Elder Stafford

When we have holidays on a Monday, we don't get preparation day; we have it on Tuesday instead. I just got the letters and photos from the kids today. The letters were marvelous.

Last Tuesday, Elder J and I traveled to Charlotte and had a trainer-trainee meeting. That meeting helped me with my teaching. On our way back to Morganton, there was a homeless lady that needed food and money. I realized I had a couple of fruit rollups in my suit jacket, so I gave them to her. Elder P and Elder K came with us because we got another car. As of now, Morganton is an all car mission because Elder P can't ride a bike because of this wrist injury. On Saturdays Elder P and Elder K walk because every Saturday is car fast day, which is the day that we don't use the cars.

I finally learned how to polish my shoes, since I didn't remind Richard to teach me how; Elder K did.

Ward members do pretty good with feeding us, we rarely make dinner.

President and Sister Craven visited our ward on Sunday. They were travailing to Hickory to interview missionaries and our ward was along the way there, so they came and visited us. It was great to see them.

From, Elder Stafford

Serious Warning to Mom's Everywhere!!

A mission is an amazing thing.  Those who chose to serve the Lord for 18 months or two years are the most courageous people I know!  It can't be easy going off into the unknown. It would require so much faith!  I know missions are wonderful things and I was so happy when my son Jacob decided to dedicate two years of his life to the Lord.  I was thrilled.  Until the date of his departure got closer and closer. My excitement turned to worry and sorrow and I could not understand what my problem was.  So here is my advice, be prepared to feel anything you may need to feel!  You may be fine letting go of your child to serve a mission.  We are raised in the church to know that this is just what we do.  It is a beautiful, glorious thing.  And you may never have a second thought about it.  If that is the case, yay!

But I am here to say that if as the time grows nearer for letting go of your child, and you start to feel emotions that stray from joy and peace, it is okay.  My personal feeling is that giving up your child for two whole years, after spending 18-20 years raising them, is not an easy or natural thing for many of us.  We love our children. We grow accustomed to having them in our lives.  They grow attached to us as well and may express concern as their time to leave gets closer. So if you are having trouble with the thought of letting your missionary go, know that it is okay!  Probably the majority of us moms feel that way! One mother described herself feeling a sad joy, and I think that describes it beautifully.  Turn to the Lord and ask for the strength to support your missionary and the ability to let go gracefully.  He will bless you with peace, though it may not come easily or as quickly as you may prefer!  Trust that relief will come!

Jacob has been gone for 6 weeks now.  I can say that it has gotten easier for me emotionally.  I feel so blessed to be living in this time when his letters can get to me immediately via email and that I get those letters each week. I also love that I can see his updates on his facebook page. Although I cannot communicate with him that way, I love to read the spiritual thoughts he posts. I can see so much spiritual growth already and it is such a joy for me as a mother. I have learned not to worry about him.  I have replaced fear with faith.  I know that the Lord is watching out for him.

Picnic in the Wild!

After we saw the falls we went to the campground that is still closed to overnight visitors.  We built a fire in a fire pit near the river and enjoyed roasting hot dogs and marshmallows.  It was a fun way to spend the afternoon, out in the Lord's beautiful world!

Annalina found some shiny obsidian

Annalina gets a lesson in fire building

Love these kiddos

Washing up after dinner

On the way home the kids fell asleep. It is a little hard to see, but Annalina is bent forward with her head in her hat and Joseph is leaning over behind her.  So cute!

How we Jeep!

Took a few fun photos of the Jeep while out this weekend. We have a lot of fun with it!

 How we get out of the Jeep..

Where's Joseph??

 

How we get into the Jeep...

Actually both kids are good at hopping in and out of the back of the Jeep. I just loved that they were having so much fun with it!

Memorial Day Outing

Sunday after church we went for a lovely off road drive out to Cave Falls.  I have always wanted to go in good light so my photos would turn out.  It was beautiful and warm!  We had the hard top off the jeep and there was snow on the ground in some places so Richard drove over it fast and the tires shot little bits up onto the kids in the back seat!  It was cute to hear Annalina squeal every time!  We got to see the lower falls as well as the upper this time.  So beautiful!  I love how gorgeous it is here!  On the way in we got to stop at the Rock Creek Girls camp to see where Annalina will be camping with the young woman this summer. It looked great!

 

LOVE these two cuties! 

 

We could not get Joseph to smile. He felt they were standing too close to the edge!

Elder Stafford

 Memorial Day Post

A little over 1 year ago, my grandfather passed away. I really looked up to him and he's one of the reasons why I'm on a mission. With my testimony of the plan of salvation, I will be able to see him again. I know he's in spirit paradise doing missionary work like me and thousands of other missionaries around the globe. If you have a loved one that's passed on, I testify that you will see him/her again. Happy Memorial Day!

Night Sky In Rexburg by Adrienne

Last night Jonathan and I went out to view a meteor shower that has never been seen before. We packed our stuff and headed out into the country around 12:30 at night. I was worried that we would not be able to see anything because earlier in the day it was completely overcast. However we got lucky and there were only a few clouds in the sky.

We parked on the side of a country road and looked up at the sky. There were lots of stars out, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to practice my night photography. After fumbling in the dark to get everything set up, I was able to get some pretty neat shots. We were out there for about two hours, and we only saw one meteor. It was a huge one though! I didn't capture it on camera but it was big and orange.

Here are some of the photos I took of the stars.(click on the photo for a larger view)

Elder Stafford

Learning some sign language?

A fun photo Jacob posted on his facebook page today.  He is looking great, isn't he?

Elder Stafford

A little History Lesson

History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in North Carolina:

"The first meetings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in North Carolina 'caused the greatest stirs imaginable,' said missionary Elder John Eldridge. 'I never thought that one poor mortal could make such a stir.'

The first missionary to North Carolina, Jedediah Grant, spent from 1838-45 in North Carolina, organizing seven congregations of more than 200 Church members. When Grant left the state, membership had increased to 350. Missionary work was interrupted in the late 1840s as many Church members traveled west to escape persecution. Although this migration continued into the 1870s, several congregations and a mission were organized in North Carolina in 1875. In November 1894, Church leaders encouraged members to stay in their state rather than migrate west. During the next five years, nearly 700 people were baptized, seven Church buildings constructed, 30 Sunday Schools organized, and 20 congregations established. A newly completed meetinghouse on Harker's Island was burned and missionaries driven out by a mob in 1906. Harsh attitudes gradually moderated in the twentieth century and missionaries were offered more freedom to preach.

In 1948, the Church began a five-year construction project in North Carolina resulting in 16 new Church buildings. By 1973, North Carolina had nearly 16,400 members in 53 congregations with a growth rate of nearly 400 new members per year. North Carolina members and missionaries were among many from Southern states to respond to storm-caused disasters in the South in the 1990s."

Reference: http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/facts-and-statistics/country/united-states/state/north-carolina

Elder Stafford

Last Thursday was Elder J's birthday. We all went to Fat's Cafe for lunch and I payed for Elder J and myself. If I were to describe what it is, I would say it's like Applebee's.

We've taught a little over 15 discussions last week. Last Saturday we went to a Japanese restaurant called Nara's Express with two other investigators, Ron W. and Doctor J. Ron has been an investigator for a while, it's hard for him to get to church because he's physically disabled, we offered him to have a member pick him up. Dr. J is investing in the church, he loves to talk religion with us (not in a bashful way) and he's pretty interested in the church.

Happy belated birthday Mom.

Elder Stafford 

Elder Stafford

Last week, as I was getting out of the shower, I grabbed on the towel rack next to the shower. It did not hold my weight, so it broke and I fell with it. I've been a clumsy missionary lately, but I like to think of Ether 12:27.

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

As we strive to have faith in our Heavenly Father, He will turn weaknesses into strengths. When Moses spoke with the burning bush he said he was "slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." (Exodus 4:10), but with the Lord on his side, that weakness became a strength.

Elder Stafford

 First P-Day Email - May 5, 2014

The first time flying in a while was great; After I prayed that we (the missionaries on the plane) would be in NC safely and during the flight, I was alright. The BBQ is great! I love the vinegar flavor in it!

 

On Tuesday the 28th, we had a transfer meeting. 8 out of the 9 new missionaries got their first companion; that one missionary was none other than ME. I was with the assistants for two days. The first day with them was rough. We woke up at 4 AM to get the departing missionaries ready to go home. I didn't go to the airport, which was probably a good thing. While the Mission president and the assistants were taking the departing missionaries home, I was helping out at the mission office. Most of my time there, I was putting 50 mormon.org cards in each plastic bag. I did get to do REAL missionary work that day. We taught 4 discussions and the assistants were impressed with my testimonies.

 

My first companion's name is Elder J from Salt Lake city. He's only been out for 5 months, but I'm in good hands mostly because I'm his second trainee. Morganton is a beautiful place, there are lots of trees which remind me of Oregon. There's a place here called Jake's. They have this thing called the Triple-Triple, it's a 9- patty cheeseburger. Those who eat the whole thing will get a T-shirt. I haven't ordered one yet, but I will when I get the chance. Part of Morganton is a deaf community. There are some members who are deaf, so they communicate with sign language. There would be at least one member in the ward that would translate during sacrament meeting. Elder J knows some sign language. I know how to say potato in sign language. The ward members are great. They love coming up and bearing their testimonies.

 

Last Saturday night we went tracting. We found some people at a rest home to teach. There was one person that I admire and that person is Terry Lackey. He is in a wheelchair and he is a member, but less active for quite a while. I showed him a video called "Mountains to Climb" on my Ipad (yes, we are an Ipad mission), I asked him if he had any trials in his life. When he told me his current trial he's having, I started to show some emotion because I really cared about him.

 

Yesterday night was extremely overwhelming. We taught a family who weren't members, but one of them is thinking about getting baptized. It was hard to feel the spirit because the mom kept yelling at one of her three kids. I honestly felt bad for this kid and I wish I could do something about it. There's really nothing I can do except praying for the family to have the spirit in their homes. After that discussion, I was bawling in tears. I felt sorry for them. I asked Elder J to give me a blessing that night I felt better after that.

 

Today is my first preparation day. After we studied we cleaned our apartment. There's two other missionaries in our apartment, but they went to a doctors appointment because Elder P broke his arm. He was biking when a truck driver cut him off when Elder P was trying to cross an entrance to a parking lot. He grabbed the front brakes and the bike flipped him over. That accident also gave him a bloody leg. The other Elder living in our apartment is Elder K, he is the district leader. We all cover the same area and same ward, but we teach different people. After we cleaned and ate lunch we went grocery shopping at Walmart. How we work things is we get what we need/want as a companionship and we each pay half of the grocery cost. I used both Walmart gift cards to cover the groceries. And then we got our haircuts at a traditional haircut place.

 

Next Sunday we're planning on eating at a family's house and then make phone calls. I will plan on it at 7pm which is 5pm in Idaho.

 

Hopefully spring will come in Rexburg soon.

 

-Elder Stafford

Elder Stafford

 https://www.lds.org/youth/video/because-of-him?lang=eng

 I'm am very grateful to be in North Carolina and helping people come unto Christ. I have a testimony that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, it has blessed my life and it can also bless your lives. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet chosen by our Father in Heaven and that Thomas S. Monson is our prophet today. I'm grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. "I believe in Christ, He stands supreme, with Him I'll gain my fondest dream, and while I strive through grief and pain His voice is heard, 'Ye shall obtain!'"