Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Week #44- weirdest thing I have seen on my mission!!

​Wierdest thing that I have seen in my mission... A Utah lisence plate... The owner wasn't home but we will be going back...

Divisiones with the Zone Leaders...Elder Gibb is from Colorado but his family just moved to Utah. He said we are going to hang out after the mission. He goes home in January.

It's a meat store and that is an entire carcas hanging. Mexico....

Hi  momma!
Fisrt off the Temple Dedication was pretty cool!
During the dedicatory prayer the sound disappeared so I didn't really get to hear much of it. Elder Eyring said the prayer in Elglish because he does not speak spanish and there was a translater. 
Yeah(to you question) it's kind of hard to be in the same area for such a long time. I know all of the area and I feel like there are no more doors to knock haha but i'm still animated because we sould be baptizing more people soon.
Don't worry mom the spanish comes  with practice and patience. I have decided that I for sure want to learn another language when I get home I just havn't decided which one yet.
I have actually been studying in Mosiah aswell.  King benjamin is a pretty cool dude. So is Abinidi and Alma. 
And yes, pumpkin cookies are the bomb. Actually the other day I was trying to explain to my companion that pumpkin with chocolate tastes good. He didn't believe me but he is the crazy one. He was telling me about how he misses the food from Oaxaca and I was like well what do you miss most. He told me that the cheese, something called a Tlayuda which is actually pretty good, but then he started talking about eating insects and I lost my appetite. 
We are doing pretty good here in the ward still trying to animate the members to work more with us. The problem here is that everyone here works like a dog. that are always at work.
P.s. if you havnt sent my package I need another mission belt because it's falling apart and its going to break soon. love you and have a great week
-Elder Stockman

Hey Dad! 
First of all I found scriptural evidence that zombies are real... Matthew 8: 28-34  talks about how demons posess the bodies of the dead and then they kill a bunch of pigs by scaring them off of a cliff. Classic... wish I would have been there to see that.
you can share that scripture with bishop Batty and give him a little bit of hope.

I liked the Temple dedication. Elder Holland bore his testimony is spanish and it was pretty legit. The sound went out when Elder Eyring was offering the prayer but other than that it was cool to be there. It was the closest that I have been to the temple since last November. Hopefully I can go someday to the Temple in Monterrey. 
I am doing good here. I am still in Lomas and we will have changes in 4 weeks. I hope they ship me to the north. 
Zach just might be able to beat me up when I get home haha at this rate he is growing like a weed. Tell everyone that I love them. I don't really think about you guys too much dont worry. Just when its quiet and it's almost never quiet. 
Have a good general conference and enjoy your week!
-Elder Stockman

Monday, September 21, 2015

Week #43 FREE Pizza

The members bailed on us so we were all going to pay a little ( 50 each) and the delivery guy got here late hahaha ree Pizza hahahahaha ðŸ™Œ

Bautismo de Diego. He is the one closest to me.
 Street dog that has cool eyes.


Hey momma!
 I'm doing great here in Saltillo still hahaha. I'm getting kind of bored of being in the same place for 6 months but you know it's ok hahah.
I think that is cool that Abbie had a fun time with her friends on Saturday. That's good to hear that Zach got into Family History. Well nothing has really changes this week. We had a baptism this week of Diego. I feel like it has been a long time since we have baptized. But I have come to realize that I am literally working my butt off and it just isn't the will of the Lord sometimes. How is your spanish going haha?
Tell dad he better start practicing Spanish because I have been eating a lot of salsa hahaha. 
speaking of salsa they give us a lot of different things but sometimes a lot of the same things. When I was in Monclova I ate something called Picadillo every day. here in Saltillo they give me meat and rice, with sopa and corn tortillas. there really aren't flour tortillas like there were in monclova. Oh I miss that hahaha.

(Response to a question about our missionaries that we share with one other Stake)
That would be hard to have to many members I feel like you really couldn't help them that well because there are so many. But there is also an extreme here in Saltillo there is a ward that has 6 missionaries. my ward has 4. Sometimes we eat together and sometimes we dont. it depends.
good to hear that the Neffs are going to stick around haha.
 Anyways I hope you have a great week!
-Elder Stockman

Hey Dad!
hahaha I miss those Zach-isms those were the good old days. 
Sometimes I wake up and think that I just got here and I can't believe that I am going to complete a year from being away from home. But that also means that I only have a year left and that makes me a little bit sad. 
I really miss being able to do family history and being able to go to the temple. but I hope that I will get to go to the temple here in Monterrey one day.
This week we were blessed to be able to have the baptism of Diego. His mom got baptized in April and he is just now wanting to be baptized. But it was a really spiritual experience. 
I can't believe that Zach will be entering the temple that is mind blowing to me haha and even more that he willl be passing the sacrament. Tell him I'm proud of him and that I hope he stays worthy to be in the place of the Lord. 
How is work going? are you still working from home?
love you and I hope you have a great week-.
-Elder Stockman
ps: I miss philly cheese steak sandwiches


Monday, September 14, 2015

Week #42- ha,ha,ha.... Seems to be the theme.

Hi Momma. 

​Elder Monterroso who was an assistant and he was training a new Elder in my district. He is going home now... he is from LA.

The Mish. 


Elder Stockman and Elder Vasquez.
The Zone leaders brought weird sweatshirts. Ha,ha,ha.

​The Zone Miravalle.

A dead rat ha,ha,ha. 

​I think that I need a bigger umbrella... haha.

Momma,
Got good news I will be staying here with Elder Vasquez another transfer! I am super excited even though the area is really small and I feel like I have knocked every single door. I know that we will have a lot of success this change!
are you speaking spanish in school? hahah
I hope that everything goes well with Abbie and Zach aswell. I always pray for you guys don't worry
This last week I have felt really good! we are working super hard!
I can't believe that Trent comes home in 10 months! It goes by so fast!!!!!
I love you guys and just wanted you to know that I am doing good. They put a super dificult Elder in my District again who was in my District before I hope that I can help him to work harder. 
Can't believe that Da and Grandma have been married 50 years that quite the accomplishment.(actually 53 years)

Today we went Bowling with the Zone Leaders it was a super fun time I won the first game and then Elder Vasquez who had never been bowling in his life won the second game hahaha.
We will be baptizing Diego this week and then in a week or two Rosy. And hopefully at the end of the transfer a Family of 4 that we found!
love you and have a great week!
-Elder Stockman

Hey Dad. 
Well they are going to keep me here another transfer with Elder Vasquez and I'm super excited for that! He is a stud.
I feel like I was here writing to you guys yesterday and now I am here again haha.
I am doing super good. I'm excited because even though we didn't baptize last transfer We will definately see the fruits of our labours this transfer.   

Mom told me that Trent will come home in 10 months and that blows my mind. the time blows by. 
I love you dad and I hope you have a great week! love you
-Elder Stockman

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Week #41- Monte de Sion



​I didn't know that mount Zion was in Saltillo? hahaha

​Super cool Sun Set.


Divisions with the Zone Leaders Elder Resendiz. 


Hey momma! It's super good to hear from you this week.
I can't believe that I have been in Monclova and in Saltillo the same amount of time that blows my mind. 2 days and 2 months from now I will be completing the year in the mission! or the day that I go home! because I will be coming home on the 9th.
I can't believe that Josh is gone. that is a moment that I have always placed so far away in my mind and the day has come and gone. I guess I will see him in 2 years
Good to see that Everyone is doing good! I can't believe that it's September....

Well I feel kinda wierd because this transfer is about to end. I have loved my time here with Elder Vasquez he is awesome. I really think that I will be leaving this area but who knows? We will see in a week haha.
I feel like I have been here in the zone for too long so that makes me think that I will be leaving. Even though that probably doesn't mean anything but we will see what happens. 
This week was the last week of the transfer to bring investigadores to church because next sunday we have the opporotunity to go to the broadcast of the temple dedication for the Mexico city temple. And obviously investigatores can't go. It was super cool because we were fasting and praying that a family we found 2 weeks ago would come to church. They are a family of 6 the parents and 4 kids. 
They always close the doors for the sacrament and lock them so that we can mantain reverence and they closed the doors and they still hadn't came. They opened the doors and they were all there it was a super huge surprise and I can't believe it that they came. We have an appointment with them on tuesday. The kids especially really liked it and I know that they felt something different.

I'm doing super good and kind of hoping that I can have another american companion so that I can practice my English. Because it is pretty bad! hahaha

 I love you and hope that you have a great week.
-Elder Stockman
Hey Papi
That is super cool to hear that you offociated a session. That is something that I would be really nervous to do. Did you mess up at all?
Things are going really great here in Mexico. I am loving my time here and I can't believe that it's September. It's still kind of hot here so it doesn't seem like it all the way. 
Me and My companion get along super great. He has definately been a really great companion these last weeks. 

I really don't have any idea where I will be going my next transfer. I know that I will go there one day but who knows when!?
Hmmmm guacamole. that is some good stuff. Haha there is an Elder from Peru in my ward and we always make fun of him because he says "Palta" instead of "aguacate" do they say that in Bolivia aswell?
I don't know why you are torturing yourself. GO TO WENDYS haha
We had a ton of success this last week. It hasn't been easy these last couple of weeks but I know that the Lord was testing our Diligence. We were able to bring a family of 6 to church and that was an absolute miracle. They are also reading the Book of Mormon. Ojala que siguen progresando.
I have to say that the time here in Saltillo has gone extremely fast I feel like sometimes I wake up in Monclova but then I realize that I'm here in Saltillo. hahaha
Tell everyone that I love them and that I will see them in 14 months wooo! haha have a great week! 
🙌
-Elder Stockman


Sunday, September 6, 2015

Week #40- A Unicorn!!


What!!

​Dead unicorn Piñata hahaa and me killing it with a pen.

Scary doll head I
 found in a construction site.

It's an alley way that we always take in my area its like a short cut.


Hey momma!
I'm doing super great!
We have actually been able to have a pretty good number of new investigators. It was a test of our diligence but now we have been able to find a lot of people who are more willing to listen.
We get fed every day but Monday. This week one of the members canceled on us and just gave us money to go and buy something. But they are more on top of it then the members in Monclova hahaha. The people here in Saltillo are actually a lot more closed. It's a bigger city and almost everyone works in the factories for car companies. Almost everyone here works for Chrystler, Whirlpool, or General Electric. 
Transferes will be on the 15th of September in 2 weeks. We have 6 week transferes and right now we are just starting week 5 of the transfer. I sure hope that I have the opporotunity to work closer to President. That would be pretty awesome haha. I don't know if that will ever happen though who knows. President already has the transferes done. He knows and has it all ready from like the first or second week of the transfer. It is all done through revelation. He and his assistants are constantly praying and fasting and then the last couple of days of the transfer he makes last minute changes. Elder Monterroso who was an assistant is in my district right now, he is training and he has told me a lot of stuff that they do. 

Elder Vasquez and I are doing excellent. We have both been praying that we can stay together another transfer that would be excellent. 
He leaves 6 weeks after I do. We were in the CCM together but he goes home after I do because they were they less timeso their time there doesnt count. 
He is from Oaxaca, Oaxaca the capital city. He is always talking about the cheese from there evidently it is super mind blowing. It's like the Tillamook of Mexico. He speaks one word in English and its NO, haha it's the same in english and spanish. No yeah he is trying to learn and I am trying to teach him but I don't like teaching him because I would rather be speaking spanish hahah. No but I am helping him we have an hour each morning to study language. The ward is going through a lot of changes right now. My first week here they released the Bishop because he moved to Mexico. But they are still trying to fill the organizations. We just got a ward mission leader and he is pretty cool. He always gives us a lot of food. He has only been married 7 months and he came back from his mission like 3 years ago. 

But I am doing super good right now and I am super happy! Love you guys and I hope that you have a great week!
-Love Elder Stockman

PS: I saw some sort of technological thing and it freaked me out. The world is changing super fast and when I get home I will be in for a surprise hahaha love you

Dad,
Haha why are you torturing yourselves. I tell you what has really helped me lose serious weight and that is being a fulltime servant of the Lord. Walking and walking and walking and walking. Oh and did I mention walking hahaha
I have a question for you dad. Would you sell your soul for a dunford donut. haha that reminded me of the conference talk that the guy said he passed off as an 11 year old when he was really 12 just so that he could have more chocolates when he went to the movie theater. Don't worry I know what you meant. 
Tell Zach that I really appreciate that he is thinking about me and that the Lord will bless him if he keeps paying a full tithing. Tell him to prepare himself because according to him when I get home he is going to clean my clock. haha love that guy!
I miss the Temple but hopefully I will be able to go in 11 months with my converts from Monclova.
They also just told us that we will be able to go to the rededication of the Mexico City Temple. They will be having a broadcast here in the Stake Center in 2 weeks super excited for that. 
I have been studying the Book of Mormon in depth and I have been able to find some really great stuff. I love the scriptures. 
I have been able to have a lot more spiritual experiences this week. I have been fasting and praying a ton to be able to have a stronger spiritual influence and to be able to help the investigatores feel of that spirit. We have been able to feel that influence in our lives a lot stronger and literally felt guided to certian people who have clearly been prepared by the Lord. People that have asked us how did you know to come here and Knock on my door, in a moment when they had felt totally forgotten the Lord showed them his guiding light. I love that and it literally never gets old. I absolutely am a fan of missionary work. My testimony is so strong that I have been thinking about all of the opporotunities lost before my mission. But I have made promises and covenants with the Lord that I will never close my mouth. Look at Mosiah 18: 8-9 it says...
 "  And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—"

Te amo papi y ruego al Padre que les bendiga mucho. Cuídate mucho y se valiente.