Kyle's Last Email!!

Hello!!!

 

I don't feel like I am going home. I feel like when I wake up Thursday morning, I am going to put my missionary tag back on and I am going to go preach the gospel. I am excited to come home, but I am going to miss teaching non-members so much. There is no better feeling in the world than when you are teaching and testifying of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, the Restored Gospel, and about Jesus Christ.  I will most likely go through withdrawals when I am home, but I will get over it. I love this gospel and missionary work so much!

This week I bore my testimony 5 times. In District meeting, Zone meeting, Mission Leadership council and in both wards. It has been great for me to reflect on everything that I have learned, and all the changes that have been made in my life.This experience is unlike any other, and I would hope that every one would take advantage of it if they have the chance. I am not going to share all that I learned right now, I will wait until I can share it face to face, but I am so grateful that I have been able to serve the Lord, Jesus Christ here on the mission. I do what I do not for myself, and not fully for other people, because my number one motivation is the love I have for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. That love and desire to serve them the rest of my life has definitely grown over the past two years. I know that Jesus Christ lives! He helps us through our trials. He comforts us in times of need. He is the Redeemer of the world who took upon him the sins of the world. He is my light and my hope. He has succored me so many times on my mission, and for that I will always serve and obey him. I love my savior Jesus Christ!

I can't wait to see y'all on Wednesday. It is going to be so weird seeing y'all again, and yet I feel like it hasn't really been that long. After awhile it will be like I never left. I hope y'all can make it until Wednesday. I love you!!!!!!!!

Con Muchisisisisisisimo Amor,

Elder Kyle Stewart

Howdy Y'all!!

Howdy Y'all, I honestly haven't every really said Howdy before, so I decided to use it in my last couple of emails. Good News! Next Thursday we will be getting Ipads........

 

This week went pretty well. It was slow to start, but it turned out to be great by the end. The most eventful thing that happened this week, was our Ipad training. We had Elder Nielson who gave the talk on waiting for the Prodigal Son. It was a fantastic meeting even though I won't be getting an Ipad. They talked about how to protect ourselves from the dark side of the internet, as well as how to focus on our purpose as missionaries, and in life. I learned some great tips that I will definitely use. Ipads are going to be such an amazing blessing for missionaries if they use them the right way. Missionaries will use them for studying, showing videos, and our area books will now be on the Ipad. After a month or so the missionaries will then be able to start using Skype to be able to have a member present in their lessons if no one can come, as well as Facebook to proselyte online. Again, it will be a great blessing and it is the way that the Lord is Hastening his work.

After the Ipad training we ran a 5k as a mission. I believe it was over 90 degrees when we ran it, and it was fairly difficult, but it was a lot of fun to be around all the other missionaries. I am going to really miss these missionary meetings.

Friday I had my last interview with President Taylor. It was mostly a reflection of my mission. It was great to think back on how much I have grown, and it has been an incredible experience. He didn't really give me any advice on the future, he said that the talk on marriage and all that was going to come Tuesday before we go home.

This weekend we had Stake Conference, and we had an incredible meeting on Sunday. They had a recent convert speak who had been baptized 2 months ago or so. He is very well off financially, and he was actually a referral from the Millers in Utah. It was incredible listening to his story.

Unfortunately we won't have any baptisms this week, nor the next, but I have really come to realize that the part of missionary work that I love the most, and the part of missionary work that I am going to miss the most is teaching non-members about the gospel, and watching them progress. I love the teaching moment where people start to realize that this is the true church of Jesus Christ on the earth, and that they desire to be a part of it. I will miss those feelings so much!

I love y'all and I hope y'all are able to wait just one more week. I feel really weird being this close to coming home. I don't know what to expect, but I can't wait to be with y'all again.

Love, Kyle (That name seems so foreign to me now.)

A Really Slow Week!!

This week was really slow as far as the work went. We did a lot of stuff to prepare for the baptism, and we also did a lot of zone leader stuff. I didn't like it very much, but it is all good, because the baptism was great! I loved it so much. Jessica was baptized by her dad, and there was some pretty good support. There was also a lot of support from the members.

 

There wasn't a whole lot else that happened. The work is going good, and the members are great! Unfortunately I don't think we will be able to have either of the parties at the end of my mission nor the baptisms, but that is OK. We will still have Stake Conference though this week, and I am excited for that!

I am sure that there has been a lot that has changed back home. The people, the buildings, everything. It is going to be crazy coming home to all that.

I am sorry that I really don't have much to say. The work really slowed down, and there wasn't much that happened. We have our Ipad training meeting this Wednesday, and I will have my exit interview on Friday.

I love y'all very much! I am excited to see y'all soon!

Crazy Weather!!

Hi Mom,

 

We were able to teach a lot of people this week. We mostly taught lessons to less-active members, but our investigators are progressing well also. We will be having a baptism this Saturday for Jessica Camacho the 10 yr. old. I am really excited for her, and hopefully we will have a good turn out. Our building here in Mesquite is now completely closed, and it will be from now until the end of my mission. This has been a crazy obstacle that we have had to face, but our investigators that are progressing are still coming to church.

 

The weather here has also been crazy. We have only had about two sunny days in the last three to four weeks, and the rest has been cloudy as well. Lots of rain. Many people are saying that it has rained more this spring than it has in over 40 years. On top of that, the forecast shows more rain for most of this week. I hope it keeps raining for three more weeks, so that I don't have to deal with the Texas heat this year. Today it is 90 degrees with lots of humidity.

 

The Mcswain family is also progressing very well. The Mom was baptized at 8 years old, but got married and left the church when she was 16. She recently started coming back, and so has their kids. This week we taught the kids, age 9 and 8, about baptism and they had a really hard time understanding what it was. Luckily, there was a baptism of an 8 year old in the ward which they were friends with, so they came to the baptism to see what it was like. They had a great time, and they are excited to be baptized. Yesterday they also came to a 8 is great activity where the primary talked about getting ready for baptism. They are very excited to be baptized, but they would like to move the date of their baptism to the middle of June.

 

Time has really begun to slow down these last couple of weeks. We have so many things going on and yet it still feels so slow. I guess that is a good thing, but at the same time it isn't. I am so excited for what we are going to be able to accomplish these last couple of weeks. I am so motivated to finish strong!

 

I am so excited to hear the Stewart band featuring Chase on the drums when I get back. I love listening to a good drummer. And it is going to be weird to see if there are a lot of new buildings in the area when I get back that weren't there when I left, like Taco Amigo. I love y'all very much, and I am excited to see y'all soon!

 

Love, Kyle

Tired of Emails!!

Hi Mom,

 

I don't really have very much to say about this week, or better said, I really just don't like emailing any more, and I will tell y'all everything that is going on Sunday. The work was slow this week with all the adjustments that we have been making, so we have gotten settled in, and we now have some great plans on how to work with the ward for the rest of my mission. We are really excited for what is going on.

My companion is Elder Bench from Los Angeles. He has one transfer left after this one, so again we are making each other really trunky, but at the same time, I am still working so hard. I haven't let up at all.

This week, the work has been going slow, but we were able to find some great young families with kids who want to be baptized. One is the Rodriguez family and her 8 year old daughter will be baptized on the 16th. That isn't a missionary baptism, but it is going to be great. The other is the Mcswain family where the Mom is a member, and she has two kids that are 8 and 9. They came back to church for the first time this Sunday, and we will probably be teaching the kids soon.

Our other investigators are still doing well! I love y'all and thank you for your support. I am very excited to talk to y'all on Sunday, and we will probably be skyping around 7:00 our time around 6:00 your time. If that doesn't work you can just tell Sis. Klein. I love you Mom! Happy Mother's Day!

Love, Kyle

Dad,

Chase and I will have some crazy one-on-one matchups when I get back. Then all three of us will have to start playing all the time. I am so excited to play with him. That will be great! I can't believe he dunked it two handed on 8 and 1/2. I know I couldn't do that when I was playing at that age. I still can hardly jump.

 

This week was crazy. It was very stressful with the companion change and with zone meeting and it was somewhat slow as far as the work went, but it is getting better, and we have some great plans for the next couple of weeks (which means the rest of my mission). I am excited to come home, but at the same time, I am going to miss being a full-time missionary so much. I wish I could come home and continue being a missionary there at home, but I guess I will have to start becoming a great member-missionary instead.

Questions:

1. How is the new and last companion?

Great! He is the first Elder that I have served around before he was my companion. He is from Los Angeles California, and he has one transfer left after this one. I think it is funny how most of my companions have all been out about the same time as me my whole mission except for when I trained.

 

2. Is he a zone leader too?

No, he is not.

 

3. Are you glad that you are staying in the same area?

Yes, I didn't really want to move for one transfer.

 

4. How was the work this week?

Slow, but we found some great people.

 

5. How was splitting time at the different Church buildings.

It is going OK, the problem is that I like to greet members from both wards, and now I can't.

 

6. How are the investigators coming along?

The Gutierrez family is doing very well, and the Camacho family are still coming to church.

 

7. Do you spend most of your time with the English or Spanish?

We try really hard to make it even, and as of lately, it has been very even.

 

8. Are you taller than when you left, are you wider than when you left?

Maybe taller, but I am the exact same width.

 

9. Any good stories lately? ( old men falling over in the lazyboyz)

Not really.

 

10. Do you know that your parents could not be any more proud of their missionary son?

 

Thank you Dad for all that you are doing to support me, and for all that you have taught me before. I can't wait to talk to you on Sunday! I love you!

 

Love, Kyle

Howdy Y'all!

Howdy y'all!

 

Don't worry, howdy is not part of my vocabulary. We had an alright week this week, with some real big trials that we are going to have to over come. This weekend on Friday we were in the church practicing for a song we were going to sing at a baptism of some Elders, and we saw some people working on the chapel. We weren't really sure what they were doing, so Saturday morning we got a phone call from someone in our ward saying that we aren't going to have church in our building for the next 6-8 weeks, because of some structural problems with the ceiling in the chapel and cultural hall. This was a little stressful to hear. So, for the rest of my mission I will now be going to church in Spanish at a stake center outside of our Stake from 1-4 and for English we will be attending at the stake center of this stake from 3-5 every Sunday. This means that both wards that we cover now overlap in two buildings that are more than 30 minutes apart from each other. Because of all of this, our investigators didn't go to church, nor did the less-actives that we had been working with so hard. So with this obstacle, I thought it would be a great idea to fast for a miracle, that our investigators will still come to church even though it isn't close to their home.

The other really big news of the week is that the Gutierrez family also decided that they will prepare to be baptized on the 7th of June. They are really solid, but they need to read more and come to church. I am really excited for this family! We also have a date for the 23rd of May for a 9 year-old girl.

As far as transfers go, I will be staying, and my companion will be leaving. I am guessing that my next companion will also be the zone leader in this area. I really hope so! It would be really nice, and I believe that we could help the zone out a lot better if we were together. Almost our entire zone will be changed this transfer, because almost no one was changed last transfer. I am so grateful for my mission! I have met some incredible missionaries, and this is probably what I like most about being zone leader.

I don't really have anything else to write about, it will be interesting to see how things go with the whole church experience. I am excited to talk to y'all soon! Have a great day!

Love, Kyle

Hi Dad,

 

This was a very eventful week, and it was OK as far as the teaching went. Not too bad, but no amazing either.  There is a saying about the mission that goes: If your mission isn't hard, you're doing something wrong. So, the mission must have been getting pretty easy, because it just got really hard. We should be OK though. With the help of the Lord, we can do it.

 

1. Did you like the new car.  ( if you behave Mom may let you ride in it)

I do like it, as long as I don't have to ride in the back on long road trips, but even then, I think it will be great!

 

2. Did you get transfered?

No, but my companion did, so I think my next companion will also be my zone leader companion. I will find out tomorrow.

 

3. How was the work this week?

It was OK. The highlight of the week was that we set baptismal dates with the Gutierrez family for June 7. Now we just need to get them to church.

 

4. Any baptisms on the horizon in this area?

One on the 23rd of May and two on the 7th of June

 

5. Do you keep in contact with any of your friends from home.

Every once in a while. Josh is a zone leader, Ryan has been a zone leader, Esteban is a zone leader, I haven't heard from Todd in a little while but I am sure he is in some sort of leadership position, and Bryson and Kurtley are both having the times of their lives. I am really excited about how Kurt has done. He has loved his mission. I have such a great group of friends, and I can't wait to meet up with all of them again. It will be quite the reunion.

 

6. How was going to the temple?

Great! I loved it!

 

7. Are you going to teach us about family history and help me find some names when you get home?

 

Absolutely! I will help you find the name of your 7th cousin 4 times removed, and you will be able to take his name to the temple. Unfortunately our work isn't as easy as some of the other people I help here.

 

We actually also had a meeting this week without power. We were all in the chapel while it was dark listening to a presentation. At this meeting the Safety specialists from church headquarters came to the mission to install a TIWI box. It is a box that records our speed, aggressive driving, and whether or not we are wearing a seat belt. So now our mission office tracks all of those things and they will take away our driving privileges if we have to many violations. 

 

Thank you for your love and support! I love you!

 

Love, Kyle

This week was great again!

Wow, a new car? And I saw that it has a DVD player. Perfect for road trips. I am excited to see it. What year is it?

 

This week was great again! We found lots of new investigators, and we taught lots of part-member families. We have so many solid investigators now, and I am very excited about how busy we are now teaching them. I have never had so many teaching opportunities on my mission. This week, we found 10 new investigators, and we are continuing to see lots of success here in getting the members of the ward involved. I love working with the members. It is so much fun!

 

This past Saturday, we went to the temple. It was my first time in over a year, and it was also my first time seeing one of the new temple videos. I enjoyed it a lot, and it was great to feel the spirit that is there in the temple. I plan on going much more often when I get home, but for now I am going to focus solely on working hard and helping the living. This week I also went on another exchange over to Lakewood again, which is right on the outskirts of the downtown area. I love going there, but I hate how busy it is. I definitely won't be living in a city any time soon. It was a great exchange, and we were able to learn a lot.

 

Sunday morning we had another meeting with the Stake President. Going in to the meeting, I thought it was just going to be us and him, as well as a few other high councilors, but instead the Stake President had invited all of the ward mission leaders. We started out the meeting going around and having everyone introduce their ward mission plans, and then we all discussed how we could get our wards and ward councils involved in carrying out our ward mission plans. It was a very inspiring meeting. Both of our ward mission leaders who were there came away very motivated to finish and edit the ward mission plans as well as get everyone they could involved. It was also such a great meeting for me to be able to learn how to be a great ward mission leader if I ever have that calling in the church. I hope that I can still work with the missionaries after my mission, because I love it so much!

 

We are teaching lots of people and so far, we only have one person set for baptism, but we have lots of people that are showing lots of potential. I am hoping that we can help them to come to church, then we will be able to help them realize that they need to be baptized. The work is going so well in this area!

 

I am looking forward to talking to y'all in a few weeks as well. Thank you for all that y'all do to help me. I love this gospel, and I love Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for my mission and for the opportunity that I have had to serve this mission.

 

Love, Kyle