Come what may and love it!

Hermana Stoor,

I am glad to read that you are excited for another 6 weeks in Los Naranjos. My thoughts had been to make a change, but as I started finalizing things I felt the impression that the two of you needed additional time together. So work like crazy with time you have. And keep looking for another house. I'm confident you will find something soon.

Pdte. Spjut

Recieved this note from President Spjut this week....I almost got out of Los Naranjos. hahaha 

Its been a good/hard week as always here in Los Naranjos. As we talked with our president of the branch this week he said that he is just not sure what more can come our way here, but I have faith after all the struggles, it is going to be something amazing. I try to always think about the good things that are happening and there are alot. We have some really good investigators and we have a few members that this week said they can work with us. So we are going to take advantage of the good things and hopefully reach our goals. Sometimes I feel like we cant work any harder that we have been, and at the end of the week when we see a drop in the numbers, I just want to cry. I know its not about the numbers but I want to reach our goals so badly. I am praying this week that we will find the way to overcome the boundaries in our area so we can reach them. I know the Lord hears my prayers. And I know He will prepare the way. I know He can do it all when we drop everything and work for Him. I saw a video this week that talked about Peter when the Lord asked him to drop his nets and follow Him. Elder Holland said he imagined the Lord saying something like this, "Peter, what I need are disciples and I need them forever. I need someone who will feed my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do." Sometimes I feel like I can understand alot who was Peter. The Lord has called me to be better, to love him more, to work harder, to leave my nets many times. And sometimes I don't know why I struggle so much to just do it. I love the Lord with all my heart and I want to make the change this week. I love what He has commissioned me to do. I love the people in El Salvador and I want that every single one of them can feel what I feel every day for this gospel. A disciple of Christ leaves his nets. He follows Him. And leaves everything to do it, because he truly loves Him will all his heart.  I want to be a disciple. So I'm going to leave my nets, my cares, my sadness, my struggles behind so I can do it. I want to be better. I want to reach my goals and I want to do all that He needs me to do and more. I wished I would have seen it earlier in my mission, but I am glad the Lord helped me to see it this week. 

This last week, we have hit lots of new walls, lots of new struggles, but I am just going to keep being happy for the little things:

1. This week we had a family of investigators come to church....the first time in all of my mission.

2. This week we felt good the whole week....I love not being sick.

3. This week we are going to have interviews with President!

4. This week I got all of my laundry washed, folded and put away....its a miracle right Mom???

5. This week I made my first real goal in soccer....after 10 months. They didn't let me win....I won by myself! 

There's little miracles every day....We just have to learn to recognize them right? :) Don't worry Mom and Dad....I really am okay although this list was a little lame. Every struggles makes me better ;) I hope you have a great week! If you haven't sent my package I know what I want....homemade chex mix....if you have time :) haha  Love you all! Have a great week and don't forget....the Lord lives! Hurrah for Israel!!!!!!

Hermana Stoor

6 weeks more...:)

Get ready for picture overload!!!!

​A little bit of bonding as a district this past Monday...my companion has me addicted to this game....but as you can see I lost...

I LOVE MY COMPANION. I am so happy we are going to have one more change together!  

This is the picture I wanted to send for my 9 month mark....9 more months until my prince charming. hahaha baggyyyy.

​We went hiking a little after our district meeting on Tuesdayy....You can see Juayua behind me close to the mountains :)

Our last day (we thought) as a district....Elder Channell (gringo) is the only one leaving. Another change in Los Naranjos!

The kids are just soooooooooooooo cute here. 

​Thursday night dinner with Nelson, Javier and Presidente Walter. PUPUSAS!!!!!!!

 ​We have been swimming in corn all week preparing for the branch activity...FESTIVALES DE MAIZ!

​We made tamales de elote all day on Saturday they were sooooooo good! 

​Just a corny actividad :)

​The people here in El Salvador know how to eat corn...mustard (which i actually like now), ketchup, mayonessa and cheese. ELOTES LOCOS

We were like high school kids with our picture taking this week...Lider misional Nelson. 

​This is Melissa! She is the sweetest person in the whole ward and is already good friends with everyone in the branch...She's getting baptized the 10th of September!!!

 ​Here's the house...dirty because today is our cleaning day...but here it is...the princess house of the mission. :)

​I wasn't kidding...its a castle. 

​My little friend from las cruces :)

​Making Sunday dinner....more PUPUSAS!!!!

Just one more because we are cute :)

​Also......this is from the last change...but Hermana Gamarra and I made it on the top 5 list of the baptisms...we are pretty cool :) 

This week was a really good week for us in Los Naranjos. I never thought I would say it, but I am really excited to have another change here in Los Naranjos. I am so excited to be here to help the members, and to keep teaching the investigators we have right now. I am also grateful for the chance to be with Hermana Romero for another change. We are going to set some goals today for what we want to do better this change and then work to reach them. We have some really really good investigators right now that are not only reading, but loving The Book of Mormon. I think I told you all a little about Jose Roberto last week, but he is 52 and we found him as we were contacting one day. We have been visiting him for a few weeks now and he is reading almost 5 chapters between each one of our visits. I have found that The Book of Mormon is the key to conversion...so its the best thing I could ask for! This week we also talked with him about the word of wisdom and before we could even invite him to keep this commandment, he said he was going to see what he could do to change his bad habits. We have set a few goals with him this week and I am looking forward to setting a baptismal date with him this week. We have been visiting him with several different members and I think they are starting to get more excited to work with us as they have also seen the potential that he has. So this change, I am hoping we can work more with the members....they make the miracles happen! After struggling for 3 changes here in this area, I am starting to see again the miracles that the Lord is placing in our lives. Just when I thought that I couldn't do any more, the Lord started sending me lots of big blessings.  And I am so grateful that He loves me enough to give me the opportunity to be here and teach these people for 6 more weeks. I have been pondering alot what the assistants said in our last meeting, "You don't see miracles, you do them." And my goal this transfer is to make the miracles happen, work in every minute that I can and be what the Lord needs me to be. I just want to serve the Lord and make him happy, nothing else. Hurrah for one more change in Los Naranjos!!!!! 

Have a great week! Thanks for all the pics and stories..Shelb, I hope you have a great first week! Love you so much! Mom, send me lots and lots of pics from everything that has to do with the temple. I hope you enjoy it so much. And good luck to all at work this week :) Take care!

Love you all!

Hermana Stoor

IM SO GRATEFUL FOR THE MIRACLES

This week was full of trials but many many happy moments. I am so grateful to be here in Los Naranjos and be with Hermana Romero. I am grateful for the challenges the Lord has been putting us through in this area. I cant say it has been easy, but I am grateful for everything that I have been learning. I feel like a new person because of this area.  I am also so grateful for the changes that we have seen in this last week as we have been searching more for the good things in this area. We have been able to visit more members this week and I think things are going to get better here in our branch. This week we are going to have two more activities and I am hoping we can animate the members to visit some of our investigators that we have right now. 

We have so many investigators that this week started to make more progression. We are teaching a man named Jose Roberto that I am hoping we can set a date with this week. The first time we went to his house, we taught about the Book of Mormon and how Jesus Christ came to the Americas to teach his ancestors. He was so happy. He told us that his heart filled with joy when we shared this story with him. We left him a Book of Mormon on Saturday of last week and invited him to read the introduction, but when we went back on Monday, he had read all of the beginning pages and was starting in 1 Nefi. He always has really really good questions and is making alot of progress. We have been focusing in prayer alot more in our lessons this week and he finally was able to realize the importance of prayer and even started following our example in his way of saying his prayers. 

We have another investigator named Melissa Rodriguez. She came to church this week after 3 weeks of waiting for her! She is so excited to be here. She told us that when she walked in the doors of the chapel she felt so much peace in her heart. She has her own set of trials to overcome, but we had a lesson with her after church and were able to resolve some of them. She told us that she wanted to wait until December to move out of the house of her boyfriend and be baptized. We explained to her about repentance and how good she is going to feel and explained that God isn't happy when we wait to repent, that he invites us to do it now. We invited her to prepare for the 10th of September and say a prayer to ask God if she should set this goal. After she prayed we knelled in silence for 2-3 minutes and she told us, "Hermanas, I think I would like to do it that day." We were overfilled with happiness. We bore our testimonies and she told us she will talk to her spouse this week. It always amazes me how the holy ghost can work through us when we invite him to be there. I had a thought come to my mind during our lesson with her that I wanted to read her the scripture that says that the Lord doesn't remember anymore our sins when we repent, but didn't know where it was at. I looked in the guide to the scriptures under repentance and was not able to find it, but I still felt very strongly the impression to share it. So, I said a prayer and opened my scriptures without knowing where it was at and opened right to D&C 58:42. When I opened them, it was the first scripture that I saw, even though it was unmarked and i had no idea where to look. After having her read the scripture, I felt so strongly the spirit and it was in that very moment that we invited her to pray. i am so grateful for the little miracles that we see every day and grateful for the help that you have given us to see them. I feel that this week can only get better. 

I will let you know next week about transfers.I don't think president is planning on changing me but we will see next lunes what he has in mind. Good luck this week at work and good luck shelb as you move out! I know how you feel. Stay strong and just remember...be you and be happy. The trials are going to come your way...but be positive, patient and love your roommates for who they are. Hang on tight to the church and you will be just fine...God will help you through. Love you Shelb! And Dad...take care of mom...I wish I was there so she doesn't have to be alone. :) haha Stay strong Mom! Good luck Mara in your classroom...let me know when you start school....and good luck Seth in work and whatever else you do...write me sometime when you feel like it :) haha Love you all and I will talk to you next week! 

Hermana Stoor

​Ate fried fish this week three times...eyeballs and all....just thought I would send you a photo. Also, heres my mom in Los Naranjos...she takes good care of us every day for lunch and for basically anything we need. (Hna. Adela Aguilar)

​I´m going to miss the days of cold weather in Los Naranjos...and how beautiful it is! It may be the hardest area in the mission in regards of the work....but its the most beautiful there is! 

​Here's the best picture I could get of the chapel...

​This is the house....I will send real pictures next week ;)

​Hermana Romero got a new companion this week....isn't she beautiful?

​A picture with my district leader to see who was taller... Hes from Idaho too! 

​One day I will have my own picture with Hermano Miguel...but here's one of Hermana Guzman and him. He is a recent convert that just got out of a 5 month stay in the hospital. They amputated both of his legs...but he has been able to come to church the last two weeks...he has the strongest testimony and shows everyone that there is absolutely no excuse to not come to church. I have come to love him so much! 

After a very long, hard week, it was so good to read your letters! Thank you so much for the support that you all always give me. If you are reading this letter, I love you. I hope Mom and Dad that you enjoy your trip and that you send me pictures of the big surprise! And I hope to see Dad`s picture with the behinds of those horses :) I cant tell you how much I wish I was there to help you all with the wood as well ;) haha There are just a few things that are fun to miss while your on the mission :) 

With so many hard things passing over the last few weeks, I felt very discouraged this week, but yesterday we received a visit from President and Hermana Spjut and they gave me all the comfort I needed. It is amazing how your leaders know when you need them most. My companion and I were both really sick this week. She is seeing the same symptoms that I had when I went to the hospital the last time and I was sick with bronchitis. There was also a tropical storm that came in our area this week, so Hermana Spjut banned us to bed rest. I didn't realize until this week just how much I love to work. I felt horrible just sitting in the house and got myself pretty discouraged. I think it gave me too much time to think about all the problems in the branch and all of the trials we have had here in this area. When I came here in this area, everyone in the mission was patting me on the back and told me how horrible it was. I have tried to make the best of it and I am really grateful for the opportunity to serve in Los Naranjos. I loved my first area because I learned to love the people and the culture. I love this area because its taught me to be a better missionary and person. I feel that I have hit every trial I could here and I have felt in times that I just cant do more but I know my afflictions have not been anything compared to what others have sacrificed for this work. As I prayed last night, I thought of this scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 122: 7-8 "And if thou shouldst be cast in the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?" It then gives us an invitation. "Therefore, hold on thy way." The mission is hard, but I have already learned in these 9 months more than I had learned in my lifetime and I know it is because of the trials I am facing. So, I'm going to hold on my way and hold on to my Savior more.  I know He is with me and I know he is happy with my work and that's enough for me. 

This week was a hard week because we were sick, but as we talked last night, my companion and I felt the same, that this week is going to be a week of miracles. I feel like something big is coming for us, whether its a trial or a blessing, it is the same. President Spjut helped us to realize how beautiful the struggles really are and I am excited to see what this week brings us. So...my time is almost up...but here are just a few of the happy things :)

1. I love my companion. Hermana Romero and I are the best of friends. We haven't even fought one time. We work together really really well....and are hoping for another change together!

2. This week, although we were only able to leave the house 2 day, we found 2 of those people they call the "chosen ones" who are ready to receive the gospel.

3. I got a ton of compliments on my spanish this week. Woo hoo! Finally am starting to perfect my accent thanks to my good companion and good converts. 

 A picture from the morning...we are back from the dead!

​Just a picture to show you how we passed the time...sleeping...eating...reading...and UNO. :)

Love you all! Be safe, have fun and I will talk to you next week! 

Hermana Stoor

Hopefully this letter will be a little longer this week. I have alot to say to President Spjut so you might just have to be patient :) hahaha But I will do my best!

It was a good, but long week in Los Naranjos. I can hardly believe I'm half way through my mission. It has all gone by so fast. I never want to finish my mission. There is nothing better than being here to help these people. I love them ssssoooooooooo much. It was a rough week with the members...they don't want to repent or work in the branch. And they just spend all of their time together fighting....really bad...I had to raise my voice....more than you ever should in the church building. But  we are going to work alot with the president of the branch this week and do all we can to take care of the branch and our investigators. 

 

We found lots of good people this week and are loving working together! I love my new companion and am so pleased with the successes we have been seeing. We received a text from President Spjut this week that said something like this...in English..." Your leaders in your zone just told me that you are doing a good work in your area. Last week you accepted a goal of 4 people progressing in your area and met this goal. Good job and thank you for showing everyone that we can meet hard goals when we are diligent and when we trust in the grace of the Lord." I just pray that we can keep seeing these successes. We are not planning another baptism until the 20th of August but I am more happy with the little successes that we see every day. I love the Lord and I am more willing that ever to work hard in His work. And I know that through diligence, obedience and hard work we are going to see many more miracles! I love you all and pray that this week will be good to you all! I will talk to you all next week!

​9 pupusas...for 9 months in the mission......I WAS SO SICK:::BUT IT WAS SO WORTH IT: 

​I LOVE EL SALVADOR.

​And this dog loves me.....always runs for my lap as soon as I sit down...makes me miss Lily.