Week 51: Tuesday May 27, 2014

Family,

   I am writing you all with a heavy heart. I enjoyed everybody's emails this week & the pictures were wonderful, but my eyes are filled with tears knowing that Weston is in critical condition. I'm not exactly sure what to say. As I sit here, all I can do is think about the trials & struggles that the Cummings' family has been given. Hunter is best friend that I could ever ask for. He has helped me through so many hard times & doubts. I feel an immeasurable amount of gratitude towards him & his family. I feel bad that I did not know his father very well. I heard nothing but incredible things about him & it really shows by the way the rest of their family lives. Liz has a heart of gold & I can't even imagine the pain that she is going through right now. I think about why people like them are given such heavy trials. I think of how hard & painful it must be, but as I think more about it, I believe that Heavenly Father gives the toughest trials to the strongest people. That family is the most spiritual, positive, & loving family that I have ever known. While we sometimes don't understand why we are given the situations that we are, we must understand & believe that God does. He tests our faith & tries even the righteous. I will pray hard for Weston & the rest of their family. I hope that you will all do the same. 

   As I continue to think about their situation, I am reminded of a scripture in the Book of Mormon. I have been studying this chapter for the last few days & I feel prompted to share it with you all. Mosiah 23:21-22 reads: "Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith. Nevertheless - whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day..." I know that this is a very faith testing time for the Cummings', & I have no doubt that no matter what the Lord sees fit to do, they will be faithful & blessed because of the trust & love that they have in God. 

   Well, other than that I don't know what else to say. This week truly has been an amazing week & we have seen so many miracles in our area. I woke up so happy this morning. I thought about my life before my mission. One thing that I could not do & wished that I could was wake up happy. I always woke up with some sort of feeling of regret, sadness, anger, etc. I finally found the antidote. 

   I love you all. I'm sorry I'm not being more specific this letter; my thoughts are elsewhere right now. Thank you again for the letters & pictures...I love them so much!

Elder Staheli

Week 50: Tuesday May 20, 2014

Family,

   Some weeks are harder than others, in terms of the work, while others you seem to be unstoppable! Well, this week has been a really tough week, but at the same time many miracles have occurred & I have seen the hand of the Lord in this work. Never at any point in my mission, that I can remember, have I had a day or two that I have not taught a single lesson. These last two days, me & Elder Harris have had to work extremely hard to find people to teach. On Monday, we literally walked from about noon until 7 pm looking for appointments & found none! We tried 7 different places & either they weren't home, they were busy, or they just didn't want to listen. We were able to teach 1 lesson that day, the very last place that we tried after walking around the city all day. Yesterday, not much was different. We started out under the blazing hot sun & found no success for the first 3 or 4 hours. After talking to people & knocking a few doors, we both felt prompted to find a quite place to say a prayer. We had no idea where to go or who to teach, so we left it in the hands of He he knows all. About 15 minutes after we said "amen", we were blessed to find a man & teach him the gospel. We taught him about the Book of Mormon & gave him a copy. He seemed very interested & excited to read! After that, we returned to the temple & did one of my favorite things: A temple tour. Occasionally, since we are right by the temple, we are able to teach people at the temple. It is such an incredible experience seeing the way people react the feeling of the spirit on temple grounds. We are even allowed to take them inside the temple, into the waiting area & allow them to feel the peace & spirit that is inside the temple. The young man that we toured shared with us the feeling of peace & comfort that he had. He told us that we wants to go to church & learn more. We were also blessed with a few other great lessons later that night.

   I felt impressed to share this with you for some reason. As I have pondered over these last few days & thought about why we have seemed to have so many struggles in the work, I can't help but feel that the Lord has given us these challenges to remind us that He is in charge. We cannot do anything without Him. "As to my strength, I am weak". These last few days have been very humbling & I am so grateful for the challenges that we have faced. I see how I am being prepared for much greater challenges that may arrive later in life. This is such a wonderful time to learn, grow, & experience how to deal with everything that life might throw at you. While I was walking in the scorching heat, sweating out of every pour in my body, I couldn't help but look up, smile, & laugh. This is the happiest that I have ever been in my life.

   Thank you all so much for the wonderful letters that I receive each week. I'm sorry that I don't get to write you all personal letters as often as I would like to, but I will try & make more time to do so in the future. I love you all so much & am so grateful for your help & support!

Elder Staheli

Week 49: Tuesday May 13, 2014

Family,

   It was so great to see you all, even if it was only for an hour or so! It makes me so happy to see you all happy & doing well. At the same time, it kills me to see how big the kids are getting. I can't wait to get home & play with them all the time! I know that it was a little busy, but I am so grateful for the chance that I had to speak with you all. Let's do it again in 7 months! 

   This week has been so much fun! Me & Elder Harris have been working super hard & I am really enjoying the responsibilities of being a zone leader. It is such an awesome way to get to know the missionaries & serve them. I am so happy whenever I see somebody gain understanding or hearing that someone has been effected in a positive way because of something that I said or did. My area is awesome as well! It's incredibly different being in the city, but it's been quite enjoyable. Also, having more food options is never something to complain about! 

   Yesterday we had our MLC & it was incredible! It started at 9:00 am & President Schmutz gave us a wonderful workshop on faith. His workshops are always so spiritual & intelligent. We were then privileged to have lunch up at the mission home. We had chili in huge bread bowls. Even though I am not a huge fan of chili, I gave it a shot & it turned out to be quite delicious! Afterwards, we had ice cream & some hot, home made peach pie. I felt like I was in America. I guess I was in the next closest place, the Schmutz' home.

   Afterward, we went back down to the chapel & the AP's gave us a workshop. I am so excited. They are really emphasizing to us as leaders of the mission right now to bring the excitement back into the work. The mission is doing great, it's just kind of flat. Me & Elder Harris are both very upbeat & positive people, so we are really looking forward to bringing some positive energy into the zone & mission! 

   Lastly, we attended the temple last night. It was my first time back & it was such an amazing feeling! The temple was great before, but going back after everything that has happened & with all of the ways that I have grown, the feeling was indescribable. It is truly heaven on earth.

   Well, that has been my week. I am really excited to teach the workshops to the missionaries in our zone tomorrow. I feel like they will respond really well & rekindle their excitement about the work. Again, it was so nice to talk to you. I miss & love you all!

Elder Staheli

Week 48: Tuesday May 6, 2014

Family,

   Well, get ready for an information packed e-mail! First & foremost, it's almost Mother's day! Which of course means that I get to see you all again! It's so strange. It really feels like it was only a few weeks ago that we spoke to one another. Regardless, I am so excited to speak with you all. However, let me warn you ahead of time that this call is going to be much shorter, only about 45 minutes to an hour. Here is the plan: I am going to call get online on Monday around 8 am MY time. That means that it will be Sunday around 6 pm YOUR time. Do not be late because we have district meeting that same morning so we can't afford to have any mess-ups because there are no do overs! Just plan on doing it like we did last time. I will get on google hangout & speak with each of you. That seemed to work well last time because everyone was able to join in. I would still love it if you all are able to join in this call again, but I guess if you are busy there's always Christmas. If you have any questions, e-mail me RIGHT AWAY!

   Now that we have that out of the way, I can tell you about my week. I think that I mentioned in my last letter that transfer calls were this week. This transfer has been so great! I have opened up a new area, I have been a district leader, & I have loved my companion! I feel so grateful for everything that I have been blessed with & all of these opportunities that I have had to grow & really "find myself". I'm sure you are all curious so I guess I'll just tell you that I am only making a pit stop here in Guihulngan as a district leader, because I am the newest Cebu mission zone leader! I am so excited! I am transferring back to Cebu to an area called Kamputhaw. I am excited for a number of reasons.

   First, I am so grateful to serve in this new way. I am very much looking forward to growing in ways that I have not been able to in the past. With new responsibility comes new challenges, & challenges make weak things become stronger! I don't want you have the impression that I am "puffed up in pride". Actually, it's quite on the contrary. I feel so humbled that the Lord & President Schmutz have such great trust in me to fill this spot & to serve the missionaries & people in this way.

   Next, I know my new companion & I am SO excited to be with him! His name is Elder Harris. I have sent pictures home of him before. He is from California & is the epitome of a laid-back, California surf kid. However, he was my zone leader when I was assigned in Bais & he is the exact opposite in this work. He is an incredibly hard worker & gives it everything that he has. In all honesty, I have been hoping my entire mission that we would be companions. And now we are!

   Lastly, my new area is literally across the street from the temple & mission office. First of all, I am excited to go back to Cebu. I have been on Negros for more than half of my mission & I have loved every second of it! However, there isn't much over here. In the city there is McDonald's, KFC, things to do, etc. It's going to be nice to get some real food again. Also, as a zone leader, we have MLC (missionary leader conference) every month. President gives us workshops, we get to see every zone leader in the entire mission, & Sister Schmutz cooks for us in the mission home! I'm talking about real food. She cooks American food. One time, she made a Cafe Rio pork salad. I can't wait. But the thing that I am most excited about is I finally get to attend the temple! We are going for MLC next week & we may have another one sometime this transfer. It's been almost a year since the last time I was able to attend the temple. I really miss it & am so grateful to be going back.

   Also, I just uploaded lots of pictures so go & check them out! I can't wait to see you all in a few days! I love you guys.

Elder Staheli