Stacie's email March 17, 2015

Happy Birthday to my beautiful Lyvia Joy! I'm so sad I can't be there to celebrate her turning TWO years old, but I will be wishing her a wonderful birthday from Rio Rico :) 

This week has been rocky. There has been some contention among some of the missionaries in my district. But I have a very strong testimony in the timing and placement of the Lord's servants, and I truly feel like I can learn and grow from every person that I serve with. It's been quite an experience! This week is also transfer week, so there's been quite a few changes. However, my companion and I are stationed together again in Rio Rico, and I'm so grateful for that! 

We've been doing a lot of service activities this week as well. We spent almost 3 hours on Saturday morning preparing 400lbs. of carne asada and salsa for our big Stake Fiesta! It was a blast! It's so fun for me to be a part of the Mexican culture. I've started to really feel comfortable here, and I love the people with all my heart. 

The Romero family are progressing pretty well. We met with them twice this week, and we have invited them to be baptized. They really love the story about Joseph Smith's first vision, and have expressed that they feel the Spirit when we talk about him, but they want to make sure that it's true. They just need some time I think. 

I've been reading a lot in Jesus the Christ and have been fascinated by the things that I'm learning. I feel like I'm just starting to know exactly who Christ is and I've been so grateful to develop a stronger relationship with Him in the past few weeks.  I've also been pondering a lot on the concept of forgiveness. It's been a struggle for some of the people in my ward to overcome resentment, hatred, and anger that they feel for their close family members. 

I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is REAL. I've experienced it, and I use it everyday. The Infinite sacrifice that our Savior made for us is all encompassing, and so powerful. I know that only through the Atonement we can find real forgiveness. He makes everything right. Please use it. We cannot obtain the mercy of being forgiven without bestowing that same mercy on the other children of Heavenly Father. We need to forgive others if we want to be forgiven.

I love you guys so much! Thank you for all you do for me :) I'm so grateful for all of you, and I love being a missionary!

With all my love,

Hermana Townley

Stacie's email March 9, 2015

Hello everyone!

It's been a great week here in Rio Rico! I hope you have all been able to feel of God's love for you throughout this week and thank Him for all of the blessings and miracles we receive from Him everyday!

I think I mentioned in the last letter that the work here has been pretty slow. Well, me and my companion decided to go at it super hard this week, so we invited our whole district to join in, first with a fast and prayer to help us find those people that have been prepared to hear and accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We recommitted ourselves to be as diligent, hard-working, and obedient as possible so we could be worthy of those blessings we've been promised. And the blessings started pouring in. 

On Tuesday, we decided to do a strong, district-wide power hour, in which we knocked on every door and talked to every person that we were physically able to, always remembering our purpose, and being as faithful to the Lord in our efforts as well as our attitudes. We really tried. It was quite an amazing experience for me. During the first few minutes of knocking on doors, we found 3 people who readily invited us back. Then, on the last house before we finished up, we came across the Romero family. We talked to Manuel, the dad, first outside on his front porch. As we told him more and more about Jesus Christ's restored Gospel, he got excited enough to invite us into his house and meet his whole family. They are Catholic, but they don't feel spiritually uplifted at all when they go to their church. And they have never heard of our church before. But the things that we said made sense to them, and they wanted to learn more. We invited them to church and got a return appointment. We also received 5 referrals the same day. 

On Sunday, Hermana Aleman and I fasted again for this family specifically. We prayed all night and all morning, it seemed, that they would have their hearts open and feel the Spirit during the meetings. It really worked. They found the meetings to be very uplifting and beautiful. They were asking questions, and even commenting on some of the topics about repentance. They are excited to come back and we are excited to teach them more this week. 

Adrian is also doing really well. The baby shower was on Friday, and they are so busy preparing for their little girl to enter the world. He also got a job, which was a really incredible blessing, it's really hard to find work in this area. He is really excited about the Gospel, this week he recieved the Aaronic Priesthood. And he's even been asking about serving a mission....maybe he can go on a mini-mission? We'll see. Either way, it's wonderful to see his enthusiasm about some of the spiritual experiences he's been having! 

There have been so many more miracles that have come as a result of fasting, praying, obedience, and faith in this week alone, in my companionship and in my district. The Lord is really working with us in our area! I know that He lives, and he loves ALL of his children!  Without a doubt in my mind, I know that this is His Gospel and His work.

Hermana Townley

I forgot to mention in my last email, we had a wonderful lesson with Myra, Isabella, and also Jr. joined in this time too! We had a fun lesson about the Plan of Salvation using a baseball game as an object lesson. We had them run to each base as they passed through the different phases of our spiritual lives. When they made it back to home base, we talked to them about the Celestial Kingdom, and they all desired to be a part of it. We hadn't planned on it, but I felt prompted to invite them to be baptized. To my surprise, they all said yes! Although they have the desire, we are praying that the heart of Myra's husband will be softened toward her being baptized. She doesn't want to do anything that will build a barrier between her and her husband, understandably, and her husband is a devout Catholic. We will keep praying though! 

Sister Stacie Morgan Townley 

Stacie's email March 2, 2015

 These pictures were taken in my area. That's the international border into Mexico, and the entryway. 

Dear Family and Friends, 

Listening to the Spirit is like learning a new language. Since I have been out in the field, I have felt a constant urgency to learn and really understand how the Spirit speaks to me, and honestly, it's been just as much of a struggle as it has been to learn Spanish. Just as you have to do when learning a new language, you have to study -ALOT-, and learn the basics phrases of how the Spirit speaks. You then have to practice. Over and over and over again. Practice listening, then responding, and then listening again. You have to actively and consciously discern each and every prompting and act accordingly. You have to work for it, and it's not always easy! 

This week has been pretty good. Myra and Isabella have been out of town, so we haven't been able to see any progression with them yet. I went on exchanges in South Tucson earlier this week, and I loved it there! I think I would enjoy the work in the city, we did a lot of walking and knocking, but we had a lot of people to teach as well. It's kind of a scary area though, lots of drugs and crime in that area. 

We also had another baptism this weekend! It was wonderful to see little Natalia so excited to make her first covenant with the Lord! We love her so much, and we love teaching her family. 

So, I'm probably jumping the gun a bit, but General Conference is next month!! I've been doing a lot of thinking and praying in preparation for Conference, and I've decided to do a Book of Mormon challenge for all my friends and family back home :) 

My challenge for YOU is to read the entire Book of Mormon, starting this spring's General Conference, and finish with the fall General Conference. Here's the catch: read with a specific topic or question in mind. For example, I am wishing to learn more about personal revelation. You don't have to start all over either, but start from wherever you are currently at and finish in the same place. I will be starting with Alma chapter 2, and I will end with Alma chapter 1. Make sense? 

Those who accept my challenge, please email me personally with the topic/question you wish to study, where you will be starting, and a goal for how many pages you will read every day to finish by fall :) 

(I recommend starting with one of those cheap, new Books of Mormon, so you can focus on your topic)

I can't wait to hear back from you! I promise that if you accept my challenge, you will find the answer to your question many different ways and the Holy Ghost will testify over and over again to you the truthfulness of that book! I'm so grateful for the scriptures and for the guidance and comfort that they always bring me! I hope for you all to feel the same. 

I love you all so much! 

Love, Hermana Townley

-- 

Sister Stacie Morgan Townley 

Stacie's email February 23, 2015

My dear family and friends, 

Hace mucho frio aqui! Just kidding! It's actually pretty warm here, I'm planning on packing up most of my sweaters and sending them back to Utah because it's February and I'm wearing short sleeves and sandals, and it still gets so hot! It's been pretty entertaining to hear about all of the snow storms and freezing weather from all of you up north...it feels like we are on completely different planets sometimes! 

Well this week has had it's fair shares of ups and downs for me. We've been working really hard with a few investigators, Mary and Ashley, and were actually seeing some incredible progress with them. We found out, however, that on Monday they decided to up and move to Benson without any notice. We were so sad :( but we've been wondering about calling the missionaries over there and seeing if they can continue the work on them, even though it's pretty unlikely that they will want them over since they moved in with Mary's boyfriend who fired a gun at some previous missionaries a few years back. So we are being prayerful about sending missionaries over there. 

We've also been sorely dropped by our investigator, Fai, who had stumbled across some anti-Mormon websites on the internet. We are also continuing to try to teach Yvonne, who seemed really touched by our message at first, but has since relapsed with drugs and won't give us the time of day. 

On the plus side though, we were looking through some former investigators' progress records, and came across Myra and her daughter, Isabella. When we went to see them, they were so happy that we found them again. Apparently, they had previously taken missionary lessons but had to stop because Myra's husband is a stalwart Catholic and wouldn't allow it. I guess his heart has been softening this year and she has been praying to know which church is true (she's never trusted her priests in the Catholic church) and that's when we showed up! I'm always amazed at the timing of the Lord. So we have been teaching them and it's been a wonderful blessing to me. 

We also had a baptismal service for Adrian on Friday. It was wonderful to see that light come in his eyes. He was so excited and so happy. We also spent the day in Mesa on Saturday to see the Thorton family be sealed. We even got to do an endowment session with them! I've been missing the temple, Heavenly Father always answers my prayers! What a blessing it was to witness the sealing! I felt the Spirit so incredibly strong, and I learned so much. The temple really is the closest thing we have to heaven on this earth. 

On Sunday, I had the wonderful privilege of speaking in Sacrament Meeting...twice haha! In the English ward, I spoke on faith in Jesus Christ, and in the Spanish ward I spoke about holding up the Light of Christ. As I prepared for my talks, I noticed that they go hand in hand. Having faith in Jesus Christ will lead to action, and acting in faith in Jesus Christ will automatically catch the attention of others and it allows others to see the Light of Christ through our actions and by our example. 

I've learned so much in my personal studies, and I'm so blessed with all the opportunities I have to learn and grow here. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father prompted me to serve a mission, I have felt so much love towards and from the people here in Nogales! I'm really starting to feel at home here, and I can't wait to see what other things Heavenly Father has in store for these people. 

This work is real, everyone! Living the gospel of Jesus Christ is the ONLY way we can truly be happy in this life. Jesus Christ lives, and he works WITH us to help everyone return to Heavenly Father. It is so important that we prioritize Him. Remember, we are spiritual beings, and our spirits need food and nourishment just as much, if not more, than our mortal bodies. 

Please, feed your spirits. Every day. Be a little bit better every day. We are commanded to be perfected in Him. Don't pass up that opportunity! 

I love you all so much. Thank you for your prayers. 

Love, Hermana Townley 

-- 

Sister Stacie Morgan Townley 

Stacie's email February 17, 2015

Buenos Dias!!!

So yesterday was President's Day, which meant we didn't have access to computers, so I'm sorry for the delay in my letter. We also have to cut into some of our proselyting time to email, so I have to be brief.

It's been another amazing week. We are seeing lots of progress with one of our investigators, Adrian, and are really looking forward to his baptism this Friday! He's come a long way, he is only sixteen years old and is having a baby with one of the young women in our ward who is due sometime in April... I think the realization of young parenthood has really been pushing him to establish a firm relationship with God.  It's amazing to me how God makes trials so unique and personal, it reminds me of my own experiences and how he reclaimed me as well. 

​We are also very excited to have 3 new investigators this week! Heavenly Father has definitely blessed my companionship so much by letting us find quickly. We are so blessed to be led by His Spirit to people who are spiritually hungry. We barely have had any finding time because we always have people to teach. It's been a wonderful experience! 

We've also been working closely with a convert family who are preparing to enter the temple to be sealed for eternity in the Mesa Temple on Saturday, and they've invited us to go with them! 

Thank you all so much for your inspiring letters. I thank God everyday for the wonderful friends and family that I have. And thank you for your prayers, they are really working!

 

I love you all so much! 

Love, Hermana Townley

-- 

Sister Stacie Morgan Townley 

Stacie's email and pictures February 9, 2015

Wow, time is just flying!

This week has been really incredible, and I feel closer to my Heavenly Father now more than I ever have before. He has blessed, and continues to bless me every single minute of every day! It's amazing to me the love He has for all of His children, and I am amazed whenever I feel of His love working through me for the benefit of other people.

I've learned so much in just this week out in the field for the first time. Already, there have been extreme moments of joy and extreme sorrow as well. I just want everyone to know that I have a testimony of this work, of the wonderful plan of Heavenly Father for all of His children, and He truly wants to reach out and bless every single one of us! I have felt that so strongly this week. I hope you are all looking for and recognizing those tender mercies from our Lord in your own lives, they are always there.

So my companion is awesome. She is so patient with me as I learn the language and she also encourages me to participate as much as possible. In the MTC, I learned a ton of Gospel lingo in Spanish, not realizing that hardly anyone here continuously talks about the Gospel in their everyday conversations. I really struggle and fall behind in the common conversations because I haven't studied anything but the Gospel in Spanish, so I'm still learning. 

We have our own apartment in Rio Rico, and are serving with two different wards; a Spanish ward and an English ward. I've heard that this is a pretty difficult area to learn Spanish in because almost everyone here is bilingual, and about half of our lessons are taught in English. It's so much easier to talk to all who can in English, and I sometimes forget that I need to be speaking Spanish as much as I can. But I study and work so hard, and pray for Heavenly Father to help me because of my efforts. 

This week I had so many meaningful and touching experiences, but there is just one in particular that I would like to share. On Thursday afternoon, my companion and I had two of our appointments cancel. On the night before, we had planned to do some color-shirt contacting as plan B if anything fell through, which means that we pick a color and we have to talk to everyone who is wearing that color of shirt that we see. We picked red. So when we went out on Thursday to search for people, it seemed as if everyone decided to wear red that day! We talked to, it seemed, a dozen people with not much success. It was a little discouraging. As we were driving to our next appointment, we saw a lady walking in the street, wearing red, with her son. My companion asked me whether or not we should stop, since we didn't want to be late for our next appointment. I felt good about this particular lady though, so I encouraged her to pull over. 

As we talked with her-her name is Yvonne-, she was surprisingly interested in our message. When we told her that we would like to stop by her house to teach her more, she told us that she wanted us over ASAP. We were so excited, so we went over the next day. 

Turns out, she has had a pretty rough past. The father of her son, who was her high school sweetheart, passed away  suddenly while he was in prison-for possession of drugs, I think. After his death, she went into a severe depression, got into drugs, and left her son for like 6 months. When she realized the dark pit that she was in, she started to want to change her life for the better and make the best out of her circumstances. She began to pray, and trust in God. She prayed for help and strength to care for her son, Jacob. And she gained a testimony of God's timing, and she truly believes that everything happens for a reason. That morning, she had gotten up, prayed for a sign from God what direction she should take in her life, and for some reason, she didn't know why, felt like she and her son should go on a walk. That's when we showed up.

I am continually amazed at the mercy of God! How merciful He is to her, after all of her mistakes, to guide her and set her on the path to bring her back to Him! How merciful He is to me to allow me to witness such a miracle and take my role in answering her prayer. She has definitely been prepared, and I have no doubt in my mind that she had to experience all of that sorrow so that the Lord can bless her with even greater joy when she overcomes! And to think, we almost didn't stop because we were a little discouraged. 

In addition to that, I get to look forward to a baptism in a couple weeks, and a sealing session in a couple months. :) What a privilege! 

I love you all and hope you are doing well. I pray every day that all my friends and family back home will use every day the most wonderful and precious gift that the Lord has given us, the Atonement. It is real, and it brings so much joy! Please remember the One who has given us everything. 

With all my love, Hermana Townley

-- 

Sister Stacie Morgan Townley

Stacie's email February 3, 2015

Hello everyone! 

I am so grateful I get to email this week, so much has happened and I thought for sure I would be too busy and wouldn't be able to. Again, I apologize for the inability to write everyone back individually because I have such little time, but I am so grateful for all of your thoughts and prayers! They really work and I feel them everyday! 

So here's a little update. I finally made it to Tucson! This last week was crazy in the CCM, I was so sad to leave my district, I've grown so close to them, but I was also so incredibly excited to finally start my mission. The goodbyes were hard though. 

I traveled by myself to the US, as I had anticipated. I was having a little bit of anxiety about it earlier in the week because I was worried about the language (I also made a goal to hand out at least one Book of Mormon at the airport), but that just made me pray harder. I got to the airport at 4 in the morning, running on about 2 and a half hours of sleep. I had about two hours to wait for my plane to board, and I said a very specific prayer, telling Heavenly Father about my feelings of inadequacies in speaking the language. I just really didn't feel like I was courageous enough to approach a fluent Spanish speaker and start talking about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I was so intimidated. So I prayed for God to be merciful to me. I prayed that someone would approach ME and ask me about the Gospel willingly. After the prayer I closed my eyes, I was so tired, and dozed. 

I was asleep for approximately 3 minutes when I was awoken by a man who came and sat down with me. His name is Raul. As we started talking, he asked me where I was going, why I was in Mexico, and how I learned Spanish. In answering his questions, we were actually able to easily delve into a very uplifting conversation about how Jesus Christ has helped us in our lives. He is a christian, but doesn't belong to a specific church. He has heard of the LDS church before and said it was good. He had heard of Joseph Smith before but didn't know much about him. At that point, he asked me if he could read the Book of Mormon that I had in my hand, so I let him read the introduction of the book right there in the Mexico City Airport. I was thanking the Lord throughout the entire conversation. He seemed genuinely interested, so I told him he could keep it. He was so grateful. 

The Lord is so merciful. I am amazed every single day by the miracles I see in my life and the prayers that are always, without fail, answered.

Last night I spent the night in the mission home. Hermana Passey, bless her heart, made us all dinner and then we had a testimony meeting. Then they let me go to bed early, and I slept like a rock for a solid nine hours! Today we had my first transfer meeting. I have been assigned to serve in  Nogales for the next 12 weeks, and my companion is a native Spanish speaker. :) I've heard that it's extremely difficult to learn Spanish here because almost everyone is bilingual, so I was really grateful to get a companion that will help me speak. I have no doubt in my mind that Heavenly Father has had a hand in the choosing of the companionships. 

During testimony meeting last night, I was able to hear a testimony given in the beautiful language of Portuguese. Wow! What an experience, I understood every word! I am so blessed to have been called to learn Spanish, I thank Heavenly Father everyday for that opportunity. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week. :) 

Les ama mucho!  

​Love, Hermana Townley​

-- 

​Hermana​

 Stacie Morgan Townley