Called to Serve

Called to Serve

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Week 8 - Papayas and an earthquake...

We had to wait a couple of extra days to hear from Josh.  But his email finally came!  We are all looking forward to listening to the Prophet, Apostles and other church leaders this coming weekend.  It's General Conference!!  We would love for you to check it out - it's a great way to recharge your spiritual battery, whether you are LDS or not. Also linked is an AWESOME 2 minute Easter video...Must Watch!!  He Lives.  Happy Easter!

Conference: Saturday and Sunday 9:00 - 11:00 and 1:00 - 3:00 (PT)


Here's Elder Stott's letter from April 1, 2015:


Hola familia and amigos! 

As always, I hope everyone is doing well!

This week has been a long a crazy one but at the same time, I loved (almost) every minute of it! haha

First of all, I love it here in Costa Rica. I'm really starting to love the people and the landscape (I say this in a really manly way) gets prettier every day. Right now is smack in the middle of the "Summer months" in Costa Rica meaning that it's hot and dry rather than hot and wet. The rain, I'm sure, is coming haha.

Apparently there was an Earthquake here but, I was probably sleeping because I definitely did not feel it - so that's interesting.

This week was awesome because we had two different meals where we DIDN'T have rice and beans! YES! We had Pizza Hut one night and on the other, we had really good Chinese food. I've figured out that papaya is disgusting. It has this weird texture and it tastes EXACTLY like vomit. I mixed it with pineapple so then it just tasted like vomit with pineapple hahaha. 

The people here are amazing. They are generally pretty dang poor but at the same time, they're so humble. They always invite us in and they're always willing to listen to our message of the gospel which I love! I love how religious it is here as well - when you ask someone how they're doing, they'll often say "bueno! Gracias a Dios!" meaning "Great, thanks to God!". It's frustrating sometimes because the people often tend to be a little lazy. A lot of people don't work and they sometimes don't follow through with commitments which is necessary for conversion. I can't do it for them - it's their choice, but I always am there to support and encourage them!

This week, an American guy from Washington rolled up in a car and said ¨Hey buddy, where you from?" before I knew it, I was answering him in Spanish and then caught myself haha so I guess I'm starting to pick Spanish up just a tiny bit!

We have been teaching these two young boys C and O. O is 13 and C is 11. C is the one that thinks I look like Captain Kirk from Star Trek.  He loves that I call him "Spock". Well anyways, they've been taking lessons for a while and they have finally committed to be baptized. It's been amazing to see the change in their lives as they convert themselves to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that it is meant to bless the lives of all of Heavenly Father's children.

I'm so stoked for this weekend because we all get the chance to hear from our Prophet and his Apostles. I know that the world has a Prophet today, Thomas S. Monson, and I know that he guides this church and receives revelation for all of God's children. The Apostles as well hold the same keys of the priesthood and I can't wait to hear what they have to share with us this weekend in General Conference!

My birthday this last week was great! I didn't get any eggs smashed on my head (I guess that's a tradition haha) and I got two different cakes from members and investigators! Thank you for all the birthday wishes! I can feel everybody's love!

The reason I'm writing today and I didn't write on Monday was because of the fact that we got to go to the San Jose Temple today. Pres. Wilkinson does not like to waste time so he changed our P-day to the day that we were going to the temple so here I am writing today haha. Anyways, the temple was amazing! The spirit you can feel there is so special and sweet, and is unlike anything else. The whole experience was in Spanish but since the Spirit resides in the temples of the Lord, I was able to understand everything that I needed to know. The Gift of Tongues is REAL because I'm not very good at speaking in Spanish but somehow, I did it!

Thank you for your prayers! The work is hastening here in Costa Rica and I'm thankful to be a part of this great work!

Pura Vida

- Elder Stott

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