Week 28 - Ch ch ch ch ch ch CHANGES!!

Hey everybody! 

Hope all is well over there in the EEUU (United States of America in Spanish)

Well a lot has changed for me here in the mission but more about that later!

So this week we came by to Tatiana's house to talk to her about her baptism and everything and how she felt and feels. After she told us about how awesome it was, we asked Elieth if she wanted to get baptized this passed Saturday. She said yes, and that's a HUGE miracle because a while ago, she really had no interest in talking with us at all. We had a couple of lessons with her but she didn't really seem to care enough. So we were super stoked to hear that she wanted to be baptized. We came back the next day (Friday) to interview her and she passed. BUT, she said that she wanted to wait at least a month to prepare more (even though she was more than prepared). Needless to say, we were really, really bummed... :( We had another lesson on Saturday, and although it was a super spiritual lesson, she still wanted to wait. The rest of that day was really hard for me and my companion.  It was tough and confusing because we knew that this was a miracle from Heavenly Father but we were confused because it was getting put off. Here's where it REALLY was a miracle. Sunday morning we were getting ready for Sacrament Meeting and I was playing the prelude music. My comp came up to me and told me that Elieth wanted to be baptized that day. I didn't believe him and told him to stop joking around haha... But he was telling the truth! So I got to be a part of this miracle-baptism that day and because of it, I was able to be a part of a baptism every week while I was in Cañas! :)

The other big thing that happened was today! So we got a call last night that I was having changes. I was getting transferred! I'm going back to my old Zone in La Sabana again! I was so flipping stoked! Then they told me that I'd be training a new missionary, I didn't believe them. AND, I really didn't believe them when they told me after that, that I was going to open a new area at the same time. All I thought in my mind was "oh crap" haha. I've heard that opening an area is REALLY difficult and that one of the most important "positions" in the mission field is training. So we'll see how all this goes. I'm stoked and nervous at the same time. Well, I'm here in San Jose with the Assistants to the Mission President.  We are waiting for him to interview all the new missionaries and assign them trainers on Wednesday night. So, I'll let everyone know who my new greenie companion is next Monday. Please pray for me haha :)

Other than those two things there's not much to write about haha

Thank you for all the support and prayers - keep it coming! :)

Pura Vida!

- Elder Josh Stott :)

Me and my Papa (trainer), Elder Mejia before he heads home

Me at the Arenal Volcano

 

Racing with my companion.  Afterwards, I found out that he played on the National Soccer team for El Salvador.  He is wicked, wicked fast.  haha

Week 27 - Elder Hulk and the Volcano

Hey everyone!

So this week was another week that really flew by. There were a couple of really long & difficult days but hey, I made it!

Tatiana's baptism - she is so tiny!

So first off, we had a baptism yesterday! It was rock solid because we have been working with this girl since my first week here! She's this little tiny girl named Tatiana and she's 11 years old. She's super duper (I mean really really) shy to talk to us and to anyone but she has a solid testimony of the gospel. Five weeks straight baptizing baby ;)

This week we had a mulit-zone conference over in Liberia which was cool. First, President called and asked me a bunch of question (it was a really scary test). He asked me to cite D&C 4:3 (we have that whole section of the scriptures memorized) the commandments, Book of Mormon Prophets, Latter Day Prophets and an Article of Faith. Man, good thing I passed! He told me that he was proud of the hard-work I'm doing here in Cañas. I have a ton of respect for that man! Also, the Assistants (who I didn't know) know me and my comp and say that we're killing it in Cañas! I guess we're famous or something ;)

Today, we went to Tilaran to go see the Arenal Volcano which was sick! I saw a ton of Blue Morpho butterflys and a bunch of cool flowers. The Volcano is huge and green and gorgeous! I was bummed that you can't climb it - it's VERY active so it's illegal and apparently dangerous but, you can get really close to it! I finally saw a pretty part of Costa Rica! Haha it was cool driving through because it's literally the jungle over there. There was all these weird sounds of bugs and birds and I was in the middle of all of it! I got a couple of cool pictures taken with some of my buds here in Cañas! 

I'm finally able to understand the language here in CR. I can almost always say exactly what I want to say and I can understand about 90 percent of what people say to me!

There's changes this week so I'll probably (I'm hoping), have a new companion here in Cañas! I've learned some good things from my companion here but let's just say I'm REALLY ready for a new one haha. I feel like he thinks he's training me or something. I'll just keep him happy by letting him think that haha ;)

Thank you everyone for all of the emails, love, and support! It really recharges my battery for another week of hard work! 

Pura Vida y siga adelante! (keep going) :)

- Elder Stott! 

Lake Arenal

At the Arenal Volcano with my district

Me and my crewwwww!

Week 26 - SIX MONTHS!! Yeeaaah Baby!!

Howdy y'all!

How's everyone doing out there in Gringolandia?! 

So this week went by really really fast! Not a whole lot happened but hey "ya vamos" or basically "we're still going!" So I don't have a ton to write about this week :(

The one thing that was really killer is that we had the baptism of William! He's this super tall and super chill dude who doesn't really talk all that much but he's got a giant heart and has a love for the gospel. It's super cool because a long time ago, he was super bitter and grumpy and served in the military in Nicaraugua - pretty sure he's killed multiple people haha.... But he's changed SO much and now we're just hoping that he can go to the temple to be sealed with his family in a year! The Gospel of Jesus Christ really changes people's lives - that's for sure! :) So crazy - it looks like we're set to looking really really good to havebaptize every week for about 2 more months here. I'm trying to beat a record here in the mission - 19 weeks in a row. Records are to be broken and I'm here to break 'em :) haha

It's still super hot and dusty in Canas - it honestly feels like I'm in a small town in Texas or something. I keep losing weight and that always stinks. I'm about 185ish pounds now, getting skinny and losing muscle. DUMB. hahaha Fasting is always super hard here because normally when I fast, I'm just hungry. Here, I practically die of thirst but hey, all the more blessings right?

Fast Sunday tie pic - I cleaned the mirror afterwards

Something funny this week - so I was walking down-town with my comp and this guy stopped us. He wanted me to be a men's model for his store which is like a Men's Warehouse or something like that. Haha he said that he liked the way I had my hair and how I dressed. Missionary style!  He was pretty bummed to hear that I couldn't help him out, but we gave him a pass-along card so he got to hear a little about the gospel!

Hope all is going well there in the Estados Unidos! Keep praying for me! Remember that a smile is always the best things you can give to others!

Pura Vida! 

- Elder Stott :)

What's for dinner?  Garrobo Iguana - I LOVE THEM - These taste like beef!

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