Monday, November 25, 2013

Russell M. Nelson!

This week was probably the hardest of my whole mission. I learned SO much...but it was tough, because I had to learn these lessons in a hard way that will change me for good. One day I will tell you everything that happened, but in a nut shell I learned the Lord has a plan for everyone...and we must be humble, and drop our pride, and THEN he can help us.  THEN he will give us the peace that we need to carry on. "Doubt your doubts, before you doubt your faith." -President Utchdorf

One thing that was ABSOLUTELY amazing that happened this week is that Elder Russell M. Nelson, and Sister Nelson came to visit our mission!! They came with Elder Rasband, and the area president as well. The talks they gave were absolutely incredible. Sister Nelson is one of the most intelligent wonderful women I have ever met...and it was actually quite hysterical my experience with Elder Nelson...I walked up and shook his hand, and he looks me in the eyes, looks down at my name tag and says..."Elder Stone!"....I just smiled and he said..."Oh...excuse me...Sister Stone." HAHAHA. Also...I didn't have words so I just laughed and said..."Como esta?" Okay...seriously Carli? What country are you from? His wife said..."Where are you from?" And I laughed and said..."California." And that was it. It was pretty funny. But our mission president sent a bus down to Tacna...the 40 missionaries here got on the bus at 1:30am, and we arrived at 9am in Arequipa...just in time to see Elder Nelson.

This week was had a baptism that was completely prepared...we have an investigator who is awesome...his name is Christian, and he´s 20.  He wanted so badly to be baptized, and we had his interview and everything planned, but with our last minute trip to Arequipa for Elder Nelson we had to reschedule his baptismal interview for Saturday RIGHT before his baptism...unfortunately he had some past sins that he hadn't quite figured out, and he needs to have another interview with someone who has a few more priesthood keys. We had to go in and tell everyone waiting in the baptism that we are going to wait until next Saturday...it was tough, but he showed up for church yesterday with an even deeper desire to change...and I know that this will be a blessing for him.

I am learning this week...I am learning what the Lord wants for me, and I am learning that He knows better than I know my capacity. I know He loves me, and I know that through others He answers our prayers...I know that this is His work.  I know that this mission is hard because we grow.  The Lord can do this work on his own, but he calls us because He wants to teach us how to be more like Him and prepare us to be Gods too.  He sent His son for US.  He suffered so we could be happy and enjoy this life...no matter what trails we face.  "God be thanked for the matchless gift of his divine son."

I am thankful for all of you this Thanksgiving week.  Love you all!

Sister Carli Stone

PS. UNO! Yes...I won...twice. Here in Perú you can play a "red skip" on a "green four"....
no entiendo.



Monday, November 18, 2013

Shout out to Mike, Embarrassing moments and Christina!

Well...this world is smaller than I thought.

This week I was at lunch with a member and my companion and I was talking to this sister about my mission call, and some how it came up that I had a cousin who was born in Perù...we were talking about that and how it was such a blessing that Christina was adopted into the most amazing family, and how she is married and happy...and then this member looks at me and says..."What`s the name of your cousin?" I told her Christina Wood and she starts screaming...and come to find out...This sister is the family that Christina lived with when she lived in Perù for 4 months a few years ago...we both started screaming and jumping up and down in tears. Haha. We just sat and cried talking about Christina, and Kathy, and the changes that Christina had when she was living with this family...Janet Del Carpio. It was such a tender mercy to me that the Lord has a plan for everyone...who would have thought that this family would move to Tacna from Cusco...when I was serving my mission in Peru, in her ward. Wow! She showed me some pictures of Christina and her husband on facebook...and it was so fun to see how happy she is.

Yesterday we had a baptism...it was incredible, but SO stressful! Remember Alonso? He is the kid who never showed up for his baptism? Well...last Sunday he came to church...we talked to him for 5 minutes before he had to rush off to work, he told us that he was sorry about the last time and wanted to be baptized...and we set the date.  He said he had 1 hour on Sunday...our zone leader came, re-interviewed him, baptized him at 9:45, and 15 minutes later he was confirmed in sacrament meeting. I saw SUCH a change in him, and I know that he needs the gift of the holy ghost now more than ever in his life...and I love that I can be a part of this for him.

I gave a talk in church yesterday...but wait...you have to hear the most awkward story of my mission so far. HA!!! Okay...so I was standing up at the pulpit giving my talk, and I thought I felt my skirt flying up, but there are a bunch of fans so I just figured I was just feeling the air from the fans, and I was imagining things...about 20 seconds later one of the members of the stake presidency stood up and turned off the fans on the stand...and opened a window. Well...still in my spanish talking zone I didn`t think anything of it. Come to find out...my skirt was flying up like CRAZY because of the fans, and the entire bishopric and stake presidency were in the QUITE the shock. I am so glad I didn`t find out until after church...but seriously...how EMBARRASING!

This week was tough...I feel like every week is hard, but wonderful. I learned a lot this week about myself, and the changes that I still need to make in my life if I want to truly help others in the way that Lord has planned for me.  There are still so many people that I can help if I am humble and let the Lord guide me in the way I should go.  I love the Book of Mormon...no matter what language I read...I feel the spirit of God testify to me that it is true. "No wicked man could write such a book, and no good man would write it unless he was inspired of God, and commanded by Him to do so." -Jeffery R. Holland.

This church is true! Love you all!

Photos:

1) Plaza de armas in Tacna.

2) Baptism of Jhon last Saturday.


3) Relaxing on Pday...the only day we can sit down on a bench and enjoy the Peruvian wind.


PS. I would LOVE Christmas music if you could send it down...I promise I will play it!

Oh...PPS...MIKE DOYLE. I thought about you a ton this week...and I can't find your email...but you are loved here in Tacna, Perù. There is a white girl who is trying to speak Spanish down here praying for you!

Monday, November 11, 2013

Our Carli girl is 20!

Ah! Thank you again to everyone who sent me birthday wishes. I think I should probably tell you all how absolutely hilarious my birthday was. Like you said mom, "I will never have another birthday like this one again."  I have a picture of everything I ate on my birthday...and I am just going to be completely honest (bahaha..like I`m not always completely honest in my pathetic letters) I have never....NEVER eaten as much food as I ate on my birthday in one day. Do you understand what I am saying? Never...in 20 years eaten that much food. But the Peruvians show their love through food...entonces, no worries...because I am VERY loved here in Para Chico. Ha.

The day started with my tea (I knew I was going to have a feast so that`s all I ate).  My companion and I had 3 appointments and no one was home, so we treated ourselves to ice cream...(big mistake)  For lunch my pensionista made my favorite food...Ricoto Rellena. It`s like a red pepper (but super spicy) filled with meat, and onions and other yummy spices...baked in cheese. DELICIOUS. I'll send a picture.  She also bought my favorite soda. Then we went to a members house where she fed me...wait for it...hot chocolate with...FRUITCAKE!!! I tried so hard to be nice and eat it...and then almost threw up outside her house.

Afterwards we went to our mission leaders house for a meeting...and they had a birthday party for me! It was awesome. It was me, my companion, my mission leader, his mom, the stake president and his family, and the bishop. HAHAHAHA. When I got there they made me a cake...and brownies. So...of course I had to eat that too. (At this point I felt like the grinch when he`s getting stuffed to the brim with pudding and fruitcake and wants to throw up all over the who's at their Christmas party.)

Then...we went to our final appointment for the day...where my investigator made my OTHER favorite food thinking I was hungry (Loma Saltado...french fries with steak, tomatoes, onions and rice...except I don't like the rice...but of course I ate it) And...this is Jorge...this isn't a member...this is my investigator who I thought hated me...so of course I had to eat that too...but wait...his wife and him bought me a 40 DOLLAR CAKE TOO...and yes, they sang happy birthday with all their doctor friends from Lima, and I had to eat that too. When we left my companion and I looked at each other and just DIED laughing. Oh wait a second...I forgot. When I got home that night...my pensionista made me a cake too. Not a little slice...a HUGE cake. I'm sorry...this letter is probably so pathetic...but can you believe that? I didn't eat the next day cause I still felt sick from the day before. Haha. So...LONG story short....My birthday was great. I`m in my twenty's now sooo...I've started calling everyone jovencito. Ha.

Okay...the missionary stuff.
We had a baptism this week! I should probably start writing more about my investigators so it isn`t always a surprise when we baptize someone. Our baptism is named John and he has 19 years. He had a lot of problems in his life, and the remission of his sins was SUCH a blessing for him.

This week I had such a cool thought that I want to share with you all. I was studying this week about the light of Christ, and thinking about different sources of light...of course the first source of light that came into my mind was the sun.  The sun is the center of our solar system, and never moves. Everything moves AROUND the sun. And the same thing occurs in the church. The Savior is the center of our beliefs. He never moves...but everything we do, and believe, and know revolves directly around Him, His teachings and His sacrifice. Put Christ in the center of your life, and everything else will fall into place.
"Live in such a way, that those who don`t know Christ, but know you, will know Christ because they know you."

Love you all. Enjoy your week. I think about you all everyday, and pray for you and your happiness.

Xoxoxo,

Sister Carli Stone



Monday, November 4, 2013

Humility

Oh my goodness the entire world sent me a happy birthday wish email. I am so grateful to each and every one of you! THANK YOU THANK YOU everyone. Still waiting on the package Mom...We will see what happens. Hope I get it. Ha.

Arequipa was great. I learned a ton in our leadership counsel, and I am super motivated.  I know there is ALWAYS more I can be doing, I can always work a little harder to be a little better...and that is my goal for this month of November.

Also...this week was Halloween as you all know...I was the annoying gringo who had black and orange and yelled at everyone saying "Happy Halloween!" Unfortunately this isn't a very celebrated holiday here...but I was letting my inner Carli come out. I also told our who zone in our zone conference last week that we all get ipads...and they all believed me...it was awesome. Then I laughed super loud...and they all started throwing papers at me. I think my zone likes me...HA! I promise I am mature...but sometimes I just need to be myself. While I`m on this topic I told the ward counsel yesterday that I`m turning 32 this week...and I think they believed me too. Whoops.

This week my companion and I heard some sad news about our investigator Jorge, that he can`t get married quite yet cause his wife is still waiting on papers for a divorce of her first marriage. We were pretty upset cause this guy is READY. We were teaching him the word of wisdom the other day and he said to me..."Wait...is this some sort of diet or something?" Ha...He is also a DJ, and his name is DJ Black. How hilarious is that? But no...I am learning A LOT of humility with this man. It is so hard for me to just say to the Lord..."we will do anything you would like us to do. We will work towards baptism with him...if this is YOUR will." I know that is what I am lacking...and I just need to humble myself and realize that God has a plan for him...and I can`t try and change that plan so I am happy.

Lastly...yesterday in sacrament meeting this crazy man from the ward stood up to bare his testimony and said..."I would like to bare my testimony in English and dedicate it to our lovely missionary sister stone." The Bishop was busting up laughing and I turned BRIGHT red. The funniest part is that this guy is FLUENT. He has some mental problems...but he spent like 10 years studying English and can speak perfectly. It was great! At least some one likes me.

Love you all,
Carli girl





(My birthday cake: Tres Leches)