Lecciones Aprendidas de la Expiación

Hey Guys

Its been a busy week and Ill try to include as many details as possible.  This past week we were able to have a family home evening with the Duque family.  We invited the son and daughter in law and also Guillermina´s sister and her husband.  We are preparing the four of them to be baptized on May 4th.  We watched a movie about eternal families with them.  They really enjoyed it and the Duque family shared their feelings about their loved ones taking the same step to be baptized.  The four of them seem excited so these next few weeks will be focused on helping them so that they can experience a conversion in their hearts so that they will be ready on May 4th to be baptized.  We also had a lesson with the Duque family earlier in the week to teach them about missionary work.  We invited President Kusch to come along so that he could meet the family.  The lesson went great as we taught about and challenge them to participate in sharing the Gospel with others.  President told us at the end of the lesson that if they prepare names in their family history class to take to the temple to do baptisms for the dead, we could go with them!!!  We are really excited for that and I think we would go sometime in May.  This Sunday, Jose Felipe received the Aaronic priesthood and a calling.  He has been called to serve as the 2nd counselor in the Sunday School presidency.  He is going to be great with that calling because he is a great teacher. We also had Martha´s baptism this past Saturday.  That also went great.  Lots of members supported her by attending.  I think she will continue to be faithful in the church because she loves reading her scriptures and praying.  She loves being able to feel the Holy Ghost and now she has received the blessing of having the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.    Last night, Elder Azueta and I were with a missionary that had gotten pretty sick during the day.  He has already finished his mission but his parents are coming to get him to tour the mission with him.  Last night, while walking back to our house, he collapsed on the ground and started having problems with his nerves.  His fists clenched up and he did not have control of his body movements.  Elder Azueta threw him on his back to carry him up to our apartment on the fifth floor as I made some emergency phone calls.  When we got into our apartment, he continued to feel worse and could not move his body.  We quickly decided to give him a priesthood blessing before making other calls.  Elder Azueta anointed him and I gave him the blessing.  The blessing was focused on peace, forgiveness of sins, and the Spirit.  I dont remember everything I said in the blessing but I knew I had said what the Lord needed to say to this missionary.  After the blessing, my companion and I kneeled down next to the bed to pray individually until he felt better.  In a few short minutes, he was able to lift up his hand and tell us that we had acted as angels to save him from a terrible situation.  We have taken him to the hospital and he has gotten tests done and is doing a lot better.  I felt the power of the priesthood so strong.  I know it is something we must exercise in righteousness because if we are not worthy, we will not be blessed with power.  I am grateful for that priesthood power in my life to bless others and allow them to feel the love of their Savior and Father in Heaven.  I am grateful for experiences like this one that strengthen my testimony of Gospel principles and truths.  I want to finish with a couple lessons I have learned from studying the Atonement.  I have decided to study it so that I can endure to the end with righteous desires in my mission.  The first lesson learned is that trials and suffering help us become better and one day perfect.  The Savior suffered so much so that we could have the opportunity to be saved.  The suffering He went through helped Him become perfect and obtain a perfect love for us (Hebrews 2:10).  The other lesson learned from the Atonement is that having a vision of desired outcomes give us the will-power to work and achieve those results.  The only way Christ was able to suffer so much for our well-being was because He had a vision of the blessings we would enjoy because of His sacrifice: immortality and eternal life with our families.  That vision helped Him support the weight of the Atonement (Hebrews 12:1-2).  If we can obtain a vision of a future that we and God desire, we will work tirelessly everyday to achieve those goals.  Having a vision of my eternal family motivates me to help other families become eternal.  Envisioning my eternal reward helps me wake up very morning and working hard until my head hits the pillow.  I know these things to be true and I invite everyone to think about their lives, obtain a vision of your desired future, and make the necessary arrangements in your lives to be able to make that vision a reality.  Love you all so much and wish you a great and successful week!

Elder Stutz  

Sanadores de Almas

Hey Guys!

What a great week finished off with a great edifying experience listening to General Conference.  We had yet another mission council with the zone leaders this past week.  I think it was my favorite council of all time.  We talked about a lot of things in order to find more investigators to teach and to help more people set the goal of a baptismal date.  We have set a goal in the mission to baptize at least 200 people in the month of May.  We have been slowly progressing every month since the recent changes last year and we feel that we are close to reaching that goal.  Elder Azueta and I, with our recent experiences in our own area, are challenging the zone leaders to focus on finding, teaching, and baptizing families.  Only families sealed by the holy priesthood in the house of God can dwell in the Celestial Kingdom.  So if we desire to help these people reach eternal life, we are going to focus always on families.  That focus in the mission will help us not only baptize more, but bring about a real growth in the church in the stakes of our mission.  We will be praying and fasting often to receive the divine help we will need to reach this goal.  We are preparing a baptism in our area for this Saturday.  Martha and her daughter, Claudia, are preparing to baptized that day.  They have enjoyed the lessons, the Book of Mormon, and attending church.  This week we want to help them really feel in their hearts that this is the true church of Jesus Christ on the Earth.  We want them to experience a deeper conversion and be 100% ready for their baptism.  This past week, we had the privilege to go teach the Duque family.  We decided to teach a lesson on modern prophets and apostles to pump them up for General Conference.  We wanted to show them a video on lds.org on prophets.  While Karla, the little 8 year old, was looking for the video, I was showing her the temples found on the site.  She was telling me which ones were her favorites and which ones looked more like castles.  I clicked on the Mexico City temple and when it came up she asked me, "that is the temple that my family and I will go to really soon right?"  My heart filled with joy and I nodded yes to respond to that inspired, eight-year-old question.  We were privileged to watch the priesthood session with Brother José Felipe Duque.  He came in his new white shirt and tie that we had given him.  He actually arrived about an hour and a half early, so we knew he was excited for the conference.  The talks in that session were excellent.  José Felipe actually cried a little during President Monson´s talk, being touched by the Spirit.  The next day, the Duque family showed up nice and early in their Sunday best to watch both sessions.  They were are beaming as they enjoyed the talks that were given.  I decided to watch the sessions in Spanish this time to enjoy my last General Conference in Mexico and to watch it with the Duque family.  After the sessions, both Guillermina and José Felipe told us that they both felt something really special and began to cry as President Monson spoke.  We testified to them that those feelings came from the Spirit, testifying that he is a real prophet of God in these days.  One thing that really touched me from the priesthood session was a thought that President Uchtdorf shared.  He said that as priesthood holders we must be "healers of souls".  We must help those that are weighed down by their sins, stresses, problems, addictions, etc.  I will strive these next few months to be a healer of souls for those that the Lord places in my path.  I also enjoyed from the Saturday afternoon session the talk by Elder Cook.  Although we will not experience complete world peace in these days, we can enjoy family and individual peace as we live the Gospel 100%.  The reason we have the Gospel is to enjoy peace and happiness in this life and receive eternal life after death.  A few themes that came up several times were obedience, missionary work, and living the Gospel in our homes and families.  I would like to also testify of the importance that we share the Gospel with those around us.  I have experienced great joy in sharing the Gospel.  I promise you the same joy in your life as you pray and look for opportunities to share Gospel truths with your family and friends.  They NEED this Gospel.  Without it, they will never feel completely clean from the mistakes they have made.  Without it, they will never have the surety that they will be able to live with their family after death.  These truths are worth sharing because they have brought us so much peace and happiness in our own lives.  Be "healers of souls" to those that you truly love.  Cast out all fear and show your true love for them by sharing the Gospel.  I know that Thomas S. Monson and his counselors, along with the apostles, receive modern day revelation to guide us in such a dark and confused world.  As we heed their counsel, we will be safe and protected from the fiery darts of the adversary.  I wish you all a great and happy week!!

Love,

Elder Stutz            

¿Porqué Buscáis a los Vivos Entre los Muertos?

Hey Guys!

We have enjoyed our preparation/april fools day today.  We decided to do quite a few pranks on some elders and also on President Kusch.  When he and his wife went to go shopping this morning, we snuck into their house and messed with his change board a little bit.  We printed out pictures of famous athletes, movie stars, music stars, cartoons characters, etc. and put those pictures over the pictures of all the leaders in the mission.  When he got back home it took him a while to notice but finally did and got quite a kick out of it.  So its been a fun day!  Last week we had our specialized leadership mission-wide training.  The training was intended to help the district leaders be better trained concerning their duties and to get all of the leaders more excited and dedicated in the mission.  So we had the zone leaders teach the district leaders in several workshops on how to have successful baptismal interviews, district meetings, companionship exchanges, etc.  Elder Azueta and I did some case studies afterwards with all the leaders of the mission to help them share their experiences and ideas when they are faced with tough situations.  It was a very successful training because we did a lot more hands-on learning which helps the leaders learn and grow quicker.  Several leaders mentioned that they really enjoyed the training so we are happy about how it turned out.  Last week, most of the time we had in our area was spent helping the Duque family.  We had a lesson with them at the beginning of the week to help them make the sure decision to be baptized on Saturday.  The only member of the family that was doubting a little bit was the mom.  She has been the most faithful with reading, praying, and understanding the importance of the Gospel, but the adversary was working hard on her, trying to get her to think that she still wasnt ready.  Elder Azueta shared an inspired scripture with her in D&C 6:21-24.  As Guillermina read those verses she began to cry and admitted that she owed it to Christ.  She confessed that the last couple months she had been praying for help in her marriage.  She and her husband had been having some difficulties and she wanted him to change and be the kind, loving father and husband that she knew that he could be.  She admitted that listening to us, praying, reading as a family, and attending church had changed him completely and that her prayer had been answered.  With tears rolling down their cheeks, the four of them committed to be baptized on Saturday.  On Friday, we had another really spiritual lesson with them.  We invited the second counselor of the stake presidency so he came with us and brought his wife.  We almost didnt talk at all in the lesson.  President Nava and his wife shared their conversion stories and testified of the power of the priesthood.  We talked with the dad about receiving the priesthood very soon after his baptism so that he can start serving his family and others.  He is very excited to receive it.  Saturday turned out to be a very spiritual day.  Despite it being spring break and the members being in the temple on a ward trip, we were still able to organize a great baptismal service.  We figured out which members didnt attend the temple and we invited them ahead of time.  We also prepared a special musical number and I taught myself how to play two hymns on the piano.  We wanted everything to turn out perfect.  We even got gifts for each of them so that the members that welcomed them from each organization could give them that gift as they welcomed them into the ward and into the organizations.  Karla, the little daughter, and Jose Felipe asked me to baptize them and Guillermina and Estefania asked Elder Azueta to baptize them.  Jose Felipe went first and I felt the Spirit so strong as I helped him into the water.  Karla was next and as she entered the water before I could go help her, she slipped on the stairs and went sliding in.  Luckily she didnt get hurt and had a beaming smile as she left the water.  Elder Azueta baptized Estefania and then it was Guillerminas turn.  The whole week she had been feeling really strange.  She said she felt pain in her neck and just didnt feel happy at all.  Those feelings continued even during the baptismal service.  But when she entered the baptismal font, everything changed.  All of those strange, painful feelings disappeared and she felt joy.  This joy was so intense that she began to cry in the font.  She wasnt able to speak but indicated that she was ready to be baptized.  After the ordinance, Jose Felipe wanted to share a few words.  He expressed his gratitude to us, the missionaries, to the ward, and to the Lord.  He said that the Spirit and the teachings of the Savior had changed his heart.  It was an unforgettable night as I felt the Spirit testify once again to my heart that this is all true.  The next morning, we woke up extremely tired and annoyed.  The neighbors had had a party the night before.  They were playing electronic music that shook the house from 6:00PM Saturday to 11:00AM Sunday.  We didnt sleep at all so we were really anxious to get to church to experience a little bit of relief.  President and Sister Kusch were able to make it to the confirmation of the Duque family during sacrament meeting.  They were so happy as each of them had hands placed upon their heads to be confirmed members of the true church of Christ and to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  After sacrament meeting, so many members came up to meet them and congratulate them.  It is really interesting how well they get along with the members and how much they are being fellowshipped.  I know that it is due to the love and the spirit that the Duque family has.  It just makes others love them and it is great to see them with so many friends from the ward already.  The bishop actually told us that he will be giving the priesthood to Jose Felipe in two weeks along with a calling that he already had picked out for him.  I love the Duque family so much and I feel like I will be possibly coming back in a year to be able to attend their temple sealing.   As I pondered yesterday about this Easter season, I realized something about happiness.  The title of my email comes from a scripture in the Bible.  It is when the angel is declaring that Christ has been resurrected.  He asks, "Why do ye seek the living among the dead?"  My mind manipulated this question a little bit to apply it to my life.  "Why do ye seek happiness among the things of this world?"  I could certainly picture Christ asking us a question like that.  We can get very distracted with all the current technology, work, schooling, and other activities.  We must not forget that true happiness will not be found in these things.  True happiness will only be achieved by living the Gospel and living it with our family.  The Duque family considered themselves to be a happy family before meeting the missionaries.  But after everything they have recently experienced, they have come to the realization that there was more happiness to be won, greater happiness that lasts longer to be enjoyed.  Let us not seek happiness in material things, let us seek happiness in our families and in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Love you all!

Elder Stutz      

La Tierna Misericordia

Hey Everyone, Happy Monday!

We started our week last week with a trip to Acapulco.  We drove down there in the morning to arrive in the afternoon.  Two new missionaries from Guatemala arrived at the airport there so we picked them up with President and Sister Kusch.  One is an elder and the other is a sister.  The next morning we had the training meeting with them and their trainers in the Costa Azul stake center.  Both the elder and sister are super excited to be here after having to wait for their visas several months.  We were excited to receive them because we are in desperate need of more missionaries in the mission.  We found out this week that Elder Azueta and I will stay together for my last change so we are stoked to work hard, baptize, and continue to help the mission together.  This next month, we have a lot of plans with President to improve the desire to baptize and the quality of leadership in the mission.  We will be traveling a ton but I know it will be worthwhile.  Throughout last week and during this next week, we are sharing the Easter story of the 3 trees to the members to get them more excited to share the Gospel with others.  We have taught them that their friends and neighbors have great dreams and desires in their lives.  What they dont know is that their greatest and deepest dreams and desires can come true through living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We must help those around us realize that what they are missing in their lives is the Gospel.  It is precisely what will make each and every one of them happy today and forever.  We have seen the evidence of that the last few weeks as we have enjoyed and loved teaching the Duque family.  It is the family of four that is progressing towards their baptism on March 30th (this Saturday).  This is one of those families that was already obeying the commandments before we found them, but they have found greater joy as we have challenged and invited them to pray daily individually and as a family, read the Book of Mormon, and attend church with us.  While teaching the family last week, the dad said that his family has always been a happy one because they have avoided drinking, smoking, crazy parties, etc.  But he told us that ever since they started praying as a family, they have felt something different in their home.  We asked him if it was a "good" different feeling.  He told us that it is definitely a great different feeling.  In our second lesson with them, I asked the 8 year old daughter what she remembered from the experience of Joseph Smith.  She basically told us by memory the whole Joseph Smith story in her own words.  We were amazed by her memory but later learned that she had read the pamphlet a few times just as we had invited the whole family to do.  The mom is flying with her reading in the Book of Mormon.  She loves it and has found a ton of answers to so many questions she said that she has had for years.  The oldest daughter signed up for EFY: Mexico City for this summer and the dad is getting involved with the Elder Quorum by helping them prepare an activity.  In one of the lessons, we decided to invite the first counselor of the stake presidency and his family.  He came and brought his wife, and his 4 daughters that range from ages 1 to 5.  You can imagine how the lesson went.  There was a lot of screaming, crying, playing, dirty diapers, etc.  Despite all of that, the Spirit was there and the two parents shared powerful testimonies of having an eternal family and the blessings of following the word of wisdom.  The parents were embarrased after the lesson but as they left, our investigator said that she was so impressed by their happiness and patience.  The family of investigators didnt need to meet a perfect member family that day, they needed to see the Gospel principles in action, trying to deal with a tough situation.  Last night, we watched the movie "On our way home" to get them excited to be baptized this Saturday.  They were overwhelmed by the Spirit as we finished the movie.  Both parents cried and we decided to give them the movie to keep.  I love that family so much and I have enjoyed focusing completely on the ultimate goal of achieving an eternal family.  Every time we talk about baptism with them, we remind them that it is just the beginning, the door through which we walk in to start a new life.  After making other promises with God in the temple, we are able to achieve an eternal family.  We felt the Spirit so strong in their home as we taught them of temples and the wonderful, sacred covenants we make inside with our family.  Elder Azueta and I fasted for them yesterday and we feel that they are ready to be baptized this Saturday.  That means that they could be ready to be sealed in the temple as an eternal family on March 30th 2014!!!!  That family has been our tender mercy in this area.  A midst so much work and sacrifice, we were finally able to find a family that the Lord had prepared in EVERY way possible.  I feel that this is the family I have been looking and praying for my whole mission.  Tears have filled my eyes as we have seen the Gospel change their lives in such a small, simple way.  This family proves to me that EVERYONE needs this Gospel.  It also proves to me that there is always someone in our lives that the Lord has prepared so that we can share the Gospel with them and they can accept it.  We just simply have to look and share our beliefs openly and boldly with everyone and at least ONE person or ONE family will be changed forever.  I love this work with all my heart and our new goal as a companionship is to find another family in the coming weeks.  After having felt so much joy and happiness with this family, all we want to do is help bless the lives of several families at a time.  I am forever grateful to have a family who has been sealed in a holy temple of the Lord by the authority of the holy priesthood of God so that death can have no power to separate us.  I know we will have the opportunity to live forever.  I felt impressed to share a photo of my family with the Duque family in one of the lessons and I told them that being so far away from them for so long has been tough, but it has been completely worth it to be able to help other families receive the blessing of being together forever.  That thought brought tears to the mother´s eyes and I know that all we do as missionaries is completely worth it.  Love you all!

Elder Stutz