are working on finding more people and just doing stuff in the Community. We are working at the Care N Share it is a blast we are pretty much just running around and reloading shelves for the Food Pantry but it fun to be busy and talk with so many people!

Love you Guys! Do and do well!

Elder Stewart

 

 

May 15th 2017

This has been a fun first week here in Westcliffe! The branch is very tiny and very old, that I have seen there is only one family with kids here. There is also 23 different churches in the town of less than 1,000 people. It’s gonna be a good time!

I am working with Elder Boyd, and I am back in the Pueblo stake! 

We had a pretty good Hail storm on Wednesday and it looked like it snowed. On the plus side we found a really pretty waterfall and all that fun stuff!

It was so much fun to Skype home!

I want to talk real fast about Mother’s day as well! I would think myself very ungrateful if I did not say thank you to all of the Wonderful examples of people in my life! No parent is perfect and that is one of the things that helps them do such a great job they try as hard as they can to do all that they can for their children! I would not be what I am without my Mothers example of Faith and dedication to the Lord. I have learned and seen true strength in my mom and I am so grateful for all that she has done for me!

 

Love you all go give you parents or children a hug!

 

Elder Stewart

 

 

May 8th 2017

Week of transfers

It has been a crazy ride here in Springs, I am also getting transferred down to Westcliffe! I am pretty excited to go it is really pretty and we are right next to the Sagri's!

We had a really awesome Fast and Testimony meeting Yesterday. I grew so much listening to the witness of so many people that Jesus is the Christ and why they knew that it was true! I am going to miss these two wards! It has been hard but I have learned so much from them!

 

We went to a fireside Sunday night called the Work of Salvation, we heard from recent converts on why the joined the Church. It was really awesome to hear where so many people have come from. This life is a very long journey, it has many mountains and valleys to go through sometimes there are many people with us all the way through and other times we walk almost alone. I now see that it is also very much a long term investment that God has put in us. We work as much as we can and He makes great things happen! I am so excited to keep watching this adventure unfold!

 

 

I love you guys know that you all are awesome!

 

Elder Stewart

 

 

May 1st 2017

It has been a great week! We went on a blitz of our area this week which means that another set of Elders came into our area and we went around and visited a ton of people! We were able to find a few new people to work with and I am so excited about that!

We also had a special Sacrament meeting it was called the "Come and See" we went over our basic beliefs and it was really good members could invite their friends to come and see what we really believe. I am still kind of surprised that people think we believe some really weird stuff. What we believe is that God loves all of his Children and has in the past and now given us guidance and blesses us as we follow the Commandments. We follow the Savior Jesus Christ, He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. It was so awesome to listen to the talks given!

We had service at the Zoo this week and we meet a new baby Giraffe it was so tiny! We also found this old chimney stack and took pictures with it. We went up and got breakfast with our District leader and it was a lot of fun talking about the work and how to help others come closer to Christ! All in all a great week!

 

Elder Stewart

 

 

April 24th 2017

Earth Day Week!

This has been a really awesome week! We started volunteering at the Cheyenne MT Zoo! It was Hay Day so we helped unload and stack over a ton of hay. I tried to make a pun I hope that you all liked it. As well for Earth Day we cleaned a park in Manitou we did it as a district and it was a blast, we also found a park and played on that for a while. It had to be done.

We have been running around like crazy meeting new people, It has been really fun getting to know just how different everyone is but how we all have a love for some of the same things! Elder Rodela and I have meet so many wonderful people who love their Families and Love God. I am so grateful for all of the opportunities that the Lord has given to me as his son to meet these people!

In a lesson this week we found a story called "the Test" I want to share it with you all now.

 

“Many years ago, Indian youths would go away in solitude to prepare for manhood. One such youth hiked into a beautiful valley. There he fasted, and on the third day he decided to test himself against the mountain. He put on his buffalo-hide shirt, threw his blanket over his shoulders, and set off to climb the peak.

When he reached the top, he could see forever, and his heart swelled with joy. Then he heard a rustle at his feet. Looking down, he saw a snake. Before he could move, the snake spoke: “I am about to die. It is too cold for me up here, and I am freezing. There is no food, and I am starving. Put me under your shirt and take me down to the valley.”

“Oh, no,” said the youth. “I know your kind. You are a rattlesnake. If I pick you up, you will bite me, and I will die.”

“Not so,” said the snake. “I will treat you differently. If you do this for me, you will be special. I will not harm you.”

The youth withstood for a while, but this was a very persuasive snake with beautiful markings. At last the youth tucked it under his shirt and carried it down to the valley. There he laid it gently on the grass. Suddenly, the snake coiled, rattled, and struck, biting him on the leg.

“But you promised—” cried the youth.

“You knew what I was when you picked me up,” said the snake as it slithered away.

As a worthy bearer of the Aaronic Priesthood, you will always be warned when danger is near. The Lord cannot make your decisions for you, but he will always allow you to be aware of what is right when a decision or action is about to be made. Don’t allow yourself to ever believe that you are “different” in that you can participate in unrighteous activities—even just once—and not be hurt. Remember, “You knew what I was when you picked me up.”

 

We have been warned by so many to stay away from those things that are bad, please my friends stay strong and don't give up if you fall. Keep going Christ the Lord loves you I know he does!

 

Elder Stewart