Well big news for the week is that i got stuck training! Haha I am super super nervous. His name is Elder Arnett from Gilbert, Arizona, he is a good kid. He seems to be really prepared and ready to go so he will be senior companion by next week haha. It should be a very interesting experience for me. He graduated the same year and has just been working all this time. Glad i got to come out when i did so i can go home earlier haha.
Other big news is a baptism! Yay for Kirk, pics next week cause i don't have time this week. Went to the temple after i met my trainee they call us father and son out here so after i met my kid we went to the temple again. Only thing that made me a little not nervous. Helped me relax a little bit. Haven't gotten alot of sleep cause i am just a nervous wreck. Got the call to come to the trainer meeting last friday. Had a meeting on saturday and now here i am training. We have two hours of comp study that i get to try and do to help him out. I have a feeling right now that it will be alot of help on both sides so i am excited.
Super bummed tho cause it was supposed to be a "family" apartment cause mission family elder fisher is my nephew and his son is related to me too haha, but poor elder chapman got kicked out. and elder moss obviously too but we was gonna have some fun.
Glad for my last comp tho. He is a good kid just really still prideful in alot of things. Kinda opens your eyes a little bit to what you were like as a junior comp when you become senior. I prolly wasn't the best to be with still ain't the best but i just try to do better with every comp i get.
Back to the baptism tho it went really good! I love this man. Afterwards on tuesday we went by for Elder Moss to say goodbye and gave him a card and also a metro smart card so he can come to church! He was elated! never seen him so happy. Took him the picture you guy's will get next week...sorry...but i just feel like there is no time for anything. I am terrible about writing letters back as well. I need to write like 5 6 letters and i am just a slacker so maybe i will get some done sometime.
Also had a V.C. Trip with Kirk went real good. Had a sucky tour. Wasn't real happy about it. Just took us a couple places and bore testimony. not bad yes i know but so much stuff you can do with the v.c. when you ask for a tour on prophets and holy ghost. didn't feel like she prepared for it either. Some sister's will just never give me a tour again to say the least but watched On the Lord's Errand which is a really good movie about good ole tommy. Our prophet really is legit. Very good example to me. and i love listenign to his talks and such
Met also with a guy who has met with missionary's for the last 7 years and told us he has made up his mind and he will get baptized! Super stoked. Gonna be in the new church so new me he says. Fine with me. His name is Kevin Smith. Hopefully he is serious. Told him we will be there for him every step of the way haha kinda obvious but it is okay.
also met with a solid lady. Reminded us of another person who Elder Moss baptized who is gonna be a leader in the ward very soon cause she is just smart. Her name is Patricia so we put her on date for the 23 of September so that will be good hopefully Me and Elder Arnett will have some success.
I am gonna do my best at tryign to explain everything and all but i am just super super nervous and hope i won't let Elder Arnett down and also Pres. I think i might have some fun tho and hopefully be having more success!
Not much to report just want the books and calendar but i won't know where to get binding done so just take your time but hurry haha and I don't care about the caleder paper mara just whatever is cheap. Thanks for everything! Package was good mom! ate all the candy on monday night call out's with all the roomates.
Love ya Elder Stoor

Hi there family

This week was good.
Kirk W. Battle is going to be baptized next Sunday!!!!!!!!! I am kinda happy about it. I like this guy alot and he has quit smoking! Pretty much cold turkey'ed it. Went to the V.C. commited him to stop smoking and ever since then pretty much nothing. He is a very cool guy. The High Priests have pretty much took him under there wing as well. I love going to High Priest Group. Just sit around and talk deep doctrine. Super nice. They have a good vibe in there as well. We took the High Priest Group Leader to our visit with him yesturday and it went good. There is a sweet object lesson i did. Got it from Elder Fisher. There is this pen that erases with friction that pilot makes. Write in a different pen how church or anything makes you feel. Normaly just the Spirit, and that is alot. Then you take the other pen and write over it. saying along the lines of this is the world does to ya throughout the week. Then you take a lighter and all the ink from the other pen goes away and you get the Atonement/Sacrament/Baptism that happens in our lifes. Super spiritual when you do it too. Might try and do a video so you can see. Get Elder Fisher to do it cause he is a good missionary.
I love the Temple. I love the feelings there. I love to just go and relax in the Celestial room. not a care in the world when you get there. I hope that is what heavan feels like. I think it is supposed too so someday i can just kick it with my super hot ressurected wife and be happy.
I am trying to start some good studies with my study journal as well. Someday i will have effective studies and be able to do my investigators justice. Being senior comp you are like expected to know everything. That is false haha. I sometimes alot of the time just blank out during lessons on some scriptures and things and i am just grateful for the spirit in those instinces. I am grateful for the presence of the Spirit in everything i do. I really hope that i can be worthy of its companionship throughout the rest of my life. I am still trying to figure out how it all works with it tho. People make it sound easy sometimes. I don't think it will ever be easy to feel the Spirit cause you always got to work your butt off to get it.
It is sometimes the hardest thing to do to just go out and get denied and get denied and get denied. I think missionary work is the hardest thing to do ever! Just because most of the time it is just depressing. I don't know if i have ever been rejected more that this last transfer. Prolly because i have tried to make a consicous effort to try to talk to people now. Between getting your companion to try and talk to people to getting rejected when you talk to people. Some rude some not so rude some even do it politely some just don't talk to ya at all. Just keep on walking. Sometimes i turn my bike around and just keep talking till they talk haha That is fun sometimes. Then i don't bring up gospel situation talking. Just talk about Sports or something like that...Dwight Howard on the Lakers...poopy.
Don't worry too much about getting letters to me, i need to worry about getting letters sent back out...sorry Jordan and Mike i am the worst haha. hopefully i will get some written today tho.
We went to the V.C. again with an investigator named Ken. The sister's put him in tears. Look up a new video god's plan, it is about plan of salvation with familys??? first time i seen it...put me in tears as well i will admit it. Ken was pretty wrecked up there tho. Rubber Malet expierence. Hopefully it will put some focus on him doing stuff to find out it is true tho. He said that is what he needed to do. He is a really good guy tho. Got his foot blown off in Afghanistan, loves family. I really like him he is just scared about change. hopefully he felt the spirit tho.
Also took a family to Why I Believe on Sunday. It is a testimony meeting put on by Recent Converts at the V.C. Have one kinda important speaker but it is mostly for the recent converts to introduce themselves. Took Aster and her family up there. She was baptized right before i got here but i got to be in the circle when she was confirmed. her kids are dang cute. Made me want to be a dad haha. Robson who is 7 and Cedece???spelling??? Super adorable little girl about 1 and a half. Love them alot it was good to go up there to the V.C. For that.
Well not much else to report. Everyone is telling me i am training. Lets hope not. Transfer's are next week??? Super crazy.
Hope all is well back at home!
Love ya Elder Stoor!!!!!!

What's crackin folks?

What's crackin folks?
I kinda love my roommate/dl Elder Fisher. He is a stud and we have too much fun sometimes. We went on an exchange on Monday, and it was pretty much the funnest day of my mission. We started out at District Meeting. Those are always good. Had Panda Express afterwards...always go there for lunch. Was good. Then we chilled with the Zone Leaders and on the way back talked to a couple of gay people and crazy people. Gay people are the hardest to talk too cause you can't do much for them and they think that we think they are an abomination. One of the most hardest ?'s i think i have ever gotten is Can you be Mormon and gay? You try to answer that one. Most of the time i try to just end it before that ? comes cause you know it will come. Or it comes to the point where we pretty much say hate the sin and not the sinner. I just don't think i could ever be gay just so you guy's know.

We then just preceded to have a good fun day. had a person come tell us his church is moving to S.E. and he has decided to just become a Mormon. We said perfect when can we come help you out with that? Super cool when that stuff happens.

We had interviews with President...super fun guy as well. We get in the room and sit down and he tells me"I just got done rebuking your companion pretty hard" "That's good President, on what?" "Roleplays...just told him to get with the damn program" hahahahaha. I love it. Love the fact that he is so just real. I hate people who are fake. Pres ain't fake as far as i can tell. Just had a super good e-mail. Got rebuked on my BoM reading...i have been way behind on where i am supposed to be and he brought up on how it is Zion's Camp and the same thing applys. He is weeding out for leadership pretty much. A part of me wants to just not read anymore till next transfer so i don't have to be a leader, but that wouldn't do me any good i know.

After interviews, we went to the V.C. with Kirk. Had a tour on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and told the sisters to commit him to stop smoking ;] Thought it would be good for them to do it instead of us haha lazy i know. anyways, Prolly the best tour i have ever been on. Sat in front of the Christus with the recording playing and then went watched the mormon.org movie on the guy that builds rides and it has a good message on just changing your life. Talked about repentance then watched a mormon message on the Holy Ghost and how to recognize promptings. Then the Joesph Smith hour long movie. Really just a good tour. Spirit was really strong. At the end, we just talked with Kirk about smoking and he committed to stop smoking. Just really wants to change his life to God's will. Went over like 3 days later and he only smoked just a little bit!!!! Really good. Didn't smoke really at all compared with what he used too. i am super excited for him. I really think he will be baptized in two weeks :]

It was really a good week. I feel like it is just going by super fast. There is only two days in the week. sunday and p-day. It is just going back and forth from that. It is good tho i don't mind it going by fast. I am still learning alot and am going to start to do a study journal now in my personal study that will help me alot i think. Kinda been slacking on it cause i have been worrying about the area and what is all happening. I think i have been thinking differently since i became senior comp cause you got to really do everything. Before you just had to worry about doing everything and it was all on your end. Now you have to worry about really everything it feels like. I guess what i am trying to say is when i was junior i was just told to do everything and i tryed and there was always reminder's there. Now i have to give the reminder's and it sucks haha.
hope all is well at home...sorry this is so short but yeah.

Sis Simms is the lady with the big hair
Migel Rojas is the guy
Sister Mays is the other lady that is shorter and in a t-shirt.
I like those guy's alot

This picture is of Sister Mack. She is really really awesome. just super solid. Gets up and sings her testimony every testimony meeting. Tells everyone they need to be at church and she is the convert of the one and only Elder Banks haha. Asked her about him and she likes him alot. he just makes everyone happy she says haha. Told her i wanted a picture of us to send to him and she had the biggest smile on her face when i said it haha. Goes to show that you do get remembered out here. People get a connection with missionary's especially those first couple.

Hope all is well again!
Have some fun for me this week!
Love ya
Elder Stoor

Hi there,
 I have kinda accepted the fact that i think about home everyday..think about family.  I have tried to stop doing all that but finally just succumb to the fact that i will think about you guys. I don't waste my day thinking all the time about those things. I hardly think about you guy's at all during the day when i am working. Unless i see something that reminds me of home. But i do think about all you guy's every single day. sometimes it gets old. I think it just kinda hit me that it was fair week this week. All that happened last year associated with it haha wink wink...and just all the good times. I know there will be good times ahead. Just has to be. I know it will be completely different. I have accepted that fact for sure. It will never be the same and i guess i am okay with it. I am very excited for the rest of my life. There is very good things to come. Look up "Good things to come" Mormon Message. Really has helped me out and could help out everyone. When we go through all our trials, i am beginning to realize a reason behind them all. At the end of the Message Jeffery R. Holland just says it good. When we embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, Blessing come. They may not come right now, they may not come until the next life. But THEY COME. It is truly a fact. Sometimes i look back on my mission even and i haven't baptized. Done it once but he is fallen off the face of the earth now. Hasn't come to church since i left. He did it for the wrong reasons and so it kinda sucks to look back. I have been out here for 8 months. Yes it has gone by sooooo fast but yet it has been 8 months. Long time. And i haven't seen very many baptisms. Yes i know it is because i haven't done my part the best i could have. I know i can do better. I have tried to work on something every single day, week, transfer, month just something to improve. I will never ever be perfect. I guess i am realizing that we just have to do our best and the Lord picks up the rest. I know i will start to see baptisms. and to be honest if i don't ever have another one i wouldn't let it faze me. I know why i am here now. I know what i am doing now. I know i need to do it His way and that is a struggle to figure out that every day. Something should happen tho. I can see it in this week.
Walter, guy my comp didn't talk to and i did. Just a super cool guy and it was one of the most spiritual G-Q's i have had. Dogged a couple appointments but i wasn't gonna let him go quiet yet. Met him finally this week. Put him on date...cool 1st lesson.
Anthony, husband family with two kids. Kinda the same thing this week. on date.
Malika, and her two sons. On date.
I know it comes from trying to work hard and be obedient. something you just have to do. I am not the best at obedient. Just as a good friend of mine, a senior couple here in DC 3rd Ward said it best when talking about buying things on sunday cause we were joking we were going to go buy a drink on the way back to church from taking Kirk home. ( who is also on date wants to change his life got himself to church! YES) Elder Miller said "Some times you have to do things like that so you don't get translated" Lol. or however you spell it. pretty much so you don't get twinkled. We make mistakes like watching Keri Walsh and Misty May dominate the Italians on Sunday after giving Bro. Peguse the sacrament. Coolest guy ever. He just told us Olympics are legal and turned on the t.v. That volleyball match was legit! but i try not to do it every single time.
Things happen in life and you just have to go with them pretty much. Grateful to be here in D.C. i need to take more pictures haha. try to get you some but i just don't have alot. try to send my card home with megans letter this week.
I know the Lord is watching over us all and is blessing us! I love this gospel and all the blessings associated with it. Most converts tell us that they wished they had it sooner in their life. I tell them me too. Wished i would have believed in it earlier. I still prolly say i never had a testimony of the gospel until senior year. about december. That is when it all kinda started for getting my own testimony. I think i never really had one until about two transfers ago. When i was with the toughest comp i will ever have. I was so close to just coming home. Had to check why i was here and ever since then i think i have realized exactly how to get a testimony. You live it. You do everything you can to live it. Then the blessing come. I have a testimony of this gospel, i know the book of mormon is true, i know being obedient is the way you get the Spirit, I know i don't have to be perfect i just have to do the best i can.
Elder Watts, my last comp really helped me to just strengthen my testimony of everything. Literally everything. Love the kid even tho we don't have too much in common. He has prolly been my fav comp. so far. Even beats Elder Fawcett and Schaap but don't tell them i said that haha. I have loved all my comps but one haha some i have troubles with but hopefully they will all get worked out eventually. Somethings got to give i guess haha.
Thanks for all you do and the pics from the reunion! and the pics now?  i sense a secret you need to tell me?
Tell me the good stuff about the Olympics i am jealous.
Miss you guy's a ton but I know i will be home in 16 months or so haha long time left.
Thanks for everything and maybe i will have to write you guy's back sometime's i mean my sisters maybe i will have to respond with these voice letters? tell me which you want. Sometimes i just don't have time to write much.
Love you all, Keep having fun!
Elder Stoor

Voice Recordings

Got something you might like in this e-mail. I went and bought a voice recorder and going to be talking about my day instead of writing everyday. I still want to try to actualy write but i just can't do it everyday for some reason. Did for a while but then just kinda slacked off. But i can talk about my days haha So maybe you guy's can listen to them too.

(hopefully we can get those loaded to the blog soon)

We got another person on date. It was a super hard lesson to teach because of all the kids running around (prolly would've been beaten at our house) but they were loud and wouldn't listen fun fun. Also there were traffic cause we were on the front porch. Not the best teaching environment but you could feel the Spirit when it wasn't loud. We have a V.C. Trip lined up to go tomorrow and teach her up in that spiritual environment so it should be fun. gotta love the v.c. where the sister's teach and you just get to sit pretty much and just have fun.

Hopefully the huckleberry pickin is going fun. Wouldn't say no to a bag of those...wink wink...wish i could be there haha.
Had something called Zone Training this week. They have changed what the leadership do. At least what the Zone Leader's and idk about the Assistants but the ZL's don't come to every district meeting like they used to. Just once every transfer. They are doing Zone Training pretty much just a zone district meeting. It was pretty fun. They let us play some spiritual game afterwards too. fun fun. Played scripture pictionary. With missionaries that is super fun. It is kinda weird not to see the ZL's at every district meeting like you used to. I think they are trying to make it so where the Zone Leaders can do some work in their area's.

nothing has been problem with Elder Moss this week. After last Sunday it has been good. He is just new and just won't let go of his pride. It is hard to role play with him. You are supposed to role play everyday but he doesn't ever want to do it. Went on exchange with our DL Elder Fisher and wouldn't role play. I don't think he knows that stuff like that goes up the line. Interviews next week. should be fun. It is just kinda tough to be with him cause he just knows everything and won't even admit every that he is wrong. I have learned that you just need to be as humble as you can. Be willing to learn from everyone. If you aren't, it is going to be a long two years and those two years won't do ya much good. I just hope things won't get too escalated this week.

He is a good guy tho. I kinda like being with him so it will all work out. Might just be tough this next week or so. Just trying to find a way to adapt to him so we can find the success.

I am still trying to just talk to everyone i can. It is super fun to g-q. It is like a box of chocolates you never know what you gonna get.

Talked to a Jewish lady in her early 20's, found out what they believe it was super cool. Kinda sad tho, but she finds happyness in it so idk. Then i pissed a gay guy off. Tried to talk to him (didn't know he was gay) stopped me when i pulled the conversation to the gospel. Told me the Church things his existance an abonination because of the way he finds happyness. Told me i couldn't argue with that. I just told him that his existance isn't an abomination just pretty much what you do haha. Kinda awkward and he left and i didn't want to pursue any farther haha. Then just a ton of people who just aren't interested. Most just don't even want to take the time of day to talk to ya. Gonna be nice to go back home and just be glued to my music/smartphone and not have to talk to people haha. Jealous sometimes of the people here.

Guess where i am again? Library of Congress! Super cool haha.

Hopefully i will have time for some pics and to write Mara and Shelb.

Love you guy's!!!!
Elder Stoor