It Just Keeps Getting Better & Better!

Elder Jacob Stiles 
El Salvador San Salvador West/Belize Mission 
P.O. Box 1123 
Belize City, Belize, C.A.

jacob.stiles@myldsmail.net

Hey Everyone,

Well the area just keeps getting better and better!  We have really been working on finding the people that are ready!  Every meeting we have we recite Doctrine & Covenants 4, and in verse 4 it say "the field is white already to harvest" which basically means that there are always people out there that God has prepared to hear the gospel.  So we have been talking with everyone we see and sharing the first vision and Lesson One Pamphlet.  One of the people we found we gave her the Lesson One Pamphlet and asked her to read it.  By the time we came back she had read it!  That's probably one of the very few times that Anyone has ever read the thing that we gave them.  Not only that, but she took notes and wrote down questions!  By far one of the coolest things anyone has ever done.  Never thought it would be so hard to get people to read 8 pages of a small book.  We figured out why, and it's because she is from the States.

Anyways, I got an ingrown toenail, and so every morning I have to soak it in water and Epsom Salt.  I also had to buy $150 worth of medicine to keep it from getting infected.  Usually it doesn't hurt too bad until I accidentally kick a rock or something... then it hurts really bad but hopefully it gets better soon.

One of the cool things here is that instead of people saying Heavenly Father, they say "Fatha Gaad" which is like the Kriol way of saying it.  

I also love this quote by Elder Russel M. Ballard that reads, "I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don't set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential.  When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life." This quote has really helped me out on the mission and made me realize the importance of writing down goals, and trying to complete them.  Then if we do this we can become a great person and reach our full potential as Elder Ballard says.

We also helped a less active member pick beans so she could prepare for church, but then ended up not being able to go because she had to cook more than she thought.  I also gave a BYU shirt to a Rosta Man named Andrew.  He loved it so much!  Everyone here loves free shirts!

Love, Elder Stiles

QUESTIONS:
First of all let me say happy birthday to my mom! You know, because that is the most important! :)

What is something new you learned about Elder Blair?   Something i Learned is that Elder Blairs Dad and my dad both like to listen to Glen Beck and Dave Ramsey!

What miracles happened this week?  We met a guy at church that I thought was a member but turns out he isn't but he comes to church every single Sunday.  So we are going to teach him and baptize him!

What is something crazy or interesting that happened this week?  Something crazy is that we saw a guy in the street that just decided to take off his shoes in the middle of the street and leave them there, like he just walked away from them.. they were perfectly fine as well!

What are you doing for P-day today?  for P-day I think we're going to go look for a watch and a backpack for my comp.  My watch broke so now I don't have one anymore.

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San Pedro Island

Elder Jacob Stiles 
El Salvador San Salvador West/Belize Mission 
P.O. Box 1123 
Belize City, Belize, C.A. 

jacob.stiles@myldsmail.net

Hey Everyone,

So this week to start off we did interchanges with the Elders on The Island of San Pedro.  I've been able to work in three countries and an Island!  Super cool opportunity because that's the place where every missionary wants to go.  The island is not what I thought it was going to be at all...  Once you get inland it's almost like you're not on an island because it's very busy.  People drive golf karts everywhere.  The first morning we woke up early to go to the dock to do our workouts and also some yoga.  

We worked in San Mateo which is a part of the island that was added by being built with trash.  They basically took all the trash and put it there, then put sand and dirt on top of it... so it was pretty cool.  

The next morning we woke up early to see the sunrise but there wasn't really one to see so I took some pictures of my name plaque, but in the process a big gust of wind came and knocked my plaque through a tiny hole in the dock!  And I watched as the ENGLISH plaque, that I had waited ten months to get, fell into the water, and dropped to the bottom of the ocean!  So it was a sad hour and a half boat ride back to the mainland.  I  now have to use my Spanish plaque again.  While I was on the island I got a plaque made for me out of wood!  Then I found out I can get it in Kriol.  So I asked for some more!

This week was really good.  We found a lady that really wants to be baptized but she has to get married first.  So we are going to bring the Adams to her and see if they can help her.  Wendel got confirmed this week, and next week will be Lorraine and her son! 

One thing that I really like in a multi-zone conference we just had was a quote, "The real way you can tell if someone is really converted to the gospel is if they share the gospel."  That is so true.  The people that continually share the gospel are the ones that love it the most, and that is what I have come to see the most here on the mission.

I love you all!

Elder Stiles

Three Baptisms!

Elder Jacob Stiles 
El Salvador San Salvador West/Belize Mission 
P.O. Box 1123 
Belize City, Belize, C.A. 

jacob.stiles@myldsmail.net

Hey Everyone,

I guess I'll mention the most positive first... Yesterday Loraine, Miguel, and Wendel got baptized, and Frank got confirmed!  Loraine is the mother of Miguel, and they were both so excited for baptism!  They have been coming to all the activities and church each week.  Wendel is the son of a recent convert named Iris, who is from Honduras.  She just went back to Honduras to bring back Wendel so he could be baptized.  So it was a very happy week and it's just going to get better!

This week we have found even more people that will be ready to be baptized.  We found three boys whose parent are member.  The mom doesn't go anymore, and their father died.  Their names are Orin, Jammal, and Laman... and, yes, just like  the Laman in The Book of Mormon... kind of interesting name choice but still works!  So we are hoping to baptize three more people by the end of this month.

So here is a miracle I heard of this last week.  Over in Cayo, in San Ignacio, a man by the name of Albert Neal got baptized.  He now has the Priesthood and is doing some amazing work in San Ignacio.  When they first told me his name it sounded so familiar but I didn't know from where.  Then Elder Blair was telling me about him and mentioned that he has six fingers... and then it hit me.  He was one of the first people I taught with Elder Reyes, and was supposed to get baptized but then just moved away!  So crazy that he was able to find the church again after so long!

We also learned some new Kriol words.  We learned that Idle means that you are mischievous.  Facey is that you take things without permission (less offensive then Teef or Thief). And if you want to say something looks like something else then you can say "this thing Favors that thing".  

It was a good week, and I just want to say I'm so grateful for the person who sent Elder Blair Chik-Fil-A sauce!  A good reminder of home!  I love all of you!

Elder Stiles 

QUESTIONS:

What miracles happened this week?  Well we found one girl that was supposed to get baptized a year ago and the only reason why she didn't is because she moved and didn't find the missionaries again.

What crazy stuff happened this week?  My comp fell off the bridge (the sketchy one) that I sent a pic of.

What is something you learned about Elder Blair?  I learned that he takes just as long as you (mom) to take his turn in Monopoly deal! and that he has 2 different color eyes!

What are you doing today for P-Day?  We are just going to hang out here at the Adam's house because they are making us food!

It's good that you spent some time with Granny! Hope she is still there when I get back! Go strong Granny!! Hope everything is going well with you guys!

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Welcome Elder Blair

Elder Jacob Stiles 
El Salvador San Salvador West/Belize Mission 
P.O. Box 1123 
Belize City, Belize, C.A. 

jacob.stiles@myldsmail.net

Hey Everyone,

Well this week was definitely a good one.  We started off the week by doing interchanges with the Assistants.  During the day we asked a less active member if she knew anyone we could visit and she told us we should visit her neighbor.  We did and turns out she was a member!  She is 76 years old and she has three grandkids that live with her.  The parents were also members but the dad died and the mom works out on the Islands.  They all accepted a date to get baptized.  So we will be taking the Senior Couples over there to help us get them excited!  We also had a baptism this Sunday with a boy named Frank. He is and 11 year old boy that loves the church!  He comes to every activity.

This Saturday we also did a service project for Brother Barton in the branch.  He is a man from England.  We went out to his farm to build a shade for his plants.  He lives out in the middle of nowhere and he has a ton of Mayan houses on his property that are still under the ground and there are a ton of old broken pottery pieces that he gave me.  While we were there they would cut down sticks and we would carry them.  They would also cut down big palm tree leaves and other leaves to put over the sticks.  Then we tied it all down.  It was actually way cool being able to go out there because it's a part of Belize that nobody gets to see.

Also, every week the missionaries put on an activity for the ward and investigators.  This week's activity was game night.  We brought a bunch of games from the house and we got to know everyone.  This next week we will be doing a Jeopardy game which should be way fun.

An last but not least.. changes!  My companion, Elder Simiskey, will be leaving the city and going to Belmopan!  And my new companion will be coming from Santa Elena, one of my good friends... Elder Blair!!  He is way cool and I'll be happy to show him around the city!  But that's my week!  Bless, Bless. And always be obedient!

Love, Elder Stiles

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We found a baby bird and it reminded me of the episode of Spongebob when they found the clam that couldn't fly cuz this bird couldn't fly either!

Happy Mother's Day Skype

It was a great day Skyping with Jake today.  As usual he is happy and smiling and full of fun.  I want to bottle this kid's enthusiasm and love!

Angie

Too Fast

Hey Everyone,

This has been one of the fastest changes in my mission and it is soon coming to a close.  On Monday we had a surprise visit from a missionary that served here just recently.  His name is now Brother Shirley!  So we went out to eat with him and talk about what he's doing now.  Turns out his cousin is Austin Jones who I went to school with since 6th grade.  He is now serving a mission as well!  Small world, huh?

This change we have really been focusing on being as obedient as we can.  We have been trying our best to really have the spirit in every single lesson.  We have really seen the blessings from it here in our area.  We have five people that really could be baptized tomorrow but they all just have  their own challenges so we have been getting people to go over there that are members to help them with their challenges.  For right now our most positive person is Frank!  He is 11 years old and loves the church  he goes to every activity by himself and has lots of friends in the church.  He should be baptized next Sunday.

A couple interesting things happened this week.  The first was that we saw a giant fire in our area - not sure why.  Everyone just acted like it was normal.  We also did interchanges with Elder Mitchell and Elder Pirir.  It was short but we used that time as a teaching moment and to kind of how an example.  I went to the other area and really got to know the investigators.  We finished it by going to the movie night at the church where we showed Meet The Mormons.  We have seen it quite a few times but it's always good!

And for the scariest part of this week was one night we were walking home and a man started walking across the street but he was looking at me crazy like.  I told my companion and when he got behind us HE STARTED RUNNING!  My comp and I freaked out and started running too!  He chased us for two blocks until finally he stopped at a Chinese store abruptly.  We were very scared for the rest of the night...  We call him the long neck Gaulin.  A member told us it was a bird with a long neck and this man had a very long neck.  He reminded me of the Smiling Man on YouTube.  It felt like we were in a scary movie.  

But there is our week.  I love Belize City and can't wait to finish this change by baptizing Frank!

Love you all!
Elder Stiles

QUESTIONS from Kaden:
Do you think you will ever get to drive a car there? I don't think I will because there are only 4 people in the whole mission that get to and those are the assistants to the president.  Well i write in my journal at times and sometimes make some skinny ties but other than that you really don't have any free time as a leader in the mission so its always kind of hectic. but thanks for the questions! i love them!

How big of a bed do you have?  I actually have a big Queen size bed but we don't sleep in our room because it is way too hot in the night.

What do you do at your house in your free time?  Well I write in my journal at times, and sometimes make some skinny ties.  Other than that you really don't have any free time as a leader in the mission so it's always kind of hectic. But thanks for the questions! I love them!