Mates my week was good, we found, ate lunch tried to visit no one was home, so we found, ate dinner, tried to visit less actives and they werent home...niether were the members. so we found. it was a beautiful week. we did have one cool kid we met his name was JP Prisida it was cool we prayed for were we would go tract and a street popped in my head and so we went knocked and this bro was prepared and so we were able to follow up on him and he has some really good potential. Im a little upset with my companion he bought a gigabyte thing for his camera...and used his mission funds so i had to shout our groceries for the week and now we have no money. and were hungry...so i think we might fast or something haha. Just pushing the rock we are bound to have a good one pretty soon i dont want to right much about this week because it will make me depressed but i just want everyone to know that i love them i pray for you guys all the time and i am greatful for everything you guys do for me and i hope everyone is doing well. go hard or go home.
- Elder Stoddard
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
4/11/11
Oy our week was Crap haha, we had three meetings and i broke my moller and had to go to the dentist, swedish fish are death to our teeth. But my mauri comp and the tongan elder in our district think that american oreos and sour patch kids are the best thing to hit australia. So i went to the dentist last week and this week i have broke both of the fillings...i think these tongans are feeding me rock mixed with meat. We had some refferrals come in this week so hopefully good things come from that. Thanks Heaps for the Box yeaaaahhh mate, that was the sauce everyone covetts beef jerky, and thinks that our family is doing some underground mormon gang stuff to get it over here. We havent baptized for ever like 4 months so we are due pretty soon I can feel it in my bones. Im Still in the Manly area and President told me that i got one more here and then it off to a "chinese area"? WHat?? who wouldve thought that i would learn some mandarin on my mission. But it hasnt happened yet so we will see in the future. We got a car in our area because we started getting heaps of lessons done. driving on the other side of the road...Crazzzzy. Elder Tehei and me are having heaps of fun, for sure we were mates in the pre earth life. We are teaching quite a bit and then dropping people because it seems as if no one wants to progress in the gospel..there loss. I had a trade off with this FOB as Tongan elder (fresh off the boat) and we had the darkest expirience i have ever had. The ones where you say to yourself i wouldnt want one of those expiriences... and it happened. It shook me up pretty good and slowed me down for the day. But elder Tehei said, "satan knows that our area is going to explode pretty soon and he is going to do everything to slow us missionaries down." I took it as a challenge and started back to work. He gave me a hair cut last night and lined me up like a real gangster as missionary. Ill send some pics, i forgot to bring my charger so for sure next week and i will make sure i will take heaps of pictures for the family. We had Conference this past weekend, Those men speak with so much power it is crazy they would be the best missionaries ever. My hopes are that one day i can speak to people the way that they can. The mission is good the mission is great, we just need to baptize. Thanxs again for the package, and I hope everything is well back home. Jeff happy birthday.
***I decided to post Trents response to him....cuz I don't want to lose it!......
So for the second time in the last month Q has cut her hair. It is now very short. When we asked her why she keeps cutting it she replies “I want to look like Andy…from Toy Story.” That’s right…the boy Andy. So the picture you see is her version of Quinci-Andy. She really is very cute even with short hair. I think if we buzzed it she would still top the charts of cuteness and naughtiness. She has a wild streak in her as most of us in the family do… must be in the blood. She also came up to me on Sunday and said “Dad can I bear my testimony?” I was worried because last time she just laughed into the microphone really loud for a couple of minutes and then said “Amen.” So I was worried that same thing was going to happen. She told me was she wanted to say and I said she could bear it. She was so excited. She ran up to the front up the stairs and over to the podium to discover somebody had beat her there and was already sharing. I was worried she was going to kick him in the shins but instead she turned toward us on the bench and smiled big and said “heyyyyyy!” Then Bishop Benson grabbed her and helped her know she could go next. She got up to bear her testimony and was too short to be seen above the pulpit. The voice came out clear and true though. “I want to bear my testimony. I know this church is true. I know my family loves me and I love them. I know Jesus loves me too. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen. Abe and Jax also shared powerful testimonies. It is great to be part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love reading about all the experiences you are having. I pray for you and your investigators and I know that all your effort is worth it. This underneath is a story I heard a long time ago.
A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.
This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing it with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore, and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.
Noticing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, the adversary decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man’s weary mind. “You have been pushing against this rock for a long time, and it hasn’t budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it.” Thus giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These troubling thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. “Why kill myself over this?” I’ll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort and that will be good enough.
And that is what he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his thoughts to the Lord. “Lord” he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even been able to budge that rock. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”
The Lord responded compassionately, “My friend, When I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so?”
“Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in my wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend, will now move the rock.”
I have thought a lot about it. I think that pushing the rock shows our obedience to the Lord and our faith that he know what the future holds. At the same time it gives us the strength and the talent that is required for us to be better tools in the Lords hand and accomplish all that Heavenly Father wants us to do and become in life. Whenever I feel like what I am doing is not having a very great effect I remember this story and I remember to push the rock.
Love your bro,
Trent Julie and the Fam
***I decided to post Trents response to him....cuz I don't want to lose it!......
So for the second time in the last month Q has cut her hair. It is now very short. When we asked her why she keeps cutting it she replies “I want to look like Andy…from Toy Story.” That’s right…the boy Andy. So the picture you see is her version of Quinci-Andy. She really is very cute even with short hair. I think if we buzzed it she would still top the charts of cuteness and naughtiness. She has a wild streak in her as most of us in the family do… must be in the blood. She also came up to me on Sunday and said “Dad can I bear my testimony?” I was worried because last time she just laughed into the microphone really loud for a couple of minutes and then said “Amen.” So I was worried that same thing was going to happen. She told me was she wanted to say and I said she could bear it. She was so excited. She ran up to the front up the stairs and over to the podium to discover somebody had beat her there and was already sharing. I was worried she was going to kick him in the shins but instead she turned toward us on the bench and smiled big and said “heyyyyyy!” Then Bishop Benson grabbed her and helped her know she could go next. She got up to bear her testimony and was too short to be seen above the pulpit. The voice came out clear and true though. “I want to bear my testimony. I know this church is true. I know my family loves me and I love them. I know Jesus loves me too. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen. Abe and Jax also shared powerful testimonies. It is great to be part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love reading about all the experiences you are having. I pray for you and your investigators and I know that all your effort is worth it. This underneath is a story I heard a long time ago.
A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.
This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing it with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore, and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.
Noticing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, the adversary decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man’s weary mind. “You have been pushing against this rock for a long time, and it hasn’t budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it.” Thus giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These troubling thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. “Why kill myself over this?” I’ll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort and that will be good enough.
And that is what he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his thoughts to the Lord. “Lord” he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even been able to budge that rock. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”
The Lord responded compassionately, “My friend, When I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so?”
“Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in my wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend, will now move the rock.”
I have thought a lot about it. I think that pushing the rock shows our obedience to the Lord and our faith that he know what the future holds. At the same time it gives us the strength and the talent that is required for us to be better tools in the Lords hand and accomplish all that Heavenly Father wants us to do and become in life. Whenever I feel like what I am doing is not having a very great effect I remember this story and I remember to push the rock.
Love your bro,
Trent Julie and the Fam
Monday, April 4, 2011
Eli: Turtle named yertle how original buddie, of course i will teach you wrestling moves. ANd you have a little girlfriend Eli? good on ya matey.
Abe: Undefeated? were you wrestling a bunch of wimps or something? haha just g'n you up. Competition wrestling? man that would be way legit, but way hard. it depends if you want to go somewhere for wrestling, if you start getting serious now, then you could pry go to college and that. But if you just want to do it for fun then you can do b ball as well. and you are in lego league and soccer man you are just busy as. your the boss matey.
Quinci: Quincizzy, Thats great that you are playing with your friends and doing ballerina stuff haha cant wait to see it when i get back eh.
Sammy: Yours made me laugh the most. Sounds like you are becoming quite the young lady now. dont stand in the toilet you goof.
Julie: Wow sounds like everyone is doing heaps, must have a good mom eh? Jaxynn is doing good singing and dancing still? that is hektek. How is everything else besides the baby? haha youve done it this time...its going to be a zoo. How is the ward how is the missionary work going?? Thank you for everything you ever did.. even though you might not have thought i appreciated it, i always did have a good eh.
Abe: Undefeated? were you wrestling a bunch of wimps or something? haha just g'n you up. Competition wrestling? man that would be way legit, but way hard. it depends if you want to go somewhere for wrestling, if you start getting serious now, then you could pry go to college and that. But if you just want to do it for fun then you can do b ball as well. and you are in lego league and soccer man you are just busy as. your the boss matey.
Quinci: Quincizzy, Thats great that you are playing with your friends and doing ballerina stuff haha cant wait to see it when i get back eh.
Sammy: Yours made me laugh the most. Sounds like you are becoming quite the young lady now. dont stand in the toilet you goof.
Julie: Wow sounds like everyone is doing heaps, must have a good mom eh? Jaxynn is doing good singing and dancing still? that is hektek. How is everything else besides the baby? haha youve done it this time...its going to be a zoo. How is the ward how is the missionary work going?? Thank you for everything you ever did.. even though you might not have thought i appreciated it, i always did have a good eh.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sunday March 27, 2011
Alright we had some miracles this week it was a week where we really saw the lords hand in the work. The Coolest one that i will right about is Tom Waggs, a 20 year old American kid i met him at the bus stop and started talking to him. He asked me for a cigarrette, and i said what are you doing with your life? he said he didnt even know i said what is something good your doing tonight? He went on to tell me that he was just going on a camping trip with his mates and was gunna do drugs and all that jazz i told him that god loves him and if he didnt do that,that night that he would feel better about himself. He said he would do his best, i got his number and i said i would give him a call. I called him the next day and he said on the phone that he gave into the peer pressure. he said we could go and visit with him so we went there and taught him how he could be clean. and it got on the topic of the word of wisdom, he said that he would never be able to give up smoking and drinking. I said tom do you want to change your life around he said yes, i said go get your smokes. With a sad face he grabbed his pack of stogies. i told him to smash him, there was silence and he crushed them. It felt like the spirit just hit all of our hearts right when he crushed them. He came to church on sunday and said he felt the holy ghost at sacrament so much that he wanted to get fresh air, we taught him in a room while sacrament meeting was happening and he was just saying how he like the christian church but feels something here that he has been looking for. we asked him to pray right then and after his 3 second prayer he said...ope...uuahh..its happening ahhh the burning is stronger, yep the church is true. "I want to deny it... but it wont let me!" haha it was awesome but just so everyone knows god answers the prayers. It was awesom as.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
March 22, 2011
Man, That make me miss good old utah. Fishing sounds good, abe looks like he still has the gift of catching all the fish and eli just looks like he is freezing his little ones off. We are fishers of men, every day we are finding and ocassionally we are getting to teach some lessons. It was another good week for us we taught alot and got people to church. good things are going to happen in the northern beaches i will tell you that much. Me and Elder Tehei and me work very well together because we both try to talk to everyone so we contact anyone who is in our path. but sometimes they arent interested but lately we have been finding alot of good people who are actually looking for something in life. We have an investigator named robert he is russian he lived in lithuania when he was younger in a school with 150 other boys and the german gesstappo came in and killed everyone, he was the only one o survive. He has no family and he feels all alone. so right now the church is all this man has. Hes really good we have been having alot of success just no baptisms yet, That is sad that bishop fackrell is gonskyz he was the man, what does that place you at what is you calling in the ward? Anyways keep it real back home and let me no what else is happening. anyways laterz
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
March 8, 2011
Alright dude you are the man and Im not worthy. but i am stoked for
your new baby, ps that will be my year mark. I have had a crazy
mission so far president wont let me stay with a companion for more
than 1 transfer. My comp elder brough had way bad depression last
week to the point that he was having suicidal thoughts. So they had
him talk to the head psycologist of the church and they got his butt
on a flight home. It was sad because he wanted to finish but his mind
wouldnt let him. But he was honorably released which was good. I got
moved this transfer to manly which is right next door to our old area
haha president just wants me on the beaches my whole mission i guess,
my new comp is Elder Tehei he is a mauri from new zeland but they call
them "kiwi" his accent is whack az but he is the man we are going to
get some real work done in our area because i dont have to be
babysitting anyone anymore, I still love elder brough but his attitude
just put downers on everything but this new guy is really good the
ward is bomb az they already got some referrals for us. anyways this
week was crazy so the work was slower so i dont have much to report
but this next week looks more promising.
your new baby, ps that will be my year mark. I have had a crazy
mission so far president wont let me stay with a companion for more
than 1 transfer. My comp elder brough had way bad depression last
week to the point that he was having suicidal thoughts. So they had
him talk to the head psycologist of the church and they got his butt
on a flight home. It was sad because he wanted to finish but his mind
wouldnt let him. But he was honorably released which was good. I got
moved this transfer to manly which is right next door to our old area
haha president just wants me on the beaches my whole mission i guess,
my new comp is Elder Tehei he is a mauri from new zeland but they call
them "kiwi" his accent is whack az but he is the man we are going to
get some real work done in our area because i dont have to be
babysitting anyone anymore, I still love elder brough but his attitude
just put downers on everything but this new guy is really good the
ward is bomb az they already got some referrals for us. anyways this
week was crazy so the work was slower so i dont have much to report
but this next week looks more promising.
March 1, 2011
Whats up matey, we have just been finding and teaching we had to drop alot
> of our investigators this week with the faith that the lord will fill the
> empty spaces. But we were working with wendy i tracted into 5 months ago
> atheist and she was progressing to the point that she read the book of
> mormon, bilble, came to a baptism... and we went back and she said that she
> wouldnt ever be able to make a committment of being baptized but she said
> that she is grateful that we installed a belief in god for her and admitted
> to feeling the spirit. I then told her that we wouldnt be around very much
> more and then we got in the car. I wanted to cry, i felt like the biggest
> poofter in the world it was like someone punched me in the face, There was
> nothing else i could do. and it hurt me pretty bad. Marvin is a 16 peruvian
> that we have been meeting with but his family is baptist and wont let him
> come to church. We asked him about the book of mormon and he said it makes
> his heart burn when jesus christ speaks and believes that it is true but
> there is not much we can do because hes only 16. we just set a date with a
> brazilian surfer girl named yasmin who is very sincere and wants to get
> baptized but her visa will end shortly and we might not have enough time to
> teach her everything so that she understands. Alot of good things are
> happening but it just seems like the world is smashing down on everything.
> Still at the northern beaches, and it has been a while i want to see
> something new, its almost too the point where i have talked to everyone i
> see haha. We taught a man named rob last night and we taught about the
> apostacy and restoration using buckets instead of cups, and then when it
> came to the apostacy, he took his beer bottle and killed the
> apostles/prophets and so the church fell. We taught him of joseph smith and
> he thought it was amazing and said we touched his soul but he said he
> couldnt make a change like that. We have a goal that every companionship
> baptizes in march and its march and we havent been able to find anyone solid
> yet investigators are dropping like flies, and potential investigators are
> few and far between. My companion Elder brough has depression and they put
> him with me? he was telling me how he is just trying to survive for the next
> 7 months. he is doubting his testimony and feels like he brainwashed to go
> to the temple to make covenants... is was pretty crazy and then its me just
> like alright elder lets go find some people to teach and that is probably
> the last thing on his mind. He has mental problems, but president doesnt
> want to let him go home because he has made it this far so i have alot of
> responsibillity on my shoulders, anyways Keep it up back home.!
>
> of our investigators this week with the faith that the lord will fill the
> empty spaces. But we were working with wendy i tracted into 5 months ago
> atheist and she was progressing to the point that she read the book of
> mormon, bilble, came to a baptism... and we went back and she said that she
> wouldnt ever be able to make a committment of being baptized but she said
> that she is grateful that we installed a belief in god for her and admitted
> to feeling the spirit. I then told her that we wouldnt be around very much
> more and then we got in the car. I wanted to cry, i felt like the biggest
> poofter in the world it was like someone punched me in the face, There was
> nothing else i could do. and it hurt me pretty bad. Marvin is a 16 peruvian
> that we have been meeting with but his family is baptist and wont let him
> come to church. We asked him about the book of mormon and he said it makes
> his heart burn when jesus christ speaks and believes that it is true but
> there is not much we can do because hes only 16. we just set a date with a
> brazilian surfer girl named yasmin who is very sincere and wants to get
> baptized but her visa will end shortly and we might not have enough time to
> teach her everything so that she understands. Alot of good things are
> happening but it just seems like the world is smashing down on everything.
> Still at the northern beaches, and it has been a while i want to see
> something new, its almost too the point where i have talked to everyone i
> see haha. We taught a man named rob last night and we taught about the
> apostacy and restoration using buckets instead of cups, and then when it
> came to the apostacy, he took his beer bottle and killed the
> apostles/prophets and so the church fell. We taught him of joseph smith and
> he thought it was amazing and said we touched his soul but he said he
> couldnt make a change like that. We have a goal that every companionship
> baptizes in march and its march and we havent been able to find anyone solid
> yet investigators are dropping like flies, and potential investigators are
> few and far between. My companion Elder brough has depression and they put
> him with me? he was telling me how he is just trying to survive for the next
> 7 months. he is doubting his testimony and feels like he brainwashed to go
> to the temple to make covenants... is was pretty crazy and then its me just
> like alright elder lets go find some people to teach and that is probably
> the last thing on his mind. He has mental problems, but president doesnt
> want to let him go home because he has made it this far so i have alot of
> responsibillity on my shoulders, anyways Keep it up back home.!
>
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