Email Update: 5/25/2015--Last Transfer in Kuna, ID

Dear Everyone,

It sounds like things are pretty good for all of you. My week flew by really quick, too, with nothing really happening. I guess that just kind of happens transfer week. I was transferred to Kuna, Idaho, for the last transfer of my mission, serving in the 11 and 15th wards. My new companion is named Elder Twigg, from Indiana. Things should be good, though I do have the usual new transfer jitters. The difference about this one is that, regardless of how things are, i only have six weeks of it, good or bad, so I can take whatever comes at me. In all seriousness, though, I am excited for this last transfer. I've had a lot by now, and I know that i want to make this one a good one.

As for things from this last week, we spent a good amount of time seeing some of the people that we got to know while we were together. We had a good lesson with Kodi, a pretty good one with Dan Kilmer, and we started attending the Addiction Recovery program with some of the members. I also spent a lot of time packing. I'm rather pleased with myself on that note; I was able to get all of my stuff into my two suitcases, my laundry bag, and my messenger bag. 

Now that i'm down here, we got hit by the biggest storm that I've seen in Idaho---too bad it only lasted about 5 minutes. While it was going, though, there were waterfalls off of the church. It was really cool. 

Honestly, that's about it for now. I hope things are going well for everyone, and that you have a good week!!!

Love and Insanity, Elder Stuver

Email Update: 5/18/2015--Last Transfer

Dear Everyone,

It sounds like things were both boring and crazy at the same time. So... normal, I guess. Congrats, Jeff!

Anyways, This was an extremely slow week. Eh, it happens, I know, but that doesn't make it any less annoying. The weird part of it was, while nothing seemed to happen, the week just kind of disappeared, and it's Monday again. Now, I'm staring down the barrel of my final transfer on my mission, and the only thing that I can think of is, "What's gonna happen now?" 

The main thing that I hope for this last little bit of my mission is that I stick to the things that I've learned, and possibly help someone else learn something good for them, too. The thing that I'm concerned about is not being able to focus, because of shear lack of time (not sure if I used the right "shear" there, but you get my point). I've now seen quite a lot of missionaries come and go, both for the sisters, and the whole range of experiences that they all have. They really do range, but the main focus that I have seen is that some go home with an attitude of "What do I do now? I'm not on a mission anymore..." while others are of the "I'm so glad that's over" category. I think I'll probably sit somewhere in the middle of those two. Can't say for sure, though; we'll just have to wait and see.

There was one really cool thing from this week to share. This last weekend was Stake Conference, and it was a really good one. There was an member of the 70 there speaking, and for the Saturday eveningsession, he called up several families that ranged from new converts to reactivated members, and asked them about their conversion stories. It was really cool to hear the different, but very similar tales. They all had different experiences, but they all had amazing support from friends, neighbors, and other members as they learned. It was another stark reminder of how little the missionary actually does, and how much the friends and family around the individual does, conversely. Most of all, it was a reminder of how the Spirit is the one who teaches, not the two kids in white shirts. We are more like the hose that the water rushes through, then the water itself. It's a good thing, too; a trickle is all I could be, and that just doesn't cut it. The Spirit always touches the heart of those who are ready, and almost in spite of the missionaries, things will work out. It was a really comforting reminder that I'm not alone in this effort, and that my short comings will be made up for in the people who I care about live's. (Grammar... Not my strong suit.)

Well, I think that will do it for this letter. Thank you for everything, and have a fantastic week!

Love and Insanity, Elder Stuver

Email Update: 5/11/2015

Dear Everyone,

I hope everyone had a good Mothers' Day, and let everyone know that I say hi back!

I don't have much new to say, but I did want to let people know how I've been feeling. Things have been pretty awesome over the last few months, and more and more I've been feeling that I'm getting better at being who I am supposed to be. I've said it before, but I really do know that I made the right choice coming out on a mission. I'm glad that Mom and Dad left the final call up to me, because I know that I wouldn't have felt like I do now otherwise. I've had the chance to read and study so much, and to learn about so many things that I had never even considered before, that it's really shocking to think about. More than anything else, I have come to know that Jesus Christ did live, and did die, and was Resurrected to a perfect, immortal body, which He still has today. I've come to understand what that means, and how my choices are the only things that I can give back to Him for what He has done for me. I also have come to know that neither He nor Heavenly Father will ever force us into any choice, and that They will only work to see us happy. I'm glad that I have been able to learn that, and to be taught by the things that the Apostles and Prophets have written, and by the Spirit. I'm not perfect, not by a long shot, but I recognize that anything is possible for God, and He is on my side, on all of our sides. All we need to do is ask.

That's my little blurb for this week. Again, I hope you all had a great Mothers' Day, and were able to show that love to your Moms.

Love and Insanity, Elder Stuver

Email Update: 5/4/2015

Dear Everyone,

Wow, for how boring your week sounded from the beginning of the letter, things seems to be pretty cool! 

As for me, most of the week was actually really slow. It's that time between finishing teaching your last investigator, and trying to find new ones to teach. We've been trying the whole time, of course, but that doesn't mean that you always find them. Because of that, lessons were hard to get, and most of the less active people that we have been working with were out of town, too, so even that was hard. One of them, Dan, headed out to Washington on Wednesday, to have his mother's memorial, where they will spread her ashes. I hope that he is still doing as well as he was when we last saw him; I've got a feeling that this will be hard on him.

Other then that, yes, Kodi was baptized!! It went really well, and it was the first time that I've ever not had to do a lot of planning for a baptism I was involved in! Kodi planned almost all of it himself, and had done so even before was mentioned it to him. He had his girlfriend's dad baptize him, and his old baseball coach confirm him this Sunday. Remember, those are the High Priest Group Leader and the Elder's Quorum President, respectively, so he has a lot of Ward Council support, which is awesome. As a bit of a side note, after the baptism Kodi was doing really well, talking with everyone, and just acting normal. I called his bluff, and asked if his head had stopped spinning yet. He smiled and said no. I told him that it probably wouldn't until the following afternoon, after his confirmation, and he agreed.

Honestly, that's about it for this week. Thanks for everything!

Love and Insanity, Elder Stuver

Email Update: 4/27/2015

Dear Everyone,

Thank you for the birthday wishes! It was a low-key birthday, which is about what you expect out here. We actually spent most of the day doing yard work around the church building, then we went over to the Lemckes home and helped Jim paint their ceilings. I think that the only special thing we did for my birthday was go out to eat. Memo to me, just because a restaurant gave a free birthday meal to one person, does not mean they will necessarily do it for you. I'm glad I didn't get the super expensive meal!

As for the rest of the week, things were pretty slow this time around. We did have a couple of really good visits with a less active lady named Alisha. She has been having a hard time with her non-member husband, who while not actively working against her coming back to church, has been acting in ways to make it difficult. Alisha has been really trying to work towards going to the temple, including paying tithing, quitting coffee and other Word of Wisdom issues, and coming to church whenever her work schedule allows it. That one has been really bothering her, because she's asked to have Sundays off, and was even told that she could, but they keep scheduling her anyways. We were able to let her know that she is trying, that Heavenly Father knows it, and that as long as she keeps trying, it'll all work out. Elder Reischman gave her a blessing yesterday, which she was really appreciative for, and she will figure it all out.

We also were able to start teaching the full discussions to Dan. We had been talking about doing so for a while, and we finally taught the first one yesterday. The only problem is our timing---he had just woken up from a nap, so he was pretty much out of it. We aren't too sure how much he actually understood, so the next time we go over, we are going to run at least a quick refresher course before starting the next one. Dan is still doing really well after his mom passed, and I'm really impressed with how much he trusts that he will see her again. He says that he still can't eat a triple Cheese Burger from McDonalds, but other then that, he is really ok. I hope that it stays that way, and that he will continue to work at coming back to church.

Finally, it's less then a week until Kodi (I've been spelling his name wrong this whole time---sorry) gets baptized! It'll be a bit of a crazy week for us, since we still have a whole lesson and a baptismal interview before Saturday, but I know that it will work out. I still am not used to having someone take notes while we teach; it's a bit of a heady feeling! I just have to remember that it's not really me who is teaching, but the Spirit, which Kodi is super in tune with. In our last lesson, we taught on the Commandments, and one of his comments was that he wished that he had known all of these earlier in his life. He told us that his trip with the Lallatins was awesome, and that they were able to visit the Draper and SLC temples as well as the Payson open house. Kodi's favorite one was the Draper---even though it was wet and rainy, he made everyone get out so that he could touch it. I think that he is excited for Saturday.

Well, I think those are the major points from this week. Thank you all again for everything, and I hope that you have a good week!

Love and Insanity, Elder Stuver

Lindsey's Baptism

Email Update: 4/20/2015

Dear Everyone,

I hope all of your weeks went well! Ours was a little slow, but we did have some really good times throw in here and there. We've been progressing really well with Cody, and he is getting both more excited and more nervous every day as his baptism gets closer. We just taught the first half of the Commandments yesterday, and he reiterated that he's been doing most of them already. I can't say how cool it is to see people making good choices on their own, simply because they are learning the truth. On top of that, Cody is actually going down to Utah this weekend with Audrey's (his girlfriend) family, for her graduation from BYU. While they are down there, they were able to get tickets to go to the Payson Temple Open House! I can't think of a much better way for him to get ready for his baptism then feeling the Spirit as strongly as he will there. 

We also have gotten to see how Lindsey has been doing after her baptism, and it's been really great. The way she put it, it's been getting better and better every day, and she's starting to really recognize how she has the Spirit more in her life. We learned about the Sacrament in Gospel Principles yesterday, and she was saying how she can feel that fresh, clean feeling that she did after her baptism every week when she takes bread and water. She also mentioned how that feeling starts to wane toward the end of each week, so that she looks forward to Sundays to take it again. There are two of the Ward missionaries working with her through the New Member discussions, and one of them is actually Audrey, so she is in very good hands. 

Finally, we got to see the girl from Dairy Queen again, and the first things she said when we pulled up to the window was, "I didn't make it! But I'll try to make it this week." We also were able to get her name this time, Mira. 

Sadly, she still didn't, but I've got a really good feeling that she will soon. She seems to really want to come, and that desire is one of the most important steps to getting to church. If she really wants it, she will find a way to make it, and I really do think that she really wants it. All that needs to happen is for her to look to Christ for a hand when things get in the way. When she does, she'll make it to church, and when she makes it to church, she will feel the Spirit testify that she made the right choice.

Those are the major things from this week. I hope you all have a good one, and that you are happy!

Love and Insanity,

Elder Stuver