There was a reoccurring theme this week. Somehow, throughout the whole weekend, we ended up proselyting with the Jehovah Witnesses. It all started Friday morning as we were finishing out morning studies. A knock came to our door. I was a bit puzzled because as missionaries we do not have visitors very often. After opening the door I realized it was the Jehovah Witnesses...and they realized we were the Mormons. Their first words were, "You have a nametag. Oh." Yes, thank you. We had a nice conversation with them and exchanged pamphlets, bidding each other farewell. Or so we thought. Turns out they were contacting in our area so we were working alongside them after our appointment was unavailable. Friday we ran into some of them again as they were, of course, contacting. We thought that would be it. Somehow on Sunday we crossed paths with them once again. They were teaching somebody on a porch. So we got a glimpse of what we look like to outsiders when we are having a lesson with someone. That was funny. Sunday night was quite the adventure. The busses are very unreliable on Sundays, especially at night. After a lesson we were waiting at the bus stop for 45 minutes and no buses were on the roads. We were really nervous if we were actually going to make it home. We finally saw what looked like a van but it ended up being a taxi. He said he would take us to town for 10 dollars but we didn't have that much so we declined. After a bit of bartering, he offered to take us to town where we would catch yet another bus, for 5 dollars. DEAL! Along the way he said it was a free ride and that was his one good dead for the day. Many blessing are coming his way. When we finally reached town he pulled over to let us out but the side door wouldn't open. He got out of the car and tried to open it from the outside to no avail. So instead, my companion and I had to climb over 2 rows of seats in the van and climb out of the back window, in skirts, on a busy road. The poor bus driver was so embarrassed that we had to do that but we assured him it was the highlight of our night. Never a dull week in the mission field. This was yet another great week spent as a missionary. Roughly 3 more to enjoy! Love, Sister Breana Stewart
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1/3/17 My new companion is Sister Fuller. She is a very hardworking and determined missionary. She is newer in the mission so I am finishing her training. We are in a biking/walking area so I am getting plenty of exercise and sun. I have met some of the people that we are teaching and some of them seem to have a lot of potential. I have grown to love them so much and can already see their desire to come closer to Christ and our Heavenly Father and partake of the blessings that come with living the gospel. It is weird to be back in Barbados again but even weirder that I have to spend my last transfer in a new area. I know we will work hard and teach a ton though. I'm excited. There is so much to do! :) I love and miss you tons. Love, Sister Bre Stewart 1/9/17 When we pray, God does hear our prayers. This weekend we had the opportunity to fast as a mission, for each companionship to baptize in the month of January. We were like the sons of Mosiah who, "had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God." (Alma 17:3) As I started my fast I felt an impression that one of our investigators, Shirley, was ready for baptism. Saturday night as we were heading to her house I could feel in my heart that God wanted her to know that she was ready. My companion and I had planned to teach her the Gospel of Jesus Christ. After going over faith the discussion turned to talking about her belief in our message. She acknowledged that she feels and believes it to be true. I simply stated, "You know it is true and God is waiting for you to act on that knowledge." I was quiet for a minute until she lifted her head up and said, "I guess I need to be baptized then. I guess I need to pick a date." My companion and I were blown away by how quickly the spirit touched her heart and testified to her. The spirit was so strong in that house and I could feel the joy coming from Shirley as she thought about the step she would soon take. As we follow the promptings given to us by the spirit we can truly bless those in our lives. "God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings." (Mosiah 8:18) I am grateful for the opportunity I have to be an instrument in God's hands to bring his children closer to him. My testimony is strengthened as I am blessed with these amazing experiences. . Coming near to the end of my time as a missionary is not without its difficulties. I have been having a lot of knee pain lately which makes it harder to get around to everyone we want to see. Something the Marley family once wrote in a letter to me at my farewell has been popping into my head a lot recently: Be the kind of person that when you get up in the morning Satan says, "Oh no, She's up." (or something along those lines). I am determined to finish strong and not let my knee keep me down. No matter the trials put in our life we are taught in the scriptures that. "I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace if sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." By staying motivated I have been able to see so many miracles in just a short amount of time. I sure do love being a missionary. :) Funny story before I end. Three days in a row my companion and I heard a cat meowing outside our house. For 3 days! We heard it as we were doing Personal and Companion study. Finally, after hearing it for so long, the next morning during personaly study we set out to find the cat. After searching for a few minutes my companion determined it was coming from a nearby trash can (which are just barrels here). She was too scared to look into it, she doesn't praticularly like animals, so I went over and peeked inside. There was a tiny little kitten stuck in this strash can! We fels so bad. It had been in there for at least 3 days and it had been raining a ton. So I tipped the can so the cat could run out. Basically, we saved a cats life. Love, Sister Stewart |