Week - 25 "Hey Patrick, you know what's funnier than 24? 25."

Do you remember that episode??  Haha man, I miss Sponge Bob.  25 weeks though!

Hey everyone! How's life in the good ol' States?! 

Things are hot and dusty here in Guanacaste, but the baptisms keep coming!

You guessed it! Another Baptism this passed Saturday! This sick dude's name is Juan Ramon and he's a savage! He really has a love of the gospel and we had to push him a little to make the decision to be baptized but here we are with the newest member of the Church. We completed another family here in Guanacaste so now we just need to wait 1 year so they go to the temple! What a blessing to be a part of changing people's lives for the better! :)

The Road to Discipleship

Things are pretty normal here, it's kinda boring sometimes to be completely honest.. We're out here in the sticks of Guana so nothing really happens BUT the work of the Lord here is really killin' it!

This week haha I had a soup that I called "surprise" soup! It was a fish/seafood soup that had a bunch of random stuff haha. It felt like I was eating a soup made from stuff that was scraped off the side of a boat. It had a weird fish in it that tasted and had the texture of beef - I'm not sure what it was but it was good! haha

It's kinda tough here in Canas because sometimes the people are kinda lazy. They don't want to go to church or get baptized - even if they know that the church is true or that they'll receive blessings. So sometimes we have to be straight-up with investigators and say something along the lines of "Hey, it was really a pleasure to teach you guys but we feel that you don't want to keep going or listen to our lessons so we're going to have to stop coming by..." It's tough sometimes but we give them a reality check and hope that they can re-organize their priorities.

This week I had a experience that really strengthened my testimony of the Priesthood that I hold. we had to go bless a house that the previous owners had used to do witch-craft. I won't talk about it very much because it's scary, but to say the least, whatever was in that house, did not like my companion or me at all. But the house is fine now and it's a place of love and the Spirit. The power of the Priesthood is SO real and it's meant to bless the lives of our Heavenly Father's children. I'm so grateful to hold that power!

Thank you everyone for the prayers!

Pura Vida!

- Elder Eh-Stott (that's how people say my name haha)   

Week 24 - The shirt off my back

Hey whatsup fam!

Another week just flying by - feels like just yesterday was Monday haha. 

This week was a lot better than last week! 

So first, I had divisions with a missionary in Liberia on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning - one of the HOTTEST places in Costa Rica. It was flippin hot and dusty. I got pretty burnt but I had a pretty great time as well - I learned a lot! I also met up with the Medic for the mission and her grand-daughter gave us money! She found 10,000 Colones on the beach and wanted us to buy lunch which was super sick! She gave us a little more than 20 bucks so we went and got milkshakes :) The Lord likes to bless us in little ways :)

We had another baptism this week! His name is Bladimir (and yes, it's spelled like that because a "V" here makes a "B" sound so I guess it makes more sense to put a B - who knows, Ticos and Nicaraguenzas are strange with their names sometimes haha) but he is SUPER sick. He is always super understanding and has a real desire to be better and learn about the gospel. He's super relaxed and "pura vida" - or chill :) He has become a really great friend and I love to visit him.

Haha, it's something random, but I love to ask people how I old I am here. The usual answer is around 25 and they usually don't believe me when I tell them 19. They say it's because of my "cuerpo" or becase I'm bigger than them... who knows, it's pretty funny :)

Hey, this week I had Iguana again!!! Its called a Garrobo, and they're massive. This time it tasted different AND better than the Iguana. It tastes like carne or beef and was super tender and tasty :) Mom is gonna kill me again but hey - now I can tell my kids all the weird things I've eaten :)

Weird things always happen to me in my mission... This week, a guy who had been drinking a little came up to me and asked if Gringos think that they're better than the Ticos. I told him that like Jesus, I'm trying to love everyone so, no. He then took off his shirt and told me it was a gift. I told him thank you and that I really appreciated his kindness. Hahaha after, he told me that he wanted my shirt and tie - which I told him that I couldn't trade. He snatched back his shirt and yelled in my face that I was a terrible and prideful person and drove off on his motorcycle. Haha I don't know what it is, but drunk people seem to always follow me and want to talk to me. God loves all his children exactly the same - the drunk crazy motorcyclist too & so do I haha :)

We had an awesome opportunity this week to have a conference and organize a Stake here in Gunanacaste! We're a STAKE now baby! The area Presidency of Centroamerica (the big-whig Seventies) and my Mission President were there. I have a lot of respect for my president and I know he's going to change history here in Costa Rica. He has a ton of energy and told me that I was doing a great job here in Guanacaste! He really is great.

Remember that God love all his children equally but does not have equal trust in them. Take a moment everyday to think to yourself "Am I worthy and dignified of the Lord's trust today?"

Thanks for all the emails and love and prayers!

Pura Vida! Ush!

- Elder Stott :)

Week 23 - "It tastes like chicken"...ughh

Howdy family and friends!

Hope your week was cooler (temperature wise) than mine! haha It's flippin hot here in Guanacaste!

So this week was really great! It's tough memorizing everyone's name and the parts of the new area so about half the time, I feel like a lost puppy just following my companion around haha. :)

So I had a baptism my first week! I'm not totally sure what happened, but after 10 years of investigating the church she decided that she wanted ME to baptize her. She said that I gave her really good "vibes" or something like that haha. So, you guessed it, we baptized her! Her name is Mercedez and she's from Nicaragua. She is part of a huge family - Familia Mungia, and her whole family is super awesome! They remind me a ton of my Jones Family side hahaha :)

The area is pretty great. I do like my old area a lot better but I'm getting used to it now! It reminds me every single day of Meadow/Fillmore, Utah haha. It's super hot, dry, there's always semi's passing by and the people are chilling outside. It's a super weird feeling, feeling that I'm in Meadow, Utah but that I'm in Costa Rica haha :)

Mom isn't gonna be happy to hear this but a couple of weeks ago, I ate Mondongo (cow stomach) and it was super flippin nasty. It tastes really foul and reminds me of gum - it's pretty chewy. Don't worry, I'll never ever eat it again haha. And yesterday, I ate Iguana.. It was pretty good because it tastes a whole lot like chicken. You wouldn't know it was iguana if someone didn't tell you.. haha I wasn't a HUGE fan so I don't think I'll ever find myself requesting it haha.

Not a super cool story but I thought it was cool... haha I found a little baby parrot walking around in the street and it was chill enough to climb up on my finger. So the picture of me is with a chill and wild parrot :)

I'll have more to write about my investigators next week when I know more of them and their names but the ones I've met are super cool!

I hope everyone is staying cool! Remember to never let a day pass by without serving someone. I've done it everyday in my mission and I can testify that it will bless their lives and your's even more!

Todo "Tuanis" (slang for awesome) here!

Pura Vida

- Elder Stott :) 

Week 22 - 5 months!! Good vibes and a new area.

Hey everybody, hope everyone had a sweet 4th of July! I waved my tiny American flag in my apartment.

So this week was honestly not too exciting at all until Sunday night.. More about that later... haha :)

We've still been working with 3 awesome investigators. They all have their own challenges so we've really been working by the Spirit with them.

I bought some incense and peanut butter this week so I was super stoked for that! The incense adds a nice touch to studying and relaxing after a long day - gives you some good vibes hahaha ;)

Our Mission President got here last Monday and the mission feels different already. I haven't met him yet but people that have, say that he's super strict. He was a Area Seventy before. I'm not totally sure what to think and I've heard that there are some big rule changes coming, so all I know is that it's gonna be tough.  But I know if I'm obedient, I'll be successful. I'll learn to love him, and I have to trust my Heavenly Father more! 

So this passed Sunday, I got a call saying that I had changes! They told me I was going to Cañas, Guanacaste! So I spent ALL last night packing and calling converts and families. It's been a whirlwind of emotions because I really didn't want to leave - I was "born" in Alejuelita (it's like my home haha) but at the same time, I felt like I needed a fresh new start.  I feel like I came and baptized the people that were prepared for me. 

My companion's name is Elder Guzman and he's from El Salvador (like my trainer). I'll be sure to send a picture of him next week, but he's super short and he seems like a really sick dude. I think we're going to get along really well! :) 

My area is called Cañas and it's in Guanacaste. I took a bus from San Jose and it took 4 hours to get here so that sucked but hey, I'm finally here :) The weather is dry and super flippin hot (95-100 degrees). It reminds a lot of Central or

Southern Utah in the middle of the Summer! There's a ton of dust everywhere so we'll see how that goes. My comp told me that the people here are kind-of friendly but he also told me there's always a ton of baptisms here! 

Sorry there's not a ton to write about this week.. I'll make sure to do something crazy or worth writing-about this coming week!

Hope everyone has a killer week!

Pura Vida!

- Elder Stott :)

Caught 'em snoozin!  ;)

Arroz Cantonese with Hermana Amarilis

Stott Fast Sunday tie pic!

Converts of the other Elders plus a member

Ruben's family is awesome

Me and Shayla - Amarilis family

Elder Black.  The non-sporty version of me!

Oso, me and Elder Na