Elder Eckman goes home

Hey Everyone,

It was the last week of the transfer and everything ran really well. Elder Eckman will be going home on Wednesday and I will be companions with Elder Merkley. It will be the first time I am senior companion. I don´t feel like I´ve been on the mission that long! We will be in charge of both Cassequel B and Cassequel C, because they took two missionaries out of our branch. The area of Elder Merkley and I will be twice the normal size, but all that means is more work to keep us busy! This upcoming Saturday we will have 6 baptisms. The work is moving pretty fast in our branch. I´m very excited to see the progression in our area! I love being a missionary and I know I´m where I need to be at this time. I hope you all have a great week.

Com amor,

Elder Stewart

Filling the tank n Cassequel

Hey Everyone, 
 
This last week was pretty normal. We had to bucket water on Saturday 
from the water tank we have, at the chapel, to fill the baptismal 
font. The five branches in Luanda use our chapel for baptisms every 
other Saturday. Since we are the closest Elders to the building, we 
have to bucket and fill the baptismal font every other weekend. We are 
still working very closely with those six men who will be baptized on 
June 29th. They are all future priesthood holders and will help the 
branch greatly! I´m very excited to see them as they continue to 
progress in the gospel. Elder Eckman and I feel very blessed by the 
Lord. We truly can see His hand in this work. Without the help of the 
Lord, the work wouldn´t move forward. I know the work we are doing is 
guided by the hand of the Lord, and I feel very blessed to take just a 
little part in it. I hope you all have a great week! 
 
Com amor, 
Elder Stewart 

Lots of growth in Cassequel

Hey Everyone,

This last week was full of many miracles! We managed to teach a very large number of lessons and we marked 3 more baptismal dates! There are a lot of miracles happening in Angola. On June 29th we have 6 people planned for baptism. One of the people we marked for the 29th is Admir. He is the spouse of a less-active member. He is a very humble man and has progressed very rapidly! It will be very cool to see another family enter into the branch of Cassequel. The area I'm in right now is growing very fast. Hopefully we will continuing finding more and more people so that we don't go through anymore slow phases, where we don't have a lot of people to teach. I translated into English for the second time in church on Sunday. It definitely went a lot better than the first time. The missionary work is growing little by little here in Angola. I'm very excited to see President Merrill's vision when he arrives in July. I know this is the Lord's work and that He is always watching over it. I hope you all have a great week!

Com amor,

Elder Stewart

Augusto and Cesarina

Cesarina, Augusto, Rosa, Pres. & Sis. Kretly, Elder Eckman, and Me

President Kretly's last visit to Angola

Hey Everyone, 
 
Last week was a very busy week. We had a visit from President and 
Sister Kretly for the last time. This last friday we had a Zone 
Conference with President Kretly. The conference ran really well and 
President Kretly had a lot to share with us. He gave us some words of 
advice on how to continue with the goal we have to establish the 
church here in Angola. With the switch of presidents and all he wants 
to make sure we are going to accept President Merrill with open arms. 
I don´t think there will be any problems because the missionaries here 
are super excited to become a mission and to meet President Merrill. 
The day after the conference we had baptisms. Cesarina (wife of 
Augusto) was finally baptized on Saturday. Augusto baptized his wife 
and it was a very touching experience to witness. I´m very happy for 
their family and the choices they are making. Augusto went from being 
a partying, drinking, and irresponsible father, to being a Melchizedek 
Priesthood holder and Executive Secretary of the branch. It´s crazy to 
see the changes that people are able to make in such a short time. I 
feel very blessed to have the opportunity to serve the Lord at this 
time in my life. I wouldn´t want to be anywhere else. I love you all 
and hope you all have a great week! 
 
Com amor, 
Elder Stewart 

Huambo becomes a branch

Hey Everyone,

This last week was a very interesting week. We had a lot of lessons
and found some new people. Sunday I did the translating for the
congregation. The branch I´m in offers translating into English, so
every Sunday the missionaries switch off translating. It was my first
time translating and I think I did okay. Our recent convert Augusto,
whom I have talked about a lot, received his first calling after just
a month in the church. He was called to be the Executive Secretary of
the Branch. He also received the Melchizedek Priesthood! It was cool
to see him doing so well. I also have some more exciting news. The
last area I served in was made into a branch this last weekend!
President Kretly arrived here in Angola and immediately went down to
Huambo to organize the branch. I´m very happy that they have made this
first big step! The church is growing very fast here in Angola. I´m
very grateful to have been able to see the hand of the Lord in this
beautiful country. I know the Lord is watching over His missionary
work. I love being a missionary and I´m grateful for the opportunity I
have been given to see the beginnings of the church here in this
country. I hope you all have a great week!

Com amor,
Elder Stewart

Teaching people from the Congo

Hey Everyone,


This last week was a great week! We had a lot of lessons taught and a few new investigators. Some new people, of whom we have started teaching, includes a group of people that are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are extremely receptive to the message which we shared with them. It all started with Alexander. He is from the Congo as well and he contacted us in the street. He wanted to know where our church was at and if he could attend a meeting. We gave him our contact number and told him where the church was located. That very Sunday, sure enough, he was there in church. It was the Sunday where we watch General Conference on a big projector screen. He is terrible with the Portuguese language and hardly understood anything, but he felt something special in that meeting. He liked it so much that he came to the second session that we watched in the afternoon. Alexander is now sitting with Elder Arrington and Elder Merkley (two other Elders in the branch I´m in). Alexander not only has continued with the lessons, progressing little by little, but he´s referred all of his friends. Elder Eckman and I are now teaching Alexander´s friends, Bem Vindo and Miguel, as well as some of their family members. They all seem to be very excited about the changes they are making. Bem Vindo has left smoking and drinking completely. Miguel has also left that kind of lifestyle behind as well. They are all around the ages of 27-30 and have been a great support group to one another. I love being a missionary and seeing great guys like them change their lives for the better. I know this gospel is true and that it truly blesses peoples lives. I hope you all have a great week!


Com amor,

Elder Stewart

Pictures from the spring in Huambo

Pictures from Luanda

Hey Everyone,


I don´t have much news this week. We haven´t had any baptisms yet, but we have three planned for June. This last week Elder Eckman and I had 11 investigators at church, which was a miracle in itself, but on top of that there was 186 people in attendance at church. Things are going really well here in the Cassequel branch. We are seeing a lot of growth in the church and it´s very exciting. I hope you all have a great week and enjoy the pictures I sent.



Com amor,

Elder Stewart

Elder Eckman, Jared's current companion, posted this paragraph on his blog on April 30, 2013::

What a cool week I've just finished having!  =)  We worked our tails off and saw the fruits of it--we met 11 new people this week and have been turning our area upside down to let everyone know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is here, it's true, and it blesses lives.  As we were knocking doors in Cassenda (one of the "nicer" parts of our area) a thought hit me:  Part of your duty is to make sure that the people who live where you work know what the church is, understand that it's the Kingdom of God on the Earth, and know who to look for in times of hardship.  Even if they don't accept your message right now, they need to know that the message exists so they can seek it out later.

Well, after that hit me like a ton of bricks I realized that there's a better way to let everyone know that we are here, why we're here, and what we're doing than just wandering from door-to-door when appointments drop or just walking the streets talking to a few people.  We've decided to set aside an hour of every day to systematically contact every house in Cassenda.  It's close to the chapel, there are many apartments, houses, and people.  It might take a few months, but we've decided that it's worthwhile.  And, of course, we'll find a ton of people along the way.

So, we're making a map of sorts (we're still trying to figure out the best way to do this) and keeping a specific record of who we've talked to, how they took it, etc.  We're hoping for wonderful results.

C... on a great track to baptism and both her and M... will be baptized on the 18th.

I'm really enjoying working with Elder Stewart.  He and I complement each other well and he's a hard worker.  It's been a good transfer thus far.

Hey Everyone,

I apologize for not writing last week. This last week was good and bad. It was bad because I got sick and had to stay in for a few days. I´m almost 90% certain I had Dengue Fever. I had all of the signs and symptoms, but everything is alright now. The good news is there were baptisms last Saturday and 18 people were baptized in Luanda. It was a very high number for one day. Other than that I don´t have much else to add. I hope you all have a great week!

Com amor,

Elder Stewart

Hey Everyone,


We had two baptisms last week! Everything went off without a hitch. João Baptista and Augusto were both baptized and confirmed members of the church last week. Hopefully in May we will see the baptism of Cesarina (wife of Augusto). She really wants to be baptized, but just needs a little more preparation. This last week I had a really cool experience. We´ve started teaching this woman named Paula. She has had a really difficult life. Paula is in here fifties and has struggled with alcoholism for many years. It got so bad that it resulted in an amputation of a toe on her foot. She is missing half of here teeth. She is only in her fifties, but she looks like she is in her late seventies. When the missionaries found her, she had already been reading a book from our church. She had the gospel principles book and would read it in her spare time. She has made so many changes since we´ve started teaching her. She has stopped drinking and is progressing really well. Every time we come to teach her, she has studied the reading we left, made notes, and can teach us about the chapter. It´s pretty awesome to see how the gospel is for everyone. It doesn´t matter how old or how young you are. The bottom line is the gospel changes people. It makes good people into better people. I love being a missionary and wouldn´t want to be anywhere else in this time of my life. I hope you all have a great week!


Love,

Elder Stewart

Hey Everyone,

This last week was my first full week here in Luanda. I´m also starting to adjust to the extremely hot and humid weather! We are going to have two baptisms this week. They should have been last week, but the chapel didn´t have water to fill up the font. Hopefully everything will run more smoothly this weekend. João Baptista and Augusto will be baptized. I don´t know if any of you recognized that first name, but it´s John the Baptist in english! hahaha Augusto is the father of a pretty big family and his wife should be baptized in the upcoming month along with three children. The work is definitely moving forward here in Luanda. It was a bit of a change entering a branch with 150 people in church on Sunday. I was really used to having a very small church meeting. I´m very grateful to have the opportunity to serve the Lord here in Angola. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet. I know he saw our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and that they called him to do their work. I hope you all have a great week! 

Com amor,
Elder Stewart

Hey Everyone,

This was my first week in Luanda and things are going really well! It was pretty exciting getting to know so many members of the church here in Angola. Coming from a very small group, I wasn´t very used to seeing so many members in church. This last Sunday we had roughly 138 people in church. That is a big difference from 40 people. Just the priesthood alone is bigger than the group I came from. We weren´t able to see conference, because it´s not available here in Angola, but we will be watching it in two weeks. We did however see the priesthood session. There was a lot of great things shared with the brethren of the church. The responsibility that each priesthood holder carries is big! Each priesthood holder is a tool in the hands of the Lord. I really enjoyed President Dieter F. Uchtdorf´s talk, which spoke about the 4 titles each priesthood holder has. In particularly, Sons of a Heavenly Father, is a very important title we have. This title does not just apply to men, but to every person that lives on the face of the earth. We are all sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father. He loves each and every one of us more than we can possibly comprehend. I know every person I see in the streets is a son or daughter of God. What we have to try to do is remember to love and see them the way that God loves and sees them. I hope you all have a great week!

Com amor,
Elder Stewart

Transferred to Luanda

Hey Everyone,

 

I will be transferred on Wednesday to Cassequel B, Luanda. My time is finally up here in Huambo. I can´t believe I´ve been in Huambo for 8 months. I´m pretty excited and nervous to go to Luanda. It will definitely be a lot different to what I´m used to. There is not a city in the world that is comparable to Luanda. I´m sure I will love it none the less! My new companion will be Elder Eckman. He´s been in the mission the same amount of time as my old companion Elder Harper. We´ve also heard some news that Huambo will become a branch in May. I´m a little sad I won´t be here for the organization of the branch, but I´m glad to hear Huambo will finally reach it´s goal. That´s about all the news I have for this week. I hope you all have a great week and I fill everyone in on my new area next week!

 

Com amor,

Elder Stewart

 

 

 

Great shirt I found!

The first entry.

This will be Jared's blog.  Excited to get going.  I will be posting information and his letters.