Weston Stutzneggar

My Story

September 1, 2025

It was a tough week, but pday redeemed it. 

I got a haircut, did a super awesome hike, and then our landlady made us cake.

This week I did three exchanges in a row, and my comp made me leave the area in every single one, so it was crazy not being in my apartment or with my comp for 3 days straight, but it was fun.

Sadly our zone had a sad ending to the month, we finished with 11/16 baptisms and only 4/12 companionship baptized... asi que we're gonna go on a grind to fix that.

Thankfully our area is becoming more chill so we're pretty grateful for that. Another thing that happened is that some kid in the ward is hard core manipulating the girl that just got baptized... so we helped her put an end to that. Then he heard that we were gonna bring another girl to church, found out her name, looked up her Instagram, and DMed her before she even came- so basically we have some issues but we trust that God knows what He's doing.

To finish super quickly, I am super grateful that the heavens are open. So many churches will try to tell you that God doesn't speak anymore, but he does. We can all receive personal revelation and personal answers to our prayers. When you have doubts, always go to the Supreme source. Always trust in the Holy Ghost. 

Stay safe 

Elder stutz

https://photos.app.goo.gl/hT57LfRx19k8SZ7n9

Hey everyone!! I hope everyone's good... I have been doing well here in Hatillo! 

(Quick side note, if anyone could tell me what "hatillo" means i would be very interested and grateful to know what it means and why this place is named that)

This week, there's been a war in Hatillo! Basically two of the gangs are fighting each other right now... so at night it gets kinda crazy. But don't worry we're being really careful and we've talked to the members to know where we can and can't be. But just a heads up, if you ever come to Costa Rica, do not come to Hatillo, even if the Airbnb is really cheap.:)

We had a baptism this week! Our friend Daniela got baptized. She's awesome, she's 14 and a great addition to the young women. She loves church and the Book of Mormon and loves coming to church activities. She even brought her friend to her baptism and we ended up inviting him to get baptized too. And he accepted 

But I am really happy for Daniela because she lives in a complicated area, all of her family is into some pretty bad stuff, and her future was most likely going to be full of lots of sin. I feel so happy and grateful that she was able to accept the redeeming power of Christ. Now her future can be full of light, like being a missionary, and going to the temple. I can't express the joy I feel for her knowing that God and His spirit are going to redeem her from her situation and bless her in ways unimaginable for her.

I was also able to give a talk this Sunday about the divinity of Jesus Christ before, during, and after his life on earth. Yes it was inspired by my reading of Jesus the Christ. If you're interested in reading it, I'll link it below.

I just want to testify of the truth of this church and of the missionary work. If it wasn't true, how could we see so many miracles? If it wasn't true, how would we feel such joy? If it wasn't true, how do we have such powerful protection? For me, there is no denying the fact that I am literally working as a friend and servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, working to build up his kingdom on the earth. I have never felt so much pure purpose and responsibility. I have also never felt so much joy and fulfillment. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

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Talk attached: it is in spanish so you can translate it if you wish

Fotos: 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/hT57LfRx19k8SZ7n9

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Tough week this week I'll be honest lots of unexpected things happening -but you just got to keep going to God in prayer asking him want he wants you to learn from your trials.

My companion got super sick this week so we didn't really get to work too much, and the people that were gonna come to church all had crazy things happen so they canceled.  We were sad but our faith and devotion is still really high. Our zone has a bunch of problems but  we are here to help solve them.

Highlights:

Restoration movie

John tanner movie

Talking with Elder Mullins the prophet

Interviews with President

I've been thinking alot lately of what my goals in my life are, I love the scriptures and I love preaching this gospel. I know that's its true and that living it is the only way to return to the presence of our Heavenly father. I know that as the world gets worse, we need to step it up. 

Something my companion said that stood out to me is a president Nelson quote  from a sec ago. He said that "In coming days, it WILL NOT be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost." Did he say "it will almost not be possible" or "it will be really hard" to survive spiritually? No. He said it will NOT BE POSSIBLE. Do you think he's being dramatic? I do not. If we do not have the worthiness to constantly have the Holy Ghost, we are not going to be able to survive. To me its simple. I invite you personally, and I ask you with  love to please take the steps to have he holy ghost in your life. I dont' want you guys to become spiritually lost. If you haven't received the gift of the Holy ghost, read Acts 8 and read acts 19 and talk to the missionaries. If you already have received Him, do what's necessary to be able to survive spiritually through the upcoming days. I know Jesus will help and protect us if we honor the holy guide that he has gifted us with.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love, Elder Stutz

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Title of the email is because we went on a sick shopping spree in the markets of the center of the capital of Costa Rica today for Pday, I got some sick stuff there. Also we splurged on Ghirardelli brownie mix and deluxe Carmel vanilla ice cream and stuffed ourselves which felt amazing.

Shoutout Elder Sorenson for turning 20 and hitting 1 year in the mission on the same day!

It's been a tough week... we had a big problem in the zone that we thankfully solved yesterday  and also we were just working hard all week.

Miracle of the week is that our friend Daniella who's going to get baptized on the 24th is inviting her friend and brother to church, and we already put a baptismal date with the brother. 

My new companion is awesome and we get along great except for the fact that he thinks that the Star Wars franchise got ruined in the last 3 movies and I disagree. We had a heated debate about that yesterday. Lmk what you guys think.

Spiritual thought: go read 2 Nephi 2 it is awesome- you'll learn a lot about agency.

Bye guys!! The grind continues

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August 3, 2025

Weeks survived in Hatillo: 1

I'm gonna keep this counter going because my new area is INSANE but it's super fun. I made it to be a zone leader in the most famous area in the mission. 

I'm in the capital of Costa Rica, in a district called Hatillo. It's the craziest thing I've ever seen. (Shoutout to the spider web and los latas and los locos)

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There are a lot of people here in Hatillo that are really ready to hear the gospel, so we are enjoying talking to everyone and bringing them to church. I'm honestly super in love with the city because it is just so interesting and I just feel so important with the responsibility of bringing Jesus Christ into the homes of these people. 

This week I left San Ramon, got to the mission office, ate papa johns, slept with Elder Matsuda my trainer, met my new comp, arrived to my area, put someone on baptismal date, saw Hermana Sundberg, had MLC, got back to my area, and grinded out the week. Overall it was an AWESOME week.

I was so happy to get to see Hermana Sundberg, she was in charge of passing around the microphones in the zone leader meeting, so it was pretty funny to raise my hand and Jane comes running over to give me the microphone  - it was awesome! I'm so happy to see her here because I KNOW the mission is SO important like you guys have no idea how important it is (unless you've been or currently are there). Thinking about one of my best friends having the same experiences I've had makes me really happy. I've changed a lot as Hermana Sundberg pointed out which is something really good and that I am proud of.

Well, the zone has problems  but hopefully that is why me and my comp are here- is to help.  We are going to work hard to motivate all the Elders to be devoted servants of God.

I will probably not get robbed or beat up but I would not be opposed to receiving your prayers to help keep me safe 

See if you can reach out to the missionaries where you live to offer to feed them, teach your friend, buy them an ice cream, or whatever little thing you can offer. Acts of kindness from members mean a lot to me and I know it will mean a lot to them.

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July 28, 2025

End of San Ramon!

I finished my last week in San Ramon... we ended it off sweet with a baptism, our friend Gabriella! She had a couple problems but we took them away with the help of the Lord and the Book of Mormon 

Highlights:

I carried Elder Abac up a hill

Found a fire song playing in an uber: how deep is your love-prince royce. It's a bees gees song but spanish fusion.

Pday was fun, we had a color themed picnic  and then we played ping pong and volleyball and soccer tennis.

Transfers: I am going to be a zone leader in the pure city... they say it is a dangerous area but we will see. I have heard some insane stories about things that have happened but I am sure I'll be fine. I'll be careful.:) (the subject line of this email comes from Star Wars)

Shoutout to Hermana Sundberg and Elder Madsen arriving in Costa Rica on Wednesday.

I'm ending my time here in San ramon, 3 months and 5 baptisms. I'd say that me and Elder Abac had a lot of success here. In the baptism of Gabriella, she was sitting in the first row along with the 4 other people we baptized. There were only 5 chairs in the front row, and all 5 of our converts were present and sitting in front. Jefry, Henry, Jayden, Gabriela, and Lupita. It gave me so much joy to see that our converts are still active and supporting each other and the ward.

But the glory goes to God. I really am nobody without him.  But with God I am a purified person, imperfect- but trying every day to be like Jesus Christ. I really have a testimony of God opening my mouth and loosening my tongue and enabling me to connect to these people in Costa Rica, communicate with them, understand them, and be able to help them find truth.

I really enjoyed my time training Elder Abac and helping him learn more about the gospel and about life. He's really young in general (18 years old) and he only has 2 years being a member of the church. So I've been able to answer a lot of doctrinal questions that he has, also help teach him about the history of other churches. I've been able to learn a lot from him about different perspectives of life. Hopefully President gives me another kid soon 

Thanks for the love and support!! See you next week hopefully 

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July 21, 2025

This week was full of miracles. We finally raised up out of a rough time in the area and found a bunch of people to teach, and 2 people decided to get baptized. Now if everything goes well we will have a baptism on Sunday. 

The hermanas in the district went CRAZY this week finding people and putting baptismal dates, shoutout to hermanas Caceres, Bennion, Guzman, and Citalan.

I discovered a new fruit called "mammonchina" it is super weird, but it's super good! If I can, I'll take a video eating it and send it next week.

We had some drama in the district, which caused a lot of craziness, but thankfully we were able to talk to everyone involved and get things calmed down.

Today for pday we had a big water balloon fight, played poker, and ate pizza. For those of you to whom I wasn't able to respond, I'm sorry  but I was busy getting soaked.

I just wanted to touch on a little subject this week: lying. I can testify from experience that lying NEVER leads to anything good. Never. There will ALWAYS be someone smart enough, or in tune enough with the spirit to figure out that you're lying. Jesus loves when we tell the truth. When we tell the truth we can feel the spirit super strongly. One of my favorite feelings ever is after I decided to be honest with my leaders. I honestly felt so good after, it's a feeling that is hard to describe. But that positive feeling after is not worth feeling the awful guilt I also felt before. So, best to be honest from the beginning.

 I genuinely say those things with lots of experience and LOTS of love for you guys.

Until next week!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/hT57LfRx19k8SZ7n9

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July 8, 2025

Those are the three most important things that happened this week hahaha it was actually a pretty good week 

We saw an otter in a river which was pretty cool, I didn't know that they lived here and I LOVE otters for those of you that dont know so that was a pleasant surprise.

Random interlude of something really funny that happened the other day... We were unlocking the gate to the house and there was a lady standing outside the gate by the sewer staring down at the ground. There was a cat inside the gate and so I started calling it over... and the lady out of nowhere says "oh that's my dog, Fran" and me and Elder Abac laughed so hard and we started calling "Fran, come here, Fran!" And the lady started calling it too- we were laughing so hard I'm assuming she was out of her mind or something like that.

Yesterday at like 2 in the afternoon there was an earthquake. We were planning our week and then out of nowhere RUMMMBLLEEE it felt so weird like it wasn't real. It ended up being a 4.7, but it was far away from where I was to be destructive.

Shout out to Will for passing his AP test. THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE IN HIM, BUT GOD DID

We had another baptism on Friday, his name is Henry. He's super cool. He had a baptismal date scheduled for the 27th of July, but we thought he was already ready, so we told him "we think you're ready,  you can get baptized on the 13th or the 20th" and he said "why not the 6th?" And we were like "alright bet!". The next day we met up with him again to finalize details and he said "why don't we do it tomorrow." Long story short he got baptized on the 4th and on Sunday he gave an AMAZING testimony about nefis cry to god. Let me put the scripture in for you.

26 O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions? 27 And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy? 28 Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul. 29 Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions. 30 Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

After reading a lot of Moroni I've been in an exhorty mood... I'd like to exhort you guys to think about the ways the Lord has been merciful in your life and in the life of your loved ones. Please do not start to give up the fight because you are starting to fall behind. That is when the Lord has your back the most. By thinking and pondering on the mercy of God, you will be able to find more joy in everything

Thanks guys! Love you. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen

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June 30, 2025

Hey everyone - Elder Stutznegger here! We've passed through 1/4 of the mission which is crazy but I am sad because soon I won't be new - I like being new because all of the ticos (y ticas ) try to glaze me say "oh wow your spanish is so good for only having __ months!!!" I'm gonna miss that.

The title of my email is "are you mad?" Because my comp ALWAYS says that to me and it is driving me nuts. It is because when we're on long walks I like to ponder and think about our people we are teaching, plans for the week, how we are going to get people in church, who we can invite to be baptized, that sort of thing. It is kind of how I receive my revelation. And every time I'm deep in thought he asks me "are you mad?" And he does it on purpose to bug me - but it is ok I love him.

Baptisms: we had 2 Baptisms this Sunday! Jefry, and Jayden. As usual I'll give a little story about both of them.

Jayden: Jayden is 8 years old, and he is the grandson of Lupita, who we baptized on the first Sunday of June. Jayden is awesome  - he understands perfectly about Joseph Smith,  the Plan of Salvation, and he even drew the first vision and his baptism in a picutre one Sunday. Apparently his grandma has been persuading him to act good by telling Jayden that she was going to tell us to cancel the baptism hahaha. His whole immediate family came and I had the pleasure to baptize him. Not wanting to repeat what happened with Maria (7 tries) I THRUST that kid into the water super hard (I didn't think he weighed that little). One of the witnesses asked after "did he go all the way under?" And Elder Abac said "Are you kidding me? He almost hit his head on the ground of the baptismal font!" 

 Immersion or nothing 

Jefry:  Jefry chose a baptismal date over a month ago, when we were with a member that was bragging about being the best at putting baptismal dates. So we started calling every contact in our phone and we got to jefry and somehow together we put the baptismal date down for Jefry.

Jefry has some really serious health problems and takes a lot of medications, so he's always pretty loopy and spaced out. And if he doesn't take his medicine he's in a lot of pain. Thankfully he was able to understand everything, pass his interview, and get baptized. The day of his baptism he went without his meds so he could "feel 100% the feeling of the Holy ghost" and so he fought the church and said he felt a thousand times better after.

Those were our miracles this week! Thanks for reading! 

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June 24, 2025

Hola a todos!! This week was a little crazy, and a little sad. We were gonna have 2 baptisms, but both canceled at the last minute... but the good news is we rescheduled for this Sunday so we might have 3 baptisms this Sunday!!! Pray hard for jefry, jayden, and yeidi

My family currently is on a boating trip 

Something funny that happened... We were contacting and talking to this one family of 2 girls and the father figure, and he was purposely ignoring us. We asked their names, and they said "im tamara, im sarah". And then I asked the man what his name was, and he said "my name's Satan" and then he laughed devilishly. He definitely did not do it as a joke, he did it because he didn't like us and to make us go away. It was super awkward like SUPER awkward and the 2 girls buried their faces in their hands because they were so embarrassed.

I've started to say "DAD GUM" instead of fetch to try to have it catch on in the mission. I think that'd be super funny. If you don't know what "dad gum" is look it up.

This is gonna be a short email just because I ran out of time. But recently we've been focusing really hard on inviting people to pray about our message and to see if it's true. Prayer is very powerful... but it doesn't work if you don't have a real intention in your heart. Your prayer to know the truth will be answered IF you are willing to do whatever it takes to act on your response. To me, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to be able to know what is the correct path that will lead me to salvation. I invite you guys to try to become willing to Do WHATEVER lord requires of you to know that this Gospel is true.

DAD GUM

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We saw a miracle today... a while ago we had a friend named Yeidi, a daughter of a member, and she wanted to get baptized. But, she worked every Sunday so she couldn't get baptized cause she couldn't keep the "keep the sabbath day holy" commandment. And she told us she couldn't quit her job cause she just got it and she needed it. But now, we just found out that she quit her job and then we ran into her at Walmart and we put a baptism date there and then.

I got to play chess today which was nice (get wrecked Elder Abac) 

We are going to baptize two this Sunday, Jefry and Yeidi.

Overall it was a stressful but good week. I am very glad I'm out here. 

Right now we're studying deeply the Book of Mormon, and one of the most famous talks about the BOM is when President Nelson asked us what our life would be without it. 

I am very VERY grateful for the converting power that Jesus has had on me through the Book of Mormon. Before the mission, I didn't want to be changed that much... now I am actively searching for change. Especially because that's the whole purpose of our life on earth. Experience, mistake, repentance, learning, changing. That is a beautiful cycle that I love completing.

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If you are not actively trying to change and become better, what is the point of coming to earth?

 I testify that the power of conversion comes from Jesus Christ and is manifested to us most powerfully through the Book of mormon. I say this in the name of Him, my Savior, the Master, the One that put trials in my life, but helped me through them:

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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June 9, 2025

Hey guys!! This week was... interesting. I'm always up and excited to work. But this week my stomach had other ideas  I still tried to work as much as possible though. Miraculously we were able to complete our goals and get better so that was a miracle.

On pday we watched the other side of heaven (shoutout to Cami's uncle) and also played some speed and 31. 

The work has been going on here. We're working hard to always have at least 4 people with baptism dates, and 5 people at church. This is a standard that the whole mission is "required" to fulfill. And this week we finally fulfilled it. At first we had it completed, but then they split the area, so we had to grow up half of the area. We've been working smart and hard to get the engines up and running here. The idea is if we have 5 people in church we always have people that can accept a baptism date, and these people can get set on a straight path that leads to baptism.

This week was a blur.... I'll be real... on Wednesday my stomach hit me super hard and it was a struggle the rest of the week. But there's only 9 more days in the transfer which is kinda wild

Did I already talk about the day when a lady pastor started flaming us? It was bad she was telling us that we were wasting our 2 years, that we were on the wrong path, and that jose smith was wrong, that we don't believe in the bible, all of that. But I interrupted her by saying that I felt a terrible feeling talking to her, and that we were going to leave. So we dipped...

Ran out of time for a spiritual thought  because I left the keys 30 minutes away so that's a little complicated hahaahah

Cuidense

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June 2, 2025

Something interesting - last night I saw two drunk guys screaming at each other and beating each other up with giant sticks so that was fun.

We also baptized Lupita on Sunday!! She had already gone through so many trials and problems in her life, she had already repented of everything and was just waiting for salvation to knock at her door. (Salvation isn't us it's the message we carry )

For Pday today I saw the Picados from Esparza, the family that fed us every thursday, and we watched part of the 2 best years (I think that's what it's called) 

I just hit 5 months and I will be honest the time is going a little slow. It feels like I started all of this a long time ago (that's probably because I did ) but more time to learn and teach and baptize.

I am very excited for Jane to get here and I hope I'm her district leader so I can boss her around.

Something I learned this week:

We always need to be the bigger person. 

One story that hits me really hard is when Moroni writes an angry letter to Pahoran. Moroni totally goes off the rails and just insults and calls out pahoran when he's actually innocent and having a really hard time. 

There will be a lot of times in life when someone wrongs you, or they aren't acting how they are supposed to be. But we should not be the first ones to escalate the situation. Elder Matsuda knows that I love to argue a position and stay there, but Matsuda  actually changed my mind about the value of addressing strict issues. I thought before that it was always better to point out and state what you think is right in order to resolve issues, but after an experience I had with a friend from home I realized that sometimes I just need to keep my peace, and show love and encouragement. I've seen that recently in the mission as well. I've been feeling a lot of frustration when people tell us they already have their own faith, they don't want anything, they already know God, or they're already saved. But after an intercambio with Elder Garcia, I've been trying to encourage everyone in their efforts to follow Christ instead of trying to get the last word. I have been seeing a lot more joy because of this.

I invite you to always try to be the bigger person. You never know what a person is feeling or going through. I'm not saying never address problems. I'm saying that give people multiple chances. Give them at least 2. 3, 4, or 5 is better. Christ gives us infinite chances. That's something I will always try to remember.

Matthew 18: 

21 ¶ Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven

https://photos.app.goo.gl/hT57LfRx19k8SZ7n9

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May 27, 2025

Hey guys! It's been super crazy here. I'm learning a lot about how to be a good leader, a good example, and stay happy - all at the same time. It's tough, but people tell me it's possible, so so far I believe them :)

Things that happened:

I ate pig brain. What happened was a lady gave me a "pork taco" and I ate it happily ,  it was actually pretty good and then after she told me it was the brain and the ears!  She basically gaslighted me into eating pig grey matter. I'll still admit it was good though.:)

After the whole dividing the area thing got figured out they DREW THE LINE WRONG and I was very stressed but it all worked out and it's fine now.

Pday was fire today we went to a nature reserve, check out the flies

https://photos.app.goo.gl/hT57LfRx19k8SZ7n9

Lupita: We met this lady with an awesome story, and she agreed to get baptized on June 8th. When we pulled up to take her to church, she told us that her 8 year old grandson was gonna come with us.  Later that day I asked her if she wanted to get baptized sooner and she said yes so I moved the date to June first.

Inactive members: We have been working hard with inactive members to help them come back to church, and this Sunday we brought 5 to church.  It was awesome because the talks were based on reconstructing our faith.

Accordion: I played the accordion at the house of this random guy, it was super random but pretty fun. It was SUPER loud though-  I was pretty embarrassed.

Piano in church: I got to choose the hymns, and for the sacrament prayer, I chose "Jesus of Nazareth". I started to play it, and I played the introduction perfectly.:)  And then I started the first verse and NOBODY sang! Turns out they never sing that song in Spanish and so the bishop got up and told me to change the hymn to a different one- thankfully I was able to play it.

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT

It is SUPER important that we realize how important the Holy Ghost is. When Joseph Smith had an interview with the President of the United States, the president asked him what were the things that make our church unique. He told him, "baptism by immersion in water, and receiving the gift of the Holy ghost by laying on of hands." So many people don't believe in this sacred ordinance!!! But we have the privilege to receive this sacred saving ordinance and receive a gift that sets us apart from all others. The right to ALWAYS have the Holy ghost as an internal companion when we are worthy. If you are reading this and you have not received the gift of the Holy ghost by laying on of hands, go read acts 8, acts 2, and acts 19 in the Bible. If you have already received it, please go do what you need to do to become worthy. If you need to, don't have fear of going into your room right now and repenting for something, even if it's something small. Any sacrifice is worth the guidance, comfort, and knowledge that comes when the Holy Ghost can reside inside of us. I testify that the gift of the holy ghost is a necessary saving ordinance that must be done through the priesthood and power of Jesus Christ. And that if we can work on being as worthy as possible we will have all the promises bestowed in this gift. I share this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Thanks guys, until next week!!!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/hT57LfRx19k8SZ7n9

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May 19, 2025

Hey guys, what's up? It's been an insane week. I don't have a ton of time for this email but I'll hit the important things:

We put 4 baptism dates

I've started to figure out the area

 They split the area and added two sister missionaries

I now have to help the new missionaries figure out their area and send them all the contacts of members and friends 

I also was the one who drew the line of the division and the APs had different opinions but President chose my idea- so now I feel a little pressure.:)

What else.....

Oh I lost my credit card (the ATM ate it) and I can't get it back cause I don't have my passport (the mission office has my passport)

So yeah I'm a bit stressed but it'll all be ok...

Honestly I have no idea why President trusts me so much or why I have all these responsibilities. But my plan is: keep my temple covenants. Obey the commandments. Follow the mission rules. Work hard. And have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I know that if I can do this blessings will follow. I can feel myself being refined by the furnace of affliction. 

Today I told to a missionary in my district my story about how I went home and how I grew, how I fought and how I came back. I recognize the same feelings and thoughts from back then. So I know that I have potential to grow even more. I hope to be a way better person when I get back from my mission. I know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can become more perfect every day, until we prefect ourselves through Him.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Aqui en la lucha, pero todavía sigo...

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May 12, 2025

Hey everyone, what's up! First I want to say thank you for all the birthday emails, that made me so happy it was awesome to hear from you. Thank you. 

It's kinda crazy that I'm now going for 20 because 20 is an old man. I still consider 19 year olds kids but something about being 20 just changes everything in my mind.

Winter (rain and rain and more rain) has started here for sure, I am currently SOAKED because my companion wanted to go get burgers and I forgot my umbrella, but it was worth it cause it was super good.

This week was literally insane. I usually don't do this, but I am going to go day by day.

Monday: last p day, we watched the chosen in the church, and moved Sofis baptism date to this Sunday

Tuesday: We worked for a bit, then I went to San Jose with all my stuff, and me and Elder Kennedy (absolute dog) slept with some other Elders. One of them said some things that I really didn't like... I have discovered recently that I really love the commandments and the mission rules and the power they bring.

Wednesday: We had a crazy transfer conference at the mission office, the President made some big changes to the rules and the schedule. Then I went to Santa Ana to work with my Dad, Elder Matsuda, and one of the old APs. It was super fun. Also, all the upcoming trainers got to do an endowment at the temple 

Thursday: We worked a little bit more, and then we actually went to help my kid (my new companion - I am his trainer so I am his dad and he's my son:)) -  we had to help him go to the Guatemalan embassy. But we didn't tell him I was his trainer. I actually said to him, "you still don't know who's your trainer? That's crazy?" And then we showed up later to President's house to present ourselves, and Elder Abac was shocked hahaha. We got to San Ramon at about 7:30, and met some members.

Friday: good: Elder Abac is super dope. He is from Guatemala. He just turned 18, and was baptized 2 years ago, so he's super humble, really excited, and he's super easy and willing to learn. The tough thing that we learned quickly is that the previous missionaries before us left this area sort of a mess. Literally and figuratively. Investigator points in the street, garments in the cabinets, moldy chicken in the freezer, "progressing" people that haven't been taught for a month, that kind of thing. What I decided to do was visit every "progressing" person the sisters had from before. On Friday and Saturday combined, we ended up missing all 32 lessons that we had planned. Needless to say it was a super rough day.

Saturday: same as Friday but I also turned 19

Sunday: somehow we had 6 friends at church, then we left with the bishop for a while to get to know the members and the area. We also taught this one mom who was new at church which was fun.

It really was a crazy week and I'm honestly stressed trying to figure out how to effectively work in this area. But I know with the Lord's help I can do all things.

Scripture:

12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.

Who wants to be filled with the love of God? Me ️. Who wants to have a remission of your sins? Me ️. Who wants to grow a knowledge of God and what is true and just? Me ️. The promise from the verse before, is that if we are humble and rely on the Lord, these blessings will come. Something that's been hard has been not having someone to talk to all the time. Before I really enjoyed being able to be in contact with my closest people, but here I've had to learn that sometimes you have to rely just on the love of God to fill your heart. So I've been trying to humble myself and pray for help in everything! I want to invite you to do the same.

Thanks guys for all the love!! Until next week:

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May 5, 2025

Hey guys here we are at the end of my 3rd transfer! Elder Solis has been a dog, and we successfully had a baptism, and prevented Esparza from being closed. 

I am moving to a new area, and I am going to be a district leader and also training a brand new missionary at the same time. So we'll see how that goes. But I am excited because from the beginning I've wanted to have a "kid" (that's what they call training.) Felicidades Elder Matsuda, you're a grandpa.:)

God is so good: little miracles 

Cake: on Sunday during my fast I really wanted to eat cake for some reason, but I couldn't buy any because it was the sabbath day. So I was sad. But then we had a visit with members at night to share a scripture and as we were sharing, she pulled out cake out of the fridge! I was so happy it was such a small and pointless miracle but it just shows how loving God is.

Baptism: Carlos got baptized after a couple years of knowing the church and almost 30 attendances. He's the definition of pura vida and we have plans to give him the priesthood this Sunday.

Sunday off: our friend Sofi is getting baptized in 2 weeks, so it is really important she starts going to church. The obstacles for her have been work. She's in training right now to be a clerk at a gas station, so she gets trained in the mornings on Sunday until she finishes training. But it was really important that she went this week, so we sent a message to her boss to ask for Sunday off, and the boss said yes! It was a sick miracle because sofi was really scared and we prayed before so that nothing bad would happen.

Dinner: food is so good. I am cheffing up lately. The specialty of the menu this week was chicken, zucchini, carrots, onions, tomatoes, seasoned perfectly, sautéed in oil and salsa de ranchera.

As I reflect on my time in Esparza, i think of Moroni 10:3

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

This is right before Moroni's promise, but a lot of times we skip this verse. But it's very important what it teaches. It is very important that we realize how merciful God has been to mankind throughout all of history. And I invite you to think of the ways God's been merciful to you in your life recently. Even if it's something as small as a piece of cake when you really want it. You will come to love God more, I promise.

Do it

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April 29, 2025

Welcome to another week of me being in Costa Rica! Decently good week this week:

Bought a new necklace

Talked to a murderer

Ate way too much

Lots of planks

Deep Doctrine study

When people ask us why things we believe in aren't in the Bible it leads to  interesting conversations. Here is what I say - but in a kinder way....sort of.:)

BECAUSE THE BIBLE IS FROM 2000+ YEARS AGO THAT'S WHY. COFFEE DIDN'T EVEN EXIST BACK THEN HOW COULD IT BE IN THE BIBLE? IT DOESN'T SAY CRACK COcAINE IS BAD IN THE BIBLE EITHER, DOES THAT MEAN ITS OK? 

I bought a few new pieces of clothes, which made me happy. Also we still have our 3 baptismal dates- which is super awesome.

I'm about to start my 5th month, which also means I'm almost 19 years old,  which is weird- but that's still pretty young as far as I'm concerned. 

Miracles: 

The U of U is gonna start giving college credit for missionaries which is super clutch for me.

A friend came to Church and became good friends with a member that is also her neighbor, so she has some teaching and baptismal opportunities.

I would like to stress the importance of the Plan of Salvation. That is something that ONLY the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints has a knowledge of. A knowledge of that plan is what gives us the key to ordinances of salvation. Faith, repentance, and baptism is honestly pointless if you don't know where you came from or where we're gonna go after this life. Thankfully, through modern revelations and the Book of Mormon, we KNOW what the future is like. And so we have a purpose in our faith, a purpose in our repentance, a purpose in our baptism, and a purpose in our temples. Everything has purpose because of the celestial kingdom. 

John 14: 

1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

We have all the things necessary to make it to spirit paradise and then after to the celestial kingdom. If you slip up, it's fine, we all do. But even just a finger on the iron rod can pull yourself forward. That is what I'm doing. That's what so many here in Costa Rica are doing. And that's what I know you guys can do too.

Love you all.

June 9, 2025

June 9, 2025