1/18/16 - 23rd LETTER FROM LANGLEY

THIS WEEK ON MISH LYFE: LANGLEY YSA SEASON FINALE....

About a year and a half ago, a young man named Elder Stock was thrown up into the Great White North with two suitcases full of shirts and ties, some scriptures, and a basic testimony of the Book of Mormon and the restored gospel. He ended up on a road trip to a distant land mass off the coast of mainland BC known as Vancouver Island. He managed to arrive in a sacred and hallowed area of the mission known as Duncan. While there for six months, he learned how to be a missionary from some incredible companions and had some magnificent spiritual experiences helping souls come unto repentance. Nearly a year passed and he journeyed to different parts of the province, learning much and forging new friendships.

Then, one fateful night in January 2016, while he sat in a Fresh Slice pizza shop in the dystopic city of Surrey, he received a phone call from the assistants to his mission president. A phone call regarding his transfer from the Fraser Valley YSA branch to another area...

Ladies and gentlemen, I am getting transferred BACK TO VANCOUVER ISLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am going to Nanaimo!!!!!! Literally, I am going to the zone that I started in. I am so excited. The island is hallowed ground, it's pretty much the greatest area in the mission/world. So excited. Anyways, I won't geek out for too long.

This week was great. We taught a lot and got to say goodbye to some incredible YSA members. I am so excited to be able to go to my new area, and also so shocked that I am leaving the YSA. It feels like I got here yesterday. There's been a lot of memories here. Lots of incredible experience and people to meet. Being a full-time missionary is incredible. I can't quite express how awesome it is. Mainly because it just sounds cliche to all of you missionary-muggles. But just imagine the greatest joy you have felt. And multiply it. Because it is the Lord's eternal work. His glory and His purpose for us. I'll keep you posted on next week's new season, MISH LYFE: NANAIMO....

But for now have a great week,
Elder Stock

He didn't send photos....so I'll improvise. Here's the totem from Duncan. 

(September 2014)

 My favorite drawing of his.....

Elder Zilla!!!

(September 2014)

"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature"

Mark 16:15

 New missionary

Elder Stock with President and Sister Burt

(September 2014)

1/11/16 - 22nd LETTER FROM LANGLEY

THIS WEEK OF MISH LYFE: LANGLEY YSA...

We are here to teach repentance to baptize converts. That is our mission, that is our purpose. And it is awesome. This week, I was able to be a part of another step in someone's conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are all on a journey together to "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ" and participate in saving ordinances, making covenants to our Father in Heaven that bind us to Him and His Son, the Savior Jesus Christ. As we do this, we feel eternal joy now and forever.

Josh Brodie, one of our newest YSA members who was baptized about a month ago, received the Aaronic Priesthood yesterday. He was so prepared and excited to receive it and is grateful for the opportunities that he has ahead of him to serve and to be an instrument in God's hands. It was a special moment and the Spirit was incredibly strong. I am grateful for him and for the joy of bringing souls to repentance and being God's instrument in keeping pace with His Hastening.

I am especially grateful t be serving in the Canada Vancouver Mission. What an incredible opportunity to serve and to learn to be exactly obedient. To God and His chosen servants. And this YSA is awesome.

This week, we got a referral from some guy in a food court as we were eating. ALWAYS DO MISSIONARY WORK! And we called this referral up. His name is A. He's from Syria and really wants to convert to Christianity. We met with him and he's got a baptismal date for January 31. He's super cool. He's barely 30 with a huge beard and big muscles. He looks like he's at least 40....Just a crazy awesome, genuine guy. It's been fun teaching him so far. We also decided to create an advertisement for us missionaries that could reach the entire branch of YSA members. It's hanging up in the hallway, now....it's incredibly goofy. (See picture included)

I've been learning a lot recently about how we need to teach and how God teaches us. I have been growing a lot as a missionary. I am grateful for these experiences I am having and for the people I am working with. That I am helping. I know that our purpose is real. We're not just here for ourselves, and we're not just here to fail. This isn't a two year pension to earn yourself a better status as a member of some organization. "It's the cause of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost" (D. Todd Christofferson). Missionary work is incredibly important to the Lord. I had the privilege to be able to go this week to a special meeting in Richmond with President Burt and some other missionaries throughout the mission. We drove the Abbotsford 1st ward elders out to the city and ran into some INTENSE traffic on the way. We barely got into the meeting on an appropriate time... But the meeting was incredible! We learned a lot about how we can be better and how we can improve our already stunning mission culture and teach to convert, not just to baptize! Hoorah!

I'll have more exciting news next week, probably... This was a lot of spiritual tangents. Sorry. Unless you like spiritual tangents. In which case you are worthy of the kingdom of God. Just kidding. That was overbearing. But it's true. So...yeah...

Have an awesome week!
Elder Stock

The poster ad of the Langley YSA Elders...

Competing with the other missionaries..

1/4/16 - 21st LETTER FROM LANGLEY.....ok, maybe just photos!

I know Elder Stock has forgotten to send photos with his letter, but he's never forgotten the letter....until today! He even emailed me and asked if I received it yet. I let him know I had NOT received a letter, just the photos. I sent him a few more emails pleading for the letter.....but to no avail. :-( At least we have some photos to look at. Enjoy!

Farewell to Elder Reay....the Tri-Force is shattered :(

Frosty day...Elder Briscoe and I brace the cold on our way to church.

The map of our favorite finding spot...

The bridge across the Fraser River. That's a part of the city of Surrey!

Frosty trees!

12/28/15 - 20th LETTER FROM LANGLEY

THIS WEEK ON MISH LYFE: LANGLEY YSA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL...

A white board. Once used to record the names and progress of investigators in the Langley zone with a baptismal date...now leaned against the wall on Christmas Eve. A lonely piece of paper, with a Crayon drawn Christmas tree splayed across it is taped to the board...in the upper center. Accompanied by a painting of the Master Teacher, the Center of Christmas, the Son of God directly above it. Very indicative of a missionary's decorative touch.... Underneath the makeshift tree are about ten cards and packages of various shapes, sized and values. Three representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ gather around it. And count their many blessings. That night in their prayers, they remember the birth, life and sacrifice of their Savior. They remember their missions, and the incredible experiences they have had. The suffering and regret of the past now washed clean by the sweet warmth of the Spirit, reassuring them of the worthiness of their service, of the value of their work. Merry Christmas, Langley Tri-SA. Merry Christmas, indeed.

It's a special time of year, Christmas is, and I hope that each of you were able to take a few moments as I did to reflect. To reflect on the simple joy that a Savior is born. That He has the power to help us, to redeem us, to lift us. And it's a joy to be able to serve Him as one of His missionaries at this time. I am grateful for it. I am grateful for all you, too! And for your support, it really makes a difference. Thank you.

This week, even though it was Christmas week, was nothing short of busy and miracle-filled. We had an incredible YSA activity on Tuesday where some members of the branch sang Christmas carols at a sky train station while us missionaries proselyted and handed out "A Savior is Born" cards. It was incredible. We also found a handful of new investigators. One of them is from Uganda. His name is A and he is incredible. We were able to teach him about the Restoration of the gospel and specifically the Book of Mormon. He loved it and when we read 3 Nephi 11 with him, the Spirit was so strong.

I've learned a lot about the power of the Spirit in conversion, and what it really means. The Holy Ghost is here to teach us truth and to confirm it, yes, but it also does much more than that. The Holy Ghost nourishes our desire to follow the Savior, engenders a love for God and our fellow man, helps us feel of the love that our Father in Heaven has for us, and is the only pathway to conversion. I am grateful for the Spirit in my life, and to be able to improve and work on teaching more by the Spirit.

We had a couple of dinner appointments this Christmas season, and were able to enjoy some good home-cooked food for once in the YSA. Tender mercies, it was a great Christmas. I enjoyed some awesome Skype calls with the family, and I am so grateful for them and for their support and encouragement in me serving a mission. Thank you, mom and dad! You are awesome.

Christmas 2015 will go down in history as the most missionary-centered Christmas of my life. It's been awesome. I am honored to be here in the Canada Vancouver Mission. It's a mission on fire, in case you didn't hear on the streets. I am honored to be a missionary, in the first place. And to know that my Redeemer lives. To know Him. To know that He is the Son of God, the Savior of the world. I know that He leads His Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today. His prophets and apostles are inspired of God. He is the light and the life of the world. He loves us all infinitely and at the same time personally. He knows who we are and what we can become. And if we trust Him, follow Him, and serve Him, we will feel the most joy and happiness in this life and in the life to come. I know it is true and I know this from the power of the Holy Ghost. Who testifies of Him. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!
Elder Stock

The Tri at Christmas

 Another way of looking at it

12/21/15 - 19th LETTER FROM LANGLEY

THIS WEEK ON MISH LYFE: LANGLEY YSA...

The sleek, metallic beast roared down the road in a blur of light and sound, spraying leftover rain up into the air off of the highway, shooting through entire cities in the blink of an eye. Her name? Queen Rogue--a Nissan Rogue commandeered by the elite Elders Stock, Briscoe, and Reay used to hasten the work of salvation. The Queen skidded to a halt in the slurry of rain and mud in front of an investigator's apartment complex. The three warriors within stared at each other. "Let's do this..." They said in perfect, Spirit-tuned unison. The doors to Queen Rogue were opened and they stepped out into the cold, humid air. The whir of a dilapidated sky train and the agonizing yelps of the godless dregs of Surrey Central echoed in the night air. It was about to go down...

There's a little taste of the epicness that is missionary work during the Lord's hastening. If you're a priest-aged young man reading this and that didn't get you to mission prep, then I don't know what will....

This week was incredible. I mean, it's hard for a week of missionary life NOT to be incredible. It's like making a microwavable burrito. It takes a special skill set to ruin it.

We had the privilege of being able to have our combined zone meeting this week. We went all the way out to Abbotsford where we correlated with Elder Stone (the King of Abbotsford) and had an incredibly uplifting zone meeting centered on giving the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ to others this Christmas season as missionaries. We had a lot of time to role play and really focus on using inspired questions in our teaching. It's helped a lot, and it's been nice to see a change as we more fully apply the counsel we have been given in Preach My Gospel. It's as if the book is inspired or something...

At the zone meeting, we had a huge Christmas tree with everyone's Christmas packages and letters underneath it. We also got these incredible consecrated oil vials that were handmade for our mission. They say Canada Vancouver Mission on the side along with our motto. "Love. Serve. Obey!" And a little Canadian maple leaf is included as well. Solid stuff! The senior couples from Hope and Chilliwhack also made us a huge lunch. As a missionary, and especially as a YSA missionary, your appreciation for food is pretty intense. So we devoured that Christmas food as if it was about to sprout legs and run away from us.

We have been teaching our friend C for a little while now and he is so excited for his baptism in January. He was down to be baptized, like, yesterday, but he found out that he's got to go to Penticton this week for Christmas. So as soon as he gets back, he's cannonballing into the font. Well, probably not literally because that would hurt and be blasphemous...you'd feel two effects of the Fall: Pain and Spiritual Death... He's doing so well, though! It's been fun to be able to teach him and help him understand the gospel. Especially because he is incredibly prepared and eager to learn more. He told us this week that he wants to increase his virtue and knowledge even more in order to live a more Christ-centered life....because he learned about those principles at church. What an amazing thing this gospel is. I marvel every day at how much Christ changes people. How much He changes me, and how much He can change everyone in this world. If only we let Him. We need to "yield our hearts" to Him, and then we shall experience that peace, joy and sanctification that only He can give (Helaman 3:35).

We also were able to see our investigator, S and give her a blessing to help her feel better from her illness she's had for a little bit. She's doing really well, though! And her family is now interested in meeting with us missionaries. Say what?!?

We found some new investigators as well. We are teaching a man named L who's progressed a lot surprisingly in the short week we've been teaching him. His first lesson, he had a full bottle of hard whiskey on the table when we first started teaching him which he drank from mid-lesson. By yesterday's lesson, he didn't have any alcohol that we could see in the house, was much more alert and spiritually receptive as a result and has committed to really read and pray about the Book of Mormon. I love it. I love this gospel!!!!

We've had a lot of funny and awesome experiences lately. It's hard to write down all of it when I get to e-mail time...kind of like what the prophets of the Book of Mormon felt as they tried to write down everything in the scriptures but either didn't have room or were overwhelmed by everything. But it's been a great week.

I am excited for this week to celebrate Christmas and to be able to help others to find Christ in their lives. To invite them to come unto Him. It is my testimony that as we yield our hearts unto God more fully, He will bless us with increased sensitivity to the Spirit and with more of a desire to obey Him. He will help us to find those in our lives that need a helping hand, that need a Savior in their lives. And we, with our knowledge and testimony of Him, are those they need. To guide them to Him. This is God's plan for us. To bring us together in unity and to help us become like Him and His Son, our Perfect Example. I am grateful for this Christmas season, and cannot wait to report on the amazing miracles we see in His service on His day. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Sincerely,
Elder Stock

Abbotsford/Langley Zone Christmas Tree!

 Josh Sloan was with us again...

 Elder Briscoe thinks he's fat....He's not. He's actually a stud...

12/14/15 - 18th LETTER FROM LANGLEY

THIS WEEK ON MISH LYFE: LANGLEY YSA...

Whoa. Transfer week. More like....chaotic whirlpool of flying across the Lower Mainland in a Nissan Rogue week...

Elder Gawrys is gone. Cannon shot up to the Great White North. I remain. A lone wolf....with two other companions now...

Elder Briscoe and Elder Reay are awesome. It's a blast to have such good companions and to have three of us in the YSA. Work is about to get DONE!

So...I was in the MTC with Elder Briscoe. We know each other quite well. He's from Missouri and is a blast. He's hilarious, loves pandas, and is really diligent. He sits in the back of the car and phones through TONS of potential investigators that we have found and sets up crazy awesome teaching appointments. He's also super new to YSA work and so it's fun to watch his reaction to the incredibly fast pace of it all.

Elder Reay is incredible. He's from Slidell, Texas...a town of 125 and filled to the brim with American character. He's got a thicker accent than most and is basically a cowboy incarnate. He's got an awesome testimony and is an asset to the area.

Together, we form the indestructible tri-force of missionary work called the Langely Tri-SA. Well, with the Spirit magnifying our call, of course...

We have had a good week so far together. It's been hectic and crazy, but good.

C is doing well and we are still on track with him to be baptized, and we are hoping and praying that everything goes well with that.

Also...it's apparently almost Christmas. It has been sneaking up really quickly and it is actually a weird thought to think that Christmas is almost upon us. But, I guess I will just roll with it...

It's a great time of year to do missionary work, though. I am enthralled to be here. Especially in the Fraser Valley YSA. It's incredible.

I can't really remember what happened this week...it was kind of a blur of little to no sleep and driving all over the place through cities to drop off and pick up missionaries. I do know, however, that I was able to eat at an all-you-can-eat Korean and Japanese BBQ called Il Uk Jo's....and that was incredible. Oh, and I also got to do some cool new thing they're doing in the mission.

So, when new missionaries come into the mission now they do this thing where the new missionary gets paired up with a missionary in the Lower Mainland and we go do some missionary work for a couple hours and then drop 'em off at the mission office for them to meet their trainers. I got paired up with Elder Weli, a Norwegian who's super fresh looking. It was fun. We went to Surrey Central sky train and just went crazy and got Fresh Slice pizza and then threw him back at the other greenies as if nothing happened.

We've got zone meeting coming up, so that will be fun! It's Christmas/Atonement themed, so we are excited. There's even going to be a nice warm Christmas lunch! Bring on the food!

I'll keep you all updated. Thanks for the support and have an incredible week!

Until next time,
Elder Stock

The Langley Tri-SA is here. Get feared.

Getting ready for the first wave of food...

 All you can eat sushi!!!!

12/7/15 - 17th LETTER FROM LANGLEY

THIS WEEK ON MISH LYFE: LANGLEY YSA...

A giant claw swooped through our mission two nights ago. It was devastating. Tearing apart companionships, tossing missionaries across the province. A violent and brutal night it was. But alas, I shall still make a record of the destruction. This ominous, physics-defying claw was called.....

THE TRANSFER CALL!!!!!!!!!! (Get terrified...)

We were sitting in a lesson with our INCREDIBLE investigator C (if you're reading this, C: you are awesome), and all of a sudden, the entire roof exploded and this claw flies in and just grabs Elder Gawrys and flings him clear up to Terrace, BC. Clear up North. Near the cold, relentless coast. And it stares at me and seems to whisper, "You're next," in a raspy, robotic purr. And I clench my fists and yell, "NEVER!" as the rain pours in from the outside through the newly torn hole in the ceiling.

In reality, we were sitting in the lesson and got a call from Elder Ricks (one of the greatest assistants to President Burt in the world and my MTC companion and best friend) and he tells Elder Gawrys that he is being transferred to Terrace and that I am for some reason staying in Langley YSA! They just can't get rid of me. My new companions will be Elder Briscoe, (who I was in the MTC with and who was trained by Elder Gawrys himself) and Elder Reye, who is a younger missionary that evidently has an incredible Texan drawl. Cannot wait!

So, if you were waiting for an insane new area to get announced on the Missionary Journeys of Elder Stock, you are in for a sad surprise. But, if you wanted the scoop on one of the funnest and miracle-filled weeks of missionary work every, then please keep reading!

During the week, we flew in a military-grade Nissan Rogue across the western half of the Fraser Valley, gathering lost souls and ministering to children of God like representatives of Jesus Christ do these days. We infiltrated a mainstream Christian college called Trinity Western University and taught people about the Restoration of Christ's gospel. And a cool miracle happened!

So, we were driving away from a sky train station in Surrey, and we got to a red light. Next to us, there was a man in his car just chilling out with his window rolled down. Basically telling us, "Hey! I want to receive the gospel!" So....we obeyed.... I rolled down the window. "Hey, man! We're ministers from our church! We're sharing our favorite book with everyone! The Book of Mormon!" I held up a fresh copy of the fruit of the Restoration...just waiting to be proven true through the witness of the Holy Ghost. "Do you want one?!" I shouted amidst the roar of engines.

"Yeah, man! I'll take it! Free, right?"

"Of course!" I said and tossed the Book of Mormon into his outstretched hands. "Hey, tell you what, we'll text you and see how you liked reading from it! Can we get your number?!"

"Sure, man!"

Boom. The rest is history. He texted us later, asking if the Book of Mormon taught about the afterlife and the judgement...because he wanted to know more about those things... Um...prepared much?! So: moral of the story.....Never stop being a missionary. Even at a red light. You're still called to invite others to come unto Christ.

I also am pretty much fully recovered from my crazy weird cold that I got! So, that's a miracle!

I'm excited for this week and the transfer ahead of me. I know it's going to be good, and I know that I am in the Lord's hands.

I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. For the access it provides for us to the Atonement of our Savior. Especially for the ordinance of baptism that helps us to be cleansed of our sin, and for the sacrament that we have the privilege to take each week to renew and build upon that covenant. It is my testimony that this Church is His Church, that His restored gospel is the way, that He lives today. That because of Him, we can be whole. We can be healed. We can rejoice! Because a Savior truly is Born!

Go to https://www.mormon.org/christmas is you haven't already and then share the video, A Savior is Born, with everyone you know. They will feel the Spirit this Christmas as you do.

Have an awesome week!

Sincerely,
Elder Stock

Just because...

 True doctrine!

 Member present lesson...with Joshua Sloan!!!! ;)