Monday, August 5, 2013

August 5, 2013

Fam-il-eee,
Yo, so nobody told me anything about Micah Manning taking the lessons or getting baptized but that is soooooo tight!  Big Time Congrats to Micah!  I would love to shoot him an email to congratulate him, if y'all got it, I would love to have it, if you don't have it, at least please tell him congrats for me. That is so awesome.  He couldn't have made any better choice.  
 
Every week it sounds like y'all be straight killin' it back at home.  Momma, I love hearing about your missionary experiences, Laur, sounds like you are still the most organized, smartest person on the block.  You don't know what a blessing it is to be serving a mission here in Mexico and to truly know that all is well back at home.  Thank you all for that blessing, thank you all so much.  Thanks for telling me I have two new cousins Momma, how many are we now in all?  The Andros Family in not a small one.
  
So, Huejutla is pretty dope, not gonna lie.  I love it, I feel like now, one change into my time here in la Huasteca, I'm finally good and adjusted to working in a branch, although yesterday we had almost 120 people in church and the other branch here in Huejutla had 140+ people in church, so it's not your classic thought of a branch if you will.  But as far as church culture wise it's got a lot of branch tendencies still and that is what we are really focused on.  The Area presidency here in Mexico back in November put the whole "Missionaries won't knock doors"  theme with the goal of the missionaries and the members working together more.  The blessings of members and missionaries working together are many and I've really seen them in my time here.  First off, the missionaries can strengthen the members: their faith, their understanding of the gospel etc... and the members can do the same for the missionaries.  Secondly, the members are the ones who know the prepared people, such as Micah; where they live, what they like, who they are, etc... and so the work moves forward at a more productive pace when the two groups work together.  Here in Huejutla we are really focusing on making that happen.  We want the members and the missionaries to be a team that together can hasten the Lord's work in the work of salvation.  That's been our focus and Elder Gonzalez and I have really seen some miracles with it.  Although not all of them have progressed really well, we have had lots of members that have introduced us to their friends and family members who aren't members and we have been able to teach those people in the chapels and in the homes of those same members.  It's been really cool to see and the members are really starting to catch on well with how to do missionary work. It's been a cool thing to see and we know that if we obey and are diligent, we will find the prepared people here in this part of the branch.  
 
In other news, it is soooooo hot here.  It was like 110 degrees here and humid this week.  Haha, it makes for good motivation to find people to teach when it's so hot because you just don't wanna be stuck outside all day, hahaha.
  
I say it every week but I am just so happy.  Momma, if you are still talking on my mission next Sunday you can tell everyone that the most reoccurring theme that I've learned on my mission has been centered on the Grace of our Savior Jesus Christ.  I am so grateful for his atoning sacrifice and for the way that that sacrifice will work in every part of our life if we will just let it do so.  It will heal us, it will motivate us, it will strengthen us in that moment when we feel like we can't take one more step or it's just too hard.  I know it's a true real power because I've felt it every day in my time here in the mission.  I'm so grateful for it.  I love you all.  Have a great summer week.
 
#143
Elder Stockard
 

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