Ok, SOOOOOOOOOOOOO stoked for my main man The BIG BAD HAD to be serving in Chile! That is soooooo dope bro, we will now have at least one friend from our Fallon Crew on 4 continents. So sick Hadley, congrats on the call bro! Where is Colin going?
So its been a while since we've talked last and a lot has happened. Let me tell you first off, The Nashville Tennessee mission is SOO dope! And in case anyone is wondering, Tennessee is about as Southern as it gets, I honestly feel as though I have stepped into the backyard of Willard Westlake and Booner Ray Giles. #Southern. But it has been so much fun!
All 8 Visa waiters were very blessed and we were all put in Spanish companionships. My trainer's name is Elder Holder. He is 23, from Gillete, Wyoming and has been out 19 months. He speaks great Spanish, he started his mission in Torreon, Mexico but had to come home for knee surgery and was reassigned here. He has been a huge help to me in lessons. But let me back up the story just a little bit.
So we arrived Monday and were greeted by the assistants who are awesome and President and Sister Mckee, who might be some of the nicest people you have ever met. We went to the mission home and had an awesome dinner (so much better than MTC food, oh my goodness!) and had an awesome night with the Mckee family (they still have young kids at home) and then went to bed. We woke up, had an awesome breakfast and then we all met our trainers. Elder Holder and I have been assigned to Lebanon, TN, a small town of 25,000 just outside of Nashville. We live with the English Elders in a one bedroom apartment, and oh yeah, we are opening the area for Spanish, so no investigators to start off with, haha. The English Elders are awesome and we have been having a blast living with them, but 4 guys in a one bedroom apartment is an adventure, haha. We don't have a car so we bike or walk everywhere unless the English Elders give us a ride. There is one ward in Lebanon and a Spanish group, but that Spanish group has some of the most amazing members I have ever met in my life. They are very close to becoming a branch and right now that is our goal: Make them a branch.
We have found quite a few investigators already actually, we have two families who we are teaching and they seem to love our message, but the hardest thing is getting people to church. This week we thought one family would come for sure, we had a great lesson with them Saturday night, but they didn't show so right now our focus is really being put on getting our investigators out to church!
So far though, Tennessee is awesome! I have been so blessed to be able to still speak Spanish while I'm here and I know that I have a purpose to fulfill here. I have loved meeting people here and I am getting more and more comfortable talking to people about the gospel in Spanish at their door and on the street. The field is so different than the MTC, because now instead of having everyone being a member, NOBODY is hahaha!
So Friday we were out on bikes knocking doors when we got a call from President Mckee telling us that there was a tornado that was getting ready to touch down in Lebanon and we needed to return to the apartment immediately. We rode back to the apartment at lightning speed (or as close to it as I can get, I am soooo slow on a bike, haha) and then watched as the tornado hit. I never saw the funnel cloud but the storm was NUTS!!! There was huge hail and it was frigid cold, it reminded me of the one random tornado that hit in Fallon when I was at the Faughts. (Haha, I know Logan remembers that storm, lolzz.) But it was so sick, haha. Oh also, my southern accent is ridiculously good now, haha.
What's new with the fam and friends? If everyone will send mail to the Mission home address, they then forward it to me so that is the best way to do it. I believe that Dear Elder still works while I'm in the US but I'm not positive. I'm super excited to hear how DWTS goes for Pops. I miss you guys all so much but know that I am staying incredibly busy and taken care of. All is well. Love you all thanks so much for your support and prayers.
Love,
Elder Stockard
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