Week 61: What is my Life?‏

Dear Friends and Family,

          Well, its been officially one of the weirdest weeks of my mission.  I feel like my life has become a movie.  I have moved to the mountain of Tigers here in Issaquah...lions, tigers and bears, oh my!  But the thing is, I really don't feel like I am in Seattle any more.  There are more goats up here than people!  

It's a goat's life for me!

In reality, there really are more dogs and bears than people.  And it gets really dark up here at night!  I am literally in the forest!  It's an adventure that has been really interesting so far. 

          The first day I got here, my new companion Sister Partridge and I went to the only trailer park on the mountain and I met Brother Chaffee and Brother Mancini who are more mature (older) gents who were baptized a year ago.  Man, they are a hoot and a half!  First of all, this area has been tracted a billion times, so everyone knows the Mormon missionaries.  Second, this is the first time in over 20 years that Sister missionaries have touched this territory so it's kind of fun to be here!  Even people who aren't interested are like, "Wait, where are the guys?  They have girl missionaries?" and all of the members are just so happy to have us here.  Anyway, Bro. Chaffee and Mancini call us their angels.  Bro Mancini writes and makes old Western films and he worked for Hollywood for many years.  He wants us to be some "bar girls" in a movie he is making right now, but of course we'll wait until we are not missionaries anymore.  I think Grams would be best friends with him.  He always tells us, "Don't fly faster than your guardian angels can fly."  He is always trying out his cheesiest movie quotes on us.

          We live in a member's home.  It's a really nice set up with our own kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedroom in the attic.  They are a really great couple that are taking care of us. The only thing was this week, Seattle decided to be Seattle again and rain...a lot of rain!  So tree branches started falling down and knocked out the power in our house for almost 24 hours.  So flashlights it was!  Luckily, the members are pretty self-sufficient and started up the generator so that food wouldn't go bad.  We just wrapped up like cocoons to stay warm that night. 

          The craziest thing happened this week when we went to invite a less active to church.  We talked to him outside of his house for two hours.  A lot of it was him talking to us.  But wow!  He has had 12 years of living alone in the woods to find out the mysteries of God.  He was very intelligent and was connecting world history, math and anatomy to the Gospel.  It was kind of a mind blowing experience for both me and my companion.  Afterwards, we were like, "Wait, what?"  The Gospel connects to everything and Jesus Christ really is the center of everything and He makes the world go round. 

          This week I found a lot of peace in reading 2 Timothy 1 especially verse 7.  God doesn't give us fear or anger or any negative emotion.  He gives us power, love and a sound mind.  It is me who needs to decide to be happy in any circumstance.  It's finding power through the spirit to preach what I know.  It's feeling peace even though I don't know what I am doing.  It's trusting God that He is in the details and He will not only tell me what to do, but how to do it.  I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the truth it gives me.  Christ is the Truth and Light of the world and to that I can testify in His sacred name, Amen.

Con Amor,

Hermana Stoddard

This mango is as big as my face!!

Week 60: Happy Trails to You, Until We Met Again

Dear Friends and Family,

          It was a glorious week here in Bellevue.  We were able to meet with all of our main investigators and teach them great lessons.  We worked hard to the very end of Sister Lee's mission.  Yesterday, I "killed" her.  I sent her packing and on a flight home to Las Vegas. It was sad to see her go. She was a fun- loving companion. We had a lot of good times!

Goodbye Sister Lee

Goodbye District
Stoddard, Lee, Elders Sorenson, Obarr, Fafita & Randolph 

          But as for big news, I got transferred yet again back to an English area.  I am in Tiger Mountain which is actually further east than Cougar Mountain.  Back to the boonies for me.  Lets just say that it broke my heart more than just a little bit to be leaving Spanish, leaving the Hispanics, my people, again!  I also got released from my position as a Sister Training Leader.  It's kind of been a crazy 24 hours.  But I think this is another humbling moment for me.  I was starting to coast along so this is me having to really get in-tune with the Spirit again.  I have some things that I still need to learn in English.  There are people here that are suppose to learn from me and me from them.  It's the sad truth.  I just pray I go back to Spanish before the end of my mission. 

          Anyway, we were asked to leave a lot of apartment complexes this week.  It's getting harder and harder to knock doors.  That's why it's so important to do member missionary work.  It's so much more effective. The hard part is that members aren't constantly meeting new people like we do.  We meet someone and then we invite them to act, whether that's reading the Book of Mormon, praying, church tour, being baptized, ect... The best things that members can do is meet new people and invite them to activities at church, a church service, to read the Book of Mormon, teach them about Family History, offer to show them the temple grounds, have lunch with the missionaries and ask questions.  Lots of different things.

          Well, I love all of you.  I hope everyone is happy and looking forward to this new school year.  Keep it real.  Keep being happy.  Smile.

Love,

Hermana Stoddard

Week 59: It Actually Rains in Seattle

Querida Familia y Amigos,

          La vida es buena y bonita!  Man, this transfer has had a lot more ups and downs than last transfer. Emotional rollercoaster!  Its great though because after each down time the ups just seem that much better.  Am I making any sense?  Anyway, its been a little bit harder to focus on the work this past week because my companion is going home next week and the realization really hit me that I have less than 5 months....what?  But its also has pushed me to look at myself and look at my goals and reevaluate.  There are definitely some things I want to change for this last home stretch to become the best missionary that I can be, the best person I can be. 

          Alrighty story time.

I forgot to tell this story two weeks ago.  I am kind of surprised I forgot because it was kind of eventful. Anyway, I was on exchanges with a greenie in a very beautiful part of Bellevue on the East side of Sammamish.  It was within the first hour of us going out to work for the day that all the drama happened. We were walking up to a potential investigator's house, you know, just strolling along. We got to the front gate and there was the lady that we were trying to find.  She said, "Girls, you need to be careful.  I saw a black bear out on my walk this morning right where you are standing.  But let me go get that Book of Mormon you gave me."  She ran inside and left us out there to be eaten!  She came back and we had a discussion about the Trinity.  Just remember that there is about a 5 foot brick wall between us, she was on the inside and we were on the outside.  In the middle of our conversation, we heard the neighbor scream "Charlotte, the bear is in your back yard!"  Charlotte started using profanity and was like, "Girls, get in here!"  She didn't even bother opening the gate before running inside, so we had to climb the wall and hop over it to safety.  Let me tell you....all of you that know me know...I climbed that wall in my skirt with the most grace and class!!  I almost started laughing because I could just picture myself on Funniest Home Videos!  But the adrenaline got me over the wall and we ran into that house so fast.  We never even saw the bear, but the Lord works in mysterious ways.  That allowed more time for us to talk to her about the Book of Mormon:) 

          This week we spent some time with the Reni family.  They are members from Provo and Sister Lee and I know their daughter....small world.  Anyway, they are just the wisest and kindest people.  We love being able to help Sister Reni out around the apartment.  She is like my Grandmother Willow tree from Pocahontas.  She imparted her wisdom about the gospel, including the fact that the Lord is only going to magnify our talents that we sacrificed for these 18 months.  It gave me a deeper appreciation for sacrifices that we have to make in life.   

          So it actually has been raining more.  Not a lot, but a few stormy days mixed in with the hottest summer on record here.  I really loved having the rain although we weren't really planning on it.  Let's just say we had a very wet night tracting up in Tiger Mountain with the sisters that are in that area.  Lots of fun though! 

           Last night we had a member missionary fireside in Burien so I got to see members from the Seahurst branch.  Not only did they remember me but they hugged and kissed me and told me how much they missed me.  I really hope I get to serve there again.  They told be that every time they watch Nacho Libre they think of me.  What a legacy that I left behind!  I promised them I would come back and watch it, and reenact it with them after the mission. 

           There were a lot of struggles with our investigators this week.  So many people that want the gospel in their lives.  They want to be closer to Christ, but they aren't willing to commit. We had a bad experience before church with one of our investigators and then they asked us to share our testimonies and do a musical number in the Spanish branch.  We cried during our testimonies and by the time we finished the musical number (I played the piano and she played the flute), nearly the whole branch was in tears! They are very empathetic and loving people.  Ahh, I just love people! 

          My spiritual thought of the week is centered on perfection.  I hate this topic because I am far, far, like zillions of miles away kind of far, from being perfect.  But Christ has commanded us "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect."  What?  How is that possible?  The answer is in Moroni 10:32.  It's through the Atonement of Christ that we become perfect.  Council with your Father in Heaven through prayer and receive that revelation on what you can do to become more like His Son. Lately I feel like I have been making a lot of mistakes.  I am a very imperfect leader and I have broken peoples' trust.  I have offended people, even when I try so hard not to.  But I felt a weight lift off my shoulders during the Sacrament.  I know that the Savior can make these situations right again.  I know that He can do the same for you because His Atonement is infinite.  Love your life and have a great week!

Hermana Stoddard & Downtown Bellevue

Con Amor,

Hermana Stoddard

Week 58: La vida es buena...y BONITA!

Querida Familia y Amigos,

          En realidad "la vida es buena...y BONITA!"  That's quoting the 1st counselor in the branch, Hermano Garcia.  He always says that when we ask him how he is doing.  It's a trend that I want to start doing as well. "Life is good... and beautiful!"

          I had to do a lot of hard things this week as far as my job as Sister Training Leader. The hardest thing is having to give Sisters corrections when I know that they are struggling.  This calling has stretched me in so many different ways.  It's a blessing, but a very hard blessing.  I don't think I am a natural born leader, but Heavenly Father keeps putting me in these positions, including being the first born in my family.  He knows me very well and knows its the pressure I need in order to grow. 

          We have had a lot of great things happen as far as our missionary work goes.  Busy, busy, busy!  We are always busy and it's great.  I will be somewhat grateful when church isn't like a circus!  This week I gave a talk in the Overlake ward about the Atonement and the Sacrament.  Of course I learned more than anyone who listened to it.  The Sacrament in Spanish is La Santa Cena which directly translates to the Holy Dinner.  It is our weekly time to dine with the Savior and talk about our problems and how we are going to fix them together.  The Atonement has two parts: the Redeeming power and the Enabling power.  The Redeeming power is the power that saves us from our fallen state in sin.  The Enabling power is the ability that we get on a daily basis to do things that are beyond our own capacity.  During the bread, I like to think about the Redeeming power.  I reflect on my weaknesses, the things I did wrong that week and how I am going to do better with Christ's help.  During the water, I like to think of the Enabling power.  What was I able to accomplish that week with help from the Spirit and the powers of heaven.  This is how I have made the sacrament more meaningful to me. 

          This week we started teaching the two nephews of our Branch Mission Leader.  They have lots of the big "out there" questions.  They are college students so of course they want to be intellectual and social theories are more important than God's laws. But it's been really neat teaching them.  We were able to go to a stake BBQ with them as well.  We had so much fun!  It was a Guinness Book of World Records  theme so we got to do things like see how many smarties we could eat in one minute with chop sticks and my companion wore 155 ties around her neck at one time!  The record was 260 so she was a little off, but still so fun! 

          I hope everyone continues to have a great summer and that you will all have an amazing experience with the Sacrament this next week.

Con Amor,

Hermana Stoddard

Week 57: Miracles in McDonald's

Querida Familia y Amigos,

          Buenas Tardes!  I want to use this email to pay tribute to some of the incredible people in my life that I have been blessed to know.  First, Hermano Martinez.  He is the Branch Mission Leader here in Crossroads.  And he is incredible.  One of the most spiritual, humble, self sacrificing people I have ever met.  It has also been a blessing in my life to have gotten to know his family that was visiting from Mexico these last few weeks.  They have been great examples to me of people that truly love the Lord and devote their lives to Him.  I especially got close to Monse who is a fantastic young woman. This family is changing lives. They know how to be missionaries without the tags, and I want to strive to be like them one day. 

Sister Lee, Monse and Hermana Stoddard
Leaving to teach a Lesson

          We had a lot of really great things happen this week. An investigator wanted to meet with us in McDonald's for a lesson. We just thought we came for an ice cream cone, but while we were talking to the workers, we ended up finding a less active member and she had us meet one of her coworkers who is now a new investigator!  Talk about killing a whole flock of birds with one stone!  I feel like we should just hang out at the local McDonald's everyday because we can get some serious work done!  But that would only pack on more pounds soooo we are staying away from that idea. 

           Second is Martin, a boy we are now teaching.  He is actually 7th Day Adventist, but he came to church last week to see what was up with the Mormons.  He was so surprised when he found out that we are actually Christian and believe many of the same things he does.  We got his number last week, but we didn't know where he lived.  We felt like we needed to tract our apartment complex this week and what do you know!  We found Martin's mom!  He came to church again this week and is wanting to read the Book of Mormon now. It's amazing what the Lord does to soften hearts and to put people in the right place at the right time. 

          Third are the Primary children.  This week we were able to teach the Restoration a lot including to different auxiliary organizations in the ward and branch.  It's really touched my heart.  Last week I was struggling with some doubts (missionaries aren't perfect...far from!) and the Lord taught me a great lesson by having me teach the Restoration over and over again.  One of the most touching was being able to teach the primary kids.  It not only makes sense, but the message of the Restoration has been confirmed to me in my heart once again.  I know that Joseph Smith saw God our Heavenly Father and Christ.  Joseph restored His church through His priesthood.  I know the Book of Mormon is that tangible evidence of a very true, but spiritual reality.  And I know that you can know that too for yourself if you sincerely and prayerfully read it.

          My last tribute goes to my big brother Tony Huber who honorable completes his mission today (August 3). I am so incredible proud of him.  I have seen him overcome obstacles and he has always been there to help me with mine.  He has been an inspiration to me because despite all of it, he was able to go out and serve our loving Father in Heaven.  I will forever be grateful to him.  Love you Elder Huber! 

WELCOME HOME
ELDER HUBER

Con Amor,

Hermana Stoddard

I live right across from Microsoft.
It's a GEEK life for me!!

Cute Cupcake Shop

I don't even get to try!!