Week 60 - Another Year Older...

Hey everybody! 

Hope y'all had a great week!

Mine was pretty sick!

So first, had my 2nd Bday of the Mission! It's so crazy to think that next birthday, I'll be celebrating with the fam... too soon haha :) My comp got up super early and made me some pancakes for my birthday breakfast in bed (family tradition) and we also went out to eat later. 

Presidente came to our Zone Conference on Tuesday and he took us all (22 people) to McDonalds haha. It was the first and last time I ever had a birthday in Mickey D's haha but it was pretty cool. I turned bright red when the little ticas that work the counter brought up a little sundae with candles and sang to me hahaha. And I felt sick the whole day after because they gave me double everything.... haha TOO MUCH food.  It was a pretty dang good day - I feel pretty old too now that I'm not in the 10's anymore.... :( 

Also for my birthday, I got to teach a really, really humble family. They gave me a pork rind, some beans, and bread...and they live in a tin house and don't have all that much, but I felt really thankful and humbled by their kindness. I took a picture with them too.

Well conference was WAY AWESOME! I loved all the talks about the temple and the family! Elder Uchtdorf's talk about the family and marriage was super funny too. I loved how he asked if there was really a perfect girl out there, that if she'd really be interested in us haha. And then Elder Holland's talk was sooooo powerful... It gave me shivers. All the apostles are inspired men that I know are all called of God. Thomas S. Monson is the Lord's prophet today for the church and for the whole world. I invite anyone who was able or didn't watch conference to select just a few talks to read or listen to, I promise you'll feel the Spirit like I did :)

A link to Elder Holland's talk.  Please watch it.  IT IS AWESOME.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/media/session_5_talk_11/4829903593001?lang=eng

Things have been good here in Santo Domingo. 10 investigators came to watch Conference! THAT'S SO MUCH! Usually like 3 or 4 is normal but we really were able to a miracle in our area. President told us both that we came to pick up Santo Domingo because it's been really struggling for a while. We've struggled for a while too but we're now beginning to see the blessings of diligence, hard work and faith. So that was cool!

Well, hope you guys all have a great week! Be safe and remember who you are!

ANNNNNND, happy birthday shout-out to my favorite oldest little sister Mallory! It's super scary to think that she's gonna start driving. Glad I'm gonna be far away while she is still learning ;) Love you tons Mall! 

The church is true!

Pura Vida,

Elder Stott 

Week 59 - More Furry Friends

Hey guys! 

Okay so this week was pretty normalish (which means flippin fantastic) haha. 

So we are being spoiled by our new land lords.. They're always giving us food, the let us wash our clothes and they're always just offering us stuff. He's my grandpa tico haha :) 

HEY! We found a tarantula in our garage! It was big and hairy and gross. I got a video of Elder Vorwaller touching it which was pretty dang funny haha. He screamed WAY louder than I did ;)

And then I got a funny video of the chihuahua crawling around in Elder Vorwaller's shirt. Random - I know, but funny too haha :) 

Those are some seriously hairy pits.

I went on divisions with my Zone Leader here in my area. His name is Elder Orlandi and he's honestly one of the coolest guys in the mission. We get along really well and he's a lot like me. He'll be at BYU too so that'll be cool. So anyways, we had a really awesome day. The first two houses we talked to, they gave us pastries and then a smoothie too. We talked to a ton of people and they like ALL accepted - that never happens. We usually get a lot of doors slammed or people lying to us. Sometimes people just really don't like us but that's okay! We found 3 families who are all wanting to come to church and they're all seem super ready to learn too. We brought a couple of them with us to church and we're hoping that they all come this week - that would honestly make my week :)

Heredia Zone

Sunday was interesting. Not a word about Easter until I brought it up in our Principles of the Gospel class. Honestly it made me kind of sad. They were missing out on the awesome meaning of this day. I shared my testimony (as did Elder Orlandi because he was at church too) about Easter Sunday and the empty tomb. I felt so happy that I can testify without a doubt that our Redeemer lives and that the tomb will forever be empty. I love this gospel so much! Even though the mission is so tough (I don't even have anything to compare it to - it's so tough), teaching the gospel and seeing the Light of Christ in their eyes makes every hard day worth it.

I love all you guys! The Church is true!

Pura Vida,

Next time I'll be writing, I'll be 20 😎 haha

Elder Stott! 

Week 58 - Four Star Accomodations and a Swarm of Bees

HEY GUYS!

Well I'm writing today (Wednesday) because we had a surprise temple trip today (they didn't tell us earlier so I couldn't let everyone know...) but it was a very much needed trip!

On Monday we moved houses. We moved into a really, really nice neighborhood (like I would live here after the mish) so that's cool. We live in the back and upstairs of a house of an olderish couple but they're super cool. They always give us food and are always offering to give us rides and do us favors and everything. They're like my grandparents here in the mission. They spoil us. So it's been cool! There's a little chihuahua that loves us too named Lika (as in "like a boss"... haha).

This week is Semana Santa (holy week) where all the Catholic churches down here celebrate the last week of Christ's life. So there are lots of parades and Masses and stuff. It's really a great week to go out and share our message about Christ - works out perfectly huh!

Random fact - I am now able to solve Rubiks cubes really well... My companion showed be (including a really weird shaped cube that's really hard to solve haha) so that's cool!

Funny story: So we were walking along a bridge when my plaque came off my suit.. and I kicked it causing it to fall off the bridge. Well it didn't go all the way down, and my comp volunteered to go down and get it. So he went down the steep little hill and was brushing through grass when all the sudden he started yelling ow! Louder and Louder! And then looking down, I realized he was being swarmed by bees. I FLIPPED!!! He fell backwards so I had to spring to the other side of the bridge to go get this downed soldier. I thought he was going to die haha. By the time I got over to the other side, he came sprinting up and slapping himself like no other. I helped him kill a ton of bees with my hands. Turns out that the stings weren't too bad... so he healed up the same day! But here's the WORST PART: After all that, I still didn't get my name badge back... 

btw, I completed a year in Costa Rica the 16th - so that's cool!

Well, next week's my birthday and I hope I don't get eggs cracked on my head - I'll go after anyone who comes at me hahah.

Well, thank you for all the prayers and thoughts and emails and everything! More pictures/videos coming next week!

Love all you guys!

Pura Vida,

Elder Stott

The following is part of this week's email from Josh's companion, Elder Vorwaller.  It's fun to read another version of the events...and see the details that Josh often leaves out ;)

...Actually something really really funny happened when we were moving. So this week is "Semana Santa" or Holy Week. It´s like the central American version of Easter, and it lasts all week. During Holy week, there Catholic church goes ALL OUT! They have mini parades with HUGE statues of Christ carrying his cross and Mary and the whole shebang. So anyways, while we were moving, Elder Stott had to ride in the back of the truck full of our stuff to make sure that nothing fell out, so we were just driving and everything, but while we were going, Elder Stott found Halloween mask in our stuff. I think that Elder Garcia left it behind, so he put it on while we were driving. So we took some pictures and he was just looking at people as we drove past them. And so while we were driving, we came up to a catholic parade procession! And we had to drive really slow past them, and so Elder Stott with his mask on, was just looking at everyone carrying the Christ and Mary statues and everyone was looking at him really weird! hahaha! I thought he was going to take off the mask, but he didn´t!! He just left it on staring at people! hahaha! It was super super funny! hahaha! I´ll send a picture of him and his mask! 

      So another funny thing this week. On Sunday, we were walking back from eating with a member, and we started crossing a bridge. While we were walking, Elder Stott´s plaque falls off of his coat, and it lands on his shoe, but he was walking, so when it hit his shoe, he accidentally kicked it off of the bridge! So after we said FETCH really loud, we looked over the bridge to see where it landed. We couldn´t see it but we knew that it didn´t land in the water, so we decided to go down and look for it. I told Elder Stott that I am a lot smaller that he is, so I would go down and look for it. So I went down and it smelled really bad. There was a lot a garbage and a when I looked to the right, there was a hobo sleeping. Anyways I went down a little farther to look for the plaque and I hit a bunch of really really tall grass. So I started looking for the plaque as Elder Stott was guiding me from above. So I was pushing around the grass looking for it, and I felt that something poked my head really hard. I said OW!.... really loud. Then I felt it again, then again, then a whole bunch of stings at the same. Then I realized that I was being stung by a Swarm of wasps! I was trying to swoosh them away from my head, then I fell back on my back trying to keep them from stinging me. So there I was on my back, being attacked by a swarm of wasps, as I heard Elder Stott running saying "FETCH FETCH FETCH!!!" Then I got up and ran as fast I could out from under the bridge passing the passed out hobo. I finally got out of from under there and swooshed the remaining wasps from my head. I think I looked really weird because someone stopped and asked if I was ok. I gave her a thumbs with my right hand while I was swooshing with my left. I finally got them all off, and my whole face and arms stung. We tried to count the stings and they stung me more than 20 times! hahahaha! They started swelling with pus, but by the time we got back to the house, you couldn´t even see them anymore so it was good! Now its just a really cool story! 

Week 57 - We Got a Body Guard

Hey guys!

Hope everything is a lot cooler up in the States! It's flippin hot here haha! I feel like I'm back in Guanacaste again - it feels like Arizona!

Well, so everything is great here during Holy Sunday (Santo Domingo)! The area just got a lot bigger... so we can walk from end to end in about an hour if we hurry, but the thing is that there are tons of hills - I'm definitely gonna get skinny again!

We've been working with a lot of people here - it's actually so many that I can't remember all of the names. BUT, there is a guy named Alejando who loves wrestling and MMA and any contact sport so I get along really well with him (wow, surprise!) So we're trying to get him to follow through on his commitments and everything and get him to come to church - little by little!

So we have this dog that follows us EVERYWHERE we go. He'll wait outside while we teach lessons and he protects us (by barking) from sketchy things and drunks. We've decided to call him, Elder. It's a really good name - I know. He's awesome. We usually give him hotdogs or something to eat.

Also, one of the member's dads here built a space car thing. It's called a "plane car". It's like famous around here. So we decided that we could be missionaries from back to the future or something - I really liked the shades. The guy had a ton of tiny tricycles too so we took a bunch of pics there! 

Also, I split the crap out of my pants trying to jump (tried to jump and fold his legs in the air) the other day so that was REALLY FUNNY, I mean REALLY REALLY FUNNY. No, but the rip was literally like a foot long. I'm not fat, my pants just aren't flexible haha :)

Well, I definitely had an exciting week this week! Hope there are some fun things to share next time!

Love all you guys!!!

Pura Vida,

Elder Stott :)

Week 56 - Big changes

Alrighty! 

Well hey everyone! Hope everyone's week went sweet like mine!

So, I had a couple of BIG random (but mostly goodish) changes! For one, my Pdays are on Mondays again.

So Friday, President asked me to come into his office (like normal) except this time, we started with a prayer - that's not very normal...

He started to explain how he (as a mission president) is entitled to revelation for every single missionary and for what they should do, where they should be, and so on. So at this point, I thought he would say that I play my guitar too much at night or something (I don't know haha). But then he explained that he had been praying a lot for me and to figure out how to unlock my potential. After, he said that he received revelation in the temple that I should leave the office and work in Heredia. I was pretty blown away because Heredia is one of the best zones here in the mission.  It always has the best numbers and great missionaries - I thought President was joking haha :) He told me that while I was in the office, I was like an animal trapped in a cage and couldn't get out. We talked about the success I had before I was a secretary and he assured me that this was the best thing for me right now.

"I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go" - I'm just here to serve, that's all :) 

He made me promise him that I would "burn" my new area and that I'd continue to be a cabeza in the mission (a leader) for him. I promised him that, and then he told me that my changes were the same exact day - talk about SURPRISE CHANGES HAHA.  That's really fast.

So I sprinted around getting my stuff ready and packed up. My new area is called Santo Domingo and it's in Heredia. Just north of where I was before. They're fighting to make it into a ward (so it'll be the second branch I've helped make into a ward in my mission - if we're successful). My new companion is Elder Vorwaller from Idaho. He's got lots of energy and is kinda goofy - but I really like him. Even though we're pretty different, I think we'll get along well. I've had other companions I thought I wouldn't get along with and they turned out to be pretty cool :)

So Santo Domingo is pretty hot right now - high 80's. It reminds me a lot of Provo, Utah and it's super rich. The Stake President here LOVES missionary work so I'm really excited for that!

Still getting used to everything because it's all been a whirlwind so I'll be sure to be more focused this week!

I know that the Lord puts change in our lives so that we can be better. He will never do anything or change anything that we can't handle or overcome. Life changes, people change or come and go, a lot is uncertain. But what is certain is that Christ loves each and everyone of us. He knows us perfectly and what we are going through. I've been especially aware of that this week, in many ways - it's been a really hard week, but I've managed my way through it all. I love where I am, what I'm doing, and who I've become (so far, so good haha ;) )

Shoutout to my brother, Dillon, for getting into BYU - that's my boy! Here pretty shortly, the Stott Studs will be hitting up the Y together hehe :)

I finally got my new scripture case! This really talented guy custom-makes them. I LOVE IT! :)

Special birthday shoutout to my old man Dad! Almost half a century now (I'm sure it's weird going from carriages to suburbans) hehe ;) But seriously, love you so much dad. I can't ask for a better example in everything I do. Your influence on me has been deeper than you could realize.

Thank you for all the prayers and support!

It all goes a long way and is very felt!

  

PURA VIDA PA!

- Elder Stott 

Yes, that is Bon Jovi

Week 55 - "Super duper stressful"

Hey everyone!

Well this week was super duper stressful... Pretty glad that it's over but all in all, it was a good week.

So first, the reason why it was stressful: Consejo de Liderazgo (leadership meeting). So I have to do a ton of number crunching, calling, verifiying, and a bunch of stuff for all the mission leaders in the mission. It usually takes about a week (From Monday to Friday) to get everything done (and that's working all day on it). And if there's any mistakes, my head goes on the chopping block - so that's cool. haha.

I'm literally running around everywhere making sure that everything is good. I got calls from the States, Argentina, Columbia, and Guatemala. I still think it's pretty cool that I can understand and communicate with them in a different language.. Speaking of another language, I downloaded the Book of Mormon in Portugese so I'm hoping that I can pick some of it up because the language is SO cool! Elder Jarvis (Trevor) is learning it too - we're trying to come back tri-lingual haha :)

Also, President asked me to write sheet music for the mission hymn. The only thing that I had to work with was a mp3 of vocals and someone playing simple chords on a piano. So that took forever and I had like a day and half to write the music and try to put it in a program but I think it turned out well - President likes it so that's good. I'll see if I can slap that baby in here, we'll see if it'll work.

Investigator update:

Y - she's still doing good. Having a little trouble with the guy that she used to live with - just a little drama and tears there. But she is really excited to keep moving forward to the point where she'll be ready for her baptism. Still struggling just a tiny bit with smoking but we're working on that.

R - Still kind of a strange dude but he really likes learning about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He's always willing to try something new and to keep his commitments to read the scriptures. We're just working on getting him to church.

C - a guy that has a BOAT LOAD of HARD questions but I love it. He really keeps us on his toes. And his questions are sincere so that really helps. He told us that he would be coming to church with us this Sunday so I'm really excited for that. Hoping for some big things with him because he's just a really good guy looking for some change in his life.

Well this week, I'll be finishing the baptism report and helping out with legal stuff for the Elders and Sisters. ALSO, I'll be driving the Hilux here soon if I pass the drivers test. Since I failed the permit test in Oregon 3 times, I'm not too sure.... haha but I promise I'm a good driver!

No update on weird food yet. I'm fighting to try to get a hold of a mountain rat/pig that tastes super good, or so I've heard. haha 

Well, thanks for all the updates for everyone and the prayers. It's good to hear that life is treating everyone fairly well. Keep hanging in there and remember that you're a child of God with heavenly potential.

Love you guys!

- Elder Stott

Week 54 - Semana Sacrificio

Hey everyone!

Like ALWAYS, I hope all is well up in the States or wherever you might be.

Well this week was sick! We had semana sacrificio (sacrifice week) where we really hit the streets and work hard with our whole Zone. We don't work in the office during semana sacrificio, we just find people to teach.  I got to work in both Alajuelita and Hatillo (both are areas that I worked in for 4 months each) so that was super sick. I didn't get to visit any of the people I baptized because we were focused on finding new people to teach, but I did see a couple of them so that was cool. 

Man, I am so sunburnt - my nose blistered a little bit but that's all part of the game. No pain, no gain baby!

Oh hey, I found some graffiti with my name and a little tire-minion so I took some pictures with those. They're pretty cool haha :)

Investigator update: 

• Miss Y - she's doing really really good. Still struggling a little with the cigarettes but she is starting to see some changes in her life and the blessings that come with them. We're praying really hard for her that she'll continue with her desire to change and to learn more about Christ.
• Mr R - a dude that we met this week. He's really looking for some changes in his life and lifestyle. He has lived in a way that's, well.. totally different than mine, I'll just put it that way. He is realizing that God truly loves him and R wants to prove to Him that he's willing to change.

Well, hope that you guys all have a super sick week!

"Fortune favors the bold"

¡Pura Vida!

Elder Stott