May 30, 2011

we had the Coolest week ever we have found 20 new investigators in the last 3 weeks! we taught heaps last week and are hoping to do the same this week we had transfers on monday, and elder tehei got the boot, i am still in the beaches haha they call me king of the beaches. right now im with elder richards a samoan elder from new zeland and we are going to baptize this transfer. Well we had a couple of hektek things happen this week we found this guy name adam who look like he wanted to kill himself and we started talking to him and he said his life was at a low that he had never felt before, and he was actually catching a bus to go do some drugs at his mates house. We said no way your coming with us we took him to the chapel and gave him a tour and committed the bro to get baptized and he said he really wanted it so hopefull we are going to be able to get down to some business now. We also got a hold of yasmin for the 3rd time finding her haha I said well if we find her for the third time it is meant to be and we found her. Found out that she went back to brazil but now she is back and wants to continue learning more. I am loving this right now i dont think im going to come home it is hektek. we are out of food like always and are just praying and fasting for more people to find and teach. keep it real my niggys.

May 15, 2011

thats right mate whip that body into shape...GOTTa LOSe a MILLION Pounds!! haha we had a sweet week this week we found 6 new people. it was awesome the lord really blessed us on this. my patience was running slim and i thought i was going to go CRAZY!! We met up with a maori family that we were teaching the Epihas. And the mom invited us back just to teach her kids and little did she know that we were teaching her as well. they went back to new zeland for a couple weeks and came back and met up with them again. One of the best lessons on my mission so far The mom Porschia just opened up her soul to us she said that she really likes the church and wants to see her family get involved with it. she said that she could see herself becoming a member in the future it was sweet and then we got her to say the closing prayer that she refusablly rejected on 5 other occasions and it was a great moment...priceless we have the perfect fellowship for them its sweet as. this family will partake of eternal life it was really good. well im sick of writing now but i hope you have a sick week keep skux in the 801.

May 3, 2011

man that fish is awesome man good on ya guys. abe sounds like the man at everything haha we can talk on the phone this weekend. well we had a ward spit roast, where they turn a pig on a stick over some coals, did some finding. The members have really picked it up. i know the god really does inspire people. Elder Tehei and me made up family mission plans for everyone. The lord gave us the idea in studies and all the members are on board. and we have about 20 referrals that will come in probably next week because of it. I went on a trade off with the tongan elder. It was really good heaps of miracles you get more miracles on foot than in car i figured. we were able to teach a man from china and his friend was their to and he said his first prayer those are my favorite. We got out of the appointment and it was raining and freezing and no umbrellas or coats so we made our walk back about 2 miles and it wasnt a good idea..i thought to myself you are so stupid! Ooooo Man....... I got the flu really really bad and was out from thursday till tuesday throwing up, having, diaherra, and bloody noses. i litterally thought i was going to die we almost went to the hospital but i said no. i havent been able to eat for the week but i started working again man its harder than ever now...well its mothers day so i will you guys on sunday from sometime between 12 and 2 pm australia time. and i will call both familys so i can talk to everyone for a little longer than last time. but for the mean time always wear jackets when its rainy and cold, and trent get on a treadmill, please mom and dad wouldnt be happy.

April 24, 2011

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

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

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.

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.