Holes in My Shoes While You Lounge on the Beach

Hello you lovely party family. I can’t lie and say this last few days has been easy knowing you’re all at the Beach House this week. Ah...favorite place in the world! Loved your picture of the family... the Stone family is so good looking! I’m sure Katelyn made some cute little lovey-dovey remark about how the family isn’t as good looking without her smoking hot husband. Haha. 

So this week I spent most of my time trying to figure out my new area, the investigators, each of their specific needs, and how my broken Spanish and random talents can help each of them.  Yesterday I had a nice little confidence boost when the ward found out I played the piano. They have a piano in the chapel and have never used it. So after sacrament meeting I felt like a celebrity and was swarmed by the members. They also have never had a white sister in this area so I really felt like an alien from another planet. They just stared at me and touched my hair and it was hilarious; I loved it! Haha. 

We have one investigator here in Independencia named Gonzalo. He had a fecha (date) for this last Saturday for baptism and called and canceled. He said the reason was because his parents were on vacation and wanted to attend; so he asked if we could change it to next week. It was tough, but my companion and I decided that we needed to pray about what we should do. After we finished, we looked at each other and my companion said, "I feel good about next week. I don’t know why, but I think it’s going to be okay." We both had such a strong feeling of peace. I’m going to skip what happened next and come back to it. Later on we went to his house and picked him up for a lesson at the stake president’s house. I honestly and truly am so grateful for his decision to postpone his baptism because if he hadn’t we wouldn’t have had this lesson. It was so awesome! When we started, I felt really strongly that I should talk to him about the atonement; so I explained to him that the atonement can be used for more than just repenting of our sins. It was truly inspired because he went on to ask more about the atonement. Then we watched the movie Finding Faith in Christ, and the spirit was SO strong. I just sat there crying and didn’t even know how to bare testimony after the moment we had. But somehow Spanish came out of my mouth and I testified of the power of the atonement. He was nearly crying. It was so special. Gonzalo is 18 years old and looks like a total punk, but has SUCH a strong testimony. I am so excited for his baptism next week. He asked me to sing in English. I’ll see what I can do. Haha.

So, quickly, back to Saturday. Haha. Oh my gosh! This is just so hysterical. Heavenly Father has the best sense of humor. I can’t wait to get up to heaven and crack jokes with Him. So, after we had received the news that Gonzalo wasn’t going to be baptized we grabbed our stuff and headed out to another little town in our area called Villa Ecologica. Now, let me tell you about villa: It is straight up Peru...like...exactly how you would picture Peru. Dirt roads; no plumbing; it is sweet! I love this new area because I feel like I’m actually in Peru. People don’t have TVs, or cars or anything...just dogs. It´s so much cooler than my first area. So on Saturday we were standing on the edge of this cliff knocking on a door of an investigator who was CLEARLY home and purposely not answering the door. In the blazing heat, I looked down and realized that the reason my feet hurt so bad was because I had rocks in my shoes because there were HOLES in my shoes. Plus, there were two nasty dogs sniffing my legs. Then I had a thought of the beach house pop into my head: everyone sitting around on the deck listening to music, laying out in their swimsuits and I literally just started LAUGHING! I can honestly say that I don’t remember the last time I was that happy. My companion was so confused...and so was I. I was trying to explain why in the heck I was so happy, but I seriously LOVE this country. I love these people with all my heart and I love being a missionary. I will only get this chance once and I want to look back on my mission and remember it being the best time of my life.

Love you all! Enjoy the sunshine and the ocean! I hope I can be back for the beach house next year. I will let you know when I find out when the transfers are in August next year. 

Xoxoxo,

Hermana Carli Stone

Here are some pictures. 

PS. I'm not fat. I promise. Haha. I just look GIANT!

How cute is my companion though. We have matching backpacks. Ha.

THIS is the bathroom??

Hey family! Well...this week was kind of crazy! We had changes yesterday and when we got our call in the morning, we received some some sad news that both Hermana Chàvez and I had changes. So I am no longer in Gràficos and I am soo sad. Plus, I’m missing my companion like crazy.  Here is the WEIRDEST part. I got transferred to the other area with sisters in the SAME zone I was in before. My zone leaders said they had never heard of that ever happening. So these next few months my job is to figure out why I’m here in Selva Alegre...because I am obviously needed here in this area. 

My new area is HUGE and has another set of missionaries. It should be interesting with two sets in the same ward. So the issue with my area being so big is that my companion (who...oh my goodness is the SWEETEST girl in the whole world) is just here until her visa comes. She’s from Lima, and her mission is actually Bolivia, Cocabomba. I’m freaking out a little bit cause her visa could come any day now...and I know nothing about this new area. Plus, let me tell you about the BATHROOM. It is a complete joke. I literally laughed when I saw it cause I thought they were kidding. I stood there looking at the bathroom laughing and my zone leader was laughing too. So, I thought it was some hysterical joke they were playing on me. Come to find out my zone leader was laughing AT ME. It is probably the size of a shower at home but it has a toilet. Oh. There’s no door...and the toilet doesn’t flush. Haha. I was living at the Ritz before with the Patriarch. But, it will be okay. I am going to learn a lot. I’m not sure what I am going to learn from this but I’m sure I will look back and be grateful for this experience.

It was a lot harder to leave my area in Gràficos than I thought. Hermana Chàvez and I cried almost everyday last week. Haha. Yes. I’m back in my crying stage...and I probably will be until I can figure out my new area. Ha. Last week we had an awesome lesson with one of our investigators. We told her how much we were going to miss her, and she BROKE DOWN sobbing and told us how much we had changed her life and brought light into her home and her family. We all just sat there crying together. It was so sweet. And I realized that is why I’m here.

Things here are tough for me. But, everyday I am SO blessed with strength from the other side and I know without a doubt in my mind that the Lord is helping me. It’s interesting because usually, at least once everyday, I have this feeling of "What the heck am I doing? This is way too hard!" followed by an overwhelming feeling of peace that just says, "You can do this. You were set apart and called by a prophet of God to be here." What a blessing. My daily tender mercy!

Miss you all so much. Can’t believe you’re going to the beach house this week. I’m gonna miss you all so much! Enjoy it! And enjoy trek Mom and Dad and Summer. That is one of my favorite memories. Don’t be negative Sum. I know you won’t be, but just be happy and give everything you have to feel the spirit of the pioneers and what they all experienced! And keep praying for me. Haha. Love you all!

Xoxoxo,

Sister Carli Stone

Vacation!!!

Hello! Hello! Yes, I'm alive. Sorry about the heart attack! I had "vacations" this week. I’ll explain about that later. Firstly and most importantly...

LUCIA WAS BAPTIZED THIS WEEK! Last Tuesday our zone leaders came with us to talk to her and make sure she wanted to get baptized.  We aren’t supposed to teach together with the elders so we left and went to visit a member real fast to use their bathroom (classic Hermana Chavez) and then when we got back one of the elders was sitting outside her house reading his scriptures and we were like..."Hey...where’s your companion? Why are you alone?" and he was like..."Well, she’s ready for baptism so my companion is interviewing her right now." Well, she passed! Hermana Chavez and I cried. J Her baptism was on Saturday and it was the sweetest thing in the world. My companion and I sang "When I am Baptized" in Spanish for her because they never have musical numbers or anything at their baptisms. So they were all shocked. Anyway, that was the biggest highlight of the week.

Next...my vacation. This is hysterical. So, Saturday night I was on the phone with my zone leader talking about the confirmation the next day for our baptism and he says, "Oh! Sister Stone, you have vacations tomorrow! You are going to Lima for your visa!" So, Sunday afternoon after church, my zone leaders drove me to the airport with a few others (including Hermana Dahl, who I love) and we flew to Lima and stayed at a hotel. The next morning drove to immigration where we spent ALL day...but I am legal now. I have a card and everything. Last night we were supposed to come home and of course, what happens? Our flight gets canceled...so 11 missionaries were just waiting in the Lima airport last night. Haha. We called the personal assistant of the president and he told us what to do and where to go. They got us new tickets and another night in the hotel and we went BACK to where we were for the night. It felt like a college road trip gone wrong or something. It was quite the adventure. BUT...we made it back. 2 pieces of pizza, 2 Mcflurries, 4 donuts, a piece of cake, crème brule, and lots more food later...I’m back in my area. I had to get all the American food while I could. We were pretty stoked about the food thing.

Anyway, that’s why I am writing today. Besides the baptism of Lucia this week was just filled to the brim with WORK. And I loved it! Being in Lima and not working for 3 days was so much harder than I thought! I’m so happy to be back and ready to get to work. I am loving my time here in the mission! It gets better with each day…and my Spanish is really starting to get better. Unfortunately, I miss you guys like CRAZY but I know that is part of it. That is one of the biggest trials for me on my mission.

Enjoy my pictures. Lucia is ADORABLE...love her to death.

The other picture is from Lima, and the other is a picture of my zone. They are so awesome!

American Independence Day in Peru

Family! What a fun fourth of July you guys had in Tahoe. Such a classic Stone Independence day! 

My 4th of July here was super special. I wore my red, white and blue, and we had a conference with our new mission president. It was actually quite hilarious...he is the coolest guy, and his sweet wife speaks about 3 words in Spanish, but their spirit and desire to serve is so strong! We sang the Battle Hymn of the Republic and I got to play the piano so I was super excited about that! They spent time showing us about 50 pictures of their family, and all the crazy fun adventures they have gone on in their life with their family. Boating, hiking, traveling...you name it! My zone leader and I were nearly in tears with all their pictures of Lake Powell, Hawaii, and all the American things they have done. Haha. 

I had a chance to talk a little bit with my mission president this morning and he said I should come with my companion and bring cookies and spend some time with his wife. Haha. I think we will pencil that little visit in our planners this week. 

This week was kind of a blur to be completely honest...I dont remember much of what happened. We only had one investigator at church which was tough, but she is so sweet, her name is Lucia...she is 12 and her mom died of cancer about 4 months ago so she lives with her aunt who is CRAZY...and her grandpa who is super abusive. Her aunt is actually a member of the church, but wasnt letting Lucia come to church or be baptized or anything because she is catholic...so this week we had a lovely little chat with her aunt about baptism and how if she knows the church is true she will give permission for Lucia to be baptized too...after the talk she agreed to bring her to church...and she did. We are thinking that in the next few weeks Lucia will be baptized, she needs that light in her life.

We have these other two investigators Marco y Elvira...they are so awesome and ready for baptism...BUT they arent married. It is so sad, because they keep ALL of their compromisos, and they are both reading the Book of Mormon every day, and praying too. SO...this week they told us that they have plans to get married at the end of July, and they want to be baptized after. WOO!! My companion and I were trying so hard not to just scream with joy...but when we left their house we did! haha. Every time we leave their house they said "See you tomorrow!" Which is funny because we dont visit them everyday, but they are seriously so awesome. 

Anyway...thats about it for this week.

The church is true! I love you all from the bottom of my heart and think about you and pray for you daily! 

Ps...I sent about 25 letters off last week that I have written since I got to this country so...if you have written me and haven't heard back yet...PREPARE yourself for a lovely letter from Sister Stone. HA!

Xoxoxoxo

Carli

4 months

Well...this week my companion and I had what they call here "tronquitis aguda"..hahaha. We were both sick with who KNOWS what, and as we layed in our beds at night coughing our lungs out, unable to sleep, we were both TRUNKY TRUNKY! Haha...when we both woke up on Friday horribly sick my companion said to me, "I miss my mom!!" (in English) I'm proud of her. She's learning so fast!  But even though we were sick, we knew that we needed to work...and Friday was one of the best days of my missions so far. We taught 6 lessons, got 5 new investigators...AND...we got invited to mutual for TACOS with the Young Women. I'm sure you all remember how much I love Tacos. It was so wonderful to eat Tacos again. One thing I think is pretty fun is that they have Mutual on Friday nights from 8 until 10pm. Talk about a good way to keep the youth on the straight and narrow. All their friends are Mormon...sounds like my life. Haha.

On Friday we felt prompted to go and talk with a young boy that we contacted a few weeks ago in the street. When we got to his house he didn't have much time to talk so we taught our lesson at the door. Come to find out, he had investigated the church a few years ago, and had been to church like 3 or 4 times. He may not have been prepared then, but he is now! I have so much faith in this kid. His name is Diego. He will be baptized by the end of August...I know it!

Also, remember Marco and Elvira? Okay...I love these people so darn much! They are the sweetest couple and I just want SO badly for them to get baptized! EVERY time we visit they let us in...without fail. No matter WHAT they are doing, they always have time to set it aside for just a moment to listen to our message. They are seriously like investigators from some sort of church movie. Last night they made us dinner and after the prayer Marco said, "Could you tell us a little bit about the temple? Why is it so important?" I just wanted to cry. He is so interested in the church, and one day he is going to be an amazing leader in the church! After we explained a little bit about the temple he said, "This reminds me of a question I had about the Book of Mormon."  The other day he was on the bus and a woman saw him reading the Book of Mormon and asked if he was a member of the church, and he told her was. Ha. How awesome is that? 

Lucia! Sweet, sweet Lucia...this girl is the sweetest little angel in the whole world! Remember her crazy grandpa? Yeah...on Saturday we were teaching her and she heard him coming so we grabbed our backpacks and LITERALLY hid from him. Hahaha. He is so old that he can't really hear. She was yelling so he could hear her and Hermana Chávez and I were laughing so hard. It was awesome. He is so crazy...maybe he'll die soon though.

This week I was talking with the stake relief society president and accidentally called her husband a woman...to his face. Their whole family was laughing at me. So that was a nice little expirience. Haha. 

I read the talk President Monson gave in conference in the priesthood session of conference in April and there is one part that I LOVED that I wanted to share with you guys. He said, "At best, missionary work necessitates drastic adjustment to one's pattern of living.  It requires long hours and great devotion, selfless sacrifice and fervent prayer.  As a result, dedicated missionary service returns a dividend of eternal joy which extends throughout mortality and into eternity." How amazing is that?

Love you all! You are always in my prayers.

Sorry my camera is SO dumb and hasn't been working the last few weeks. I will see what I can do. 

XoXo

Hermana Carli Stone

More CAKE...

Family! Oh how I miss you guys! This week was quite the emotional rollercoaster for me. I had some of my hardest moments, and some of my best moments. I have learned a lot this week, and I am starting to truly understand humility.

This week President Fernandez finished his mission and our new president arrived! On Thursday we had a final conference with President and Sister Fernandez with 4 zones in Arequipa, and they took us to the place where the Arequipa temple is going to be built. The property is super pretty...and big! We were told we couldn´t tell anyone where it was (but thats isn´t a problem for me, even if I wanted to I couldn´t explain where in the heck we were) haha. Our new president arrived on Saturday, and   the mission home is not only in our zone, but in my area...and my ward! So last night Hermana Chávez and I were contacting the park by the mission home, and I convinced her that it would be fun to walk by the casa de mision and see if we could hear the president talking in English or see him....so we did. We felt like we were going to get in trouble even though we werent doing anything wrong cause his house is in our zone...but still it was QUITE the thrill. haha.

During one of my down moments this week we went to contact a woman who we received as a reference from a member. After our lesson we asked her if she had any questions and she started bawling and telling us the most awful story about her nephew who was killed by his drunk father a few months before. The little boy was 4 years old, and the dad cut the little boys head off. (I am not even joking right now).  She was asking us if the baby was in hell cause he was never baptized. It was horrible. I turned to my companion in tears...I didnt even know what to say to her. We gave her a Book of Mormon and told her to read Moroni 8. When we left that appointment I turned to my companion and said, "I feel like my problems mean nothing right now compared to the trials that other people are experiencing." I truly learned that day that when we look outward and have a desire to help others, our problems diminish and we grow to love them so much.

On Saturday night, Hermana Chávez and I were at the church and two Elders from our zone showed up with a huge cake for us because they heard we were having a rough week. I almost cried...but instead we just ate the cake. It was hilarious. I have some pictures of the beautiful cake...and our adventure of trying to find some way to eat it in the kitchen at the church. Haha.

I also read the most amazing talk this week from April conference by Elder Richard G. Scott sobre the importance of a Christ centered home. You should all read it if you get a chance. It´s incredible!

Lastly is my story about Esperanza. Some Elders in our zone contacted her and we were lucky enough to have her live in our area. We went and visited her on Saturday. When we showed up she said, "I'm really busy...but I want to talk to you guys." She invited us in and proceeded to tell us the EXACT situation of Joseph Smith...I am so serious. She said, "I am a Christian and have attended a lot of churches, but I am just confused with all of them and feel like something is missing with my relationship with God. I want to know the truth!" We looked at each other and started teaching the first lesson about the restauración and when we talked about Joseph Smith she just lit up. It was amazing! We have another appointment with her this week so I will let you know how it goes.

Remember that I love you all so much! Let the Lord shape your life. He knows and loves you perfectly. He wants to see you succeed. Be humble, and trust in the Lord and His timing.

Until next week,
xoxoxo

Hermana Carli Stone

"I assume you are new, Sister Stone."

Family! How are you all? Not going to lie that I´m a little jealous that mom and dad are in the Caribbean right now. Enjoy the beach you lucky people!!
This week was a little bit sad. Our baptism for next week, Ramiro, decided that he wanted to leave our district because he didn't have friends here. (What the heck, right?) We called him the other day and he said he moved. The rest of the day we felt like complete failures and I just wanted to eat my sorrows away. I have decided that that isn´t the best way to handle my sorrows in the mission though. We talked to Ramiro´s aunt yesterday at church and she said she thinks that it was just a little phase and that he will be back this week...so we are going to see what happens later this week with him.

This week my sweet companion was sick, so I spent 7 HOURS reading the scriptures and all the Liahonas in our room while she slept all day on Wednesday. In the evening, I couldn´t sit any longer so I called our Zone Leaders. They said I could get a member from the ward as a companion, and our pension could be her companion. So I called a girl in our ward and we went out and worked for the evening. And it´s a good thing 'cause we got invited to a birthday party for a member. HOLLER! You know what that means...TORTA!

Yesterday I gave my first talk in church in spanish. It was....interesting. Just to explain a little bit of how my spanish went...I spoke before the stake president, and when he stood up he said, "It is always such a pleasure having new missionaries here from the United States... I assume you are new, Sister Stone." Hahaha. I spoke about the family, and used some quotes from The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Luckily I have been blessed with an incredible family and awesome parents so I talked about some things I learned in my home growing up, and how important it is for parents to teach by example. I taught primary again...and listen to this. I thought this was hysterical! My bishop has two sons. They are 18 months apart and their names are....DAVID and STEPHEN! Hahaha. It took me 2 weeks of teaching them to realize they were brothers and realize their names; it was too funny when I realized that.

Now...the conference last night? Did anyone else get a chance to watch that? Amazing! It´s incredible how the Lord is hastening His work. I love the weekly emails from Summer telling me about all my friends getting their mission calls. It´s so inspiring. I just sat and cried during the fireside last night thinking about how incredible it is that I am a missionary right now. Sometimes it will hit me that I am on a mission and I just laugh 'cause it´s so awesome! I love being here! I love the opportunity I have to serve the Lord and show Him how much I love Him.

I had a cool thought this week during one of my personal studies that I wanted to share:

I remember when we were little we used to always tell you guys how much we loved you and were so grateful you were our parents.  Dad would always respond, "Show me." No matter how often we said "I love you", it was when we were obedient, or working hard that you truly KNEW we loved you. It is the same with our Father in Heaven. We can tell him in our prayers everyday how much we love him, but if we aren´t obedient to his commandmants, or if we don´t give our time and talents to Him when we are clearly capable of doing so, we are not truly showing our love for Him.

I love you guys so much and think about you all the time! Thanks for the examples you have all been to me in my life. I have been so extremely blessed in my life, and the only way I can truly show the Lord how grateful I am is if I serve Him with all my heart.

Xoxo,
Hermana Carli Stone

PS. My companion got a haircut last week so we took a picture. Haha.