MTC (Week 2)

Hey it’s been going alright this week.  I had to go to the Instacare last night because I’ve been getting this really weird rash type thing on my stomach, back and chest.  So, it’s been really annoying because I’ve gotten it now for the past 3 days in a row. The doctor didn’t know what I have really, so he gave me a really strong antihistamine!  He thinks I might have got it from a missionary from a different country, so I guess that is where I might have gotten this rash.  Everyone here is sick in my district!  

We’ve been really busy here with the language lately has been really good. The language is coming really fast now I feel! I taught a new investigator yesterday with no notes and it was kind of bad.  My mind went blank and so did my companions, so I just shut the door and told her we were going to restart.  Haha.  It was so funny!!  I also sent home a SD card on Monday with tons of pictures so as soon as you get it download them and send it back to me please. We got to have Brother Blissett teach us and we were the investigator and it was really good.  I like with how well it went!  I can understand tons already like with what people are saying. Like yesterday, Brother Blissett was talking to someone on the phone and I pretty much could translate everything he was saying.  It was sweet. Oh yeah!  The Malay Book of Mormon just finally got approved so hopefully they will be going to press soon.  Brother Blissett looked on his cell phone and there was a version of it!!  The teachers were crying.  They were all so happy!  It was really cool to see.

Not too much more has been going on here.  I’ve just been waiting for an apostle to come and talk to us!   Hopefully we will get one tonight or this Sunday.  That’s what I’m hoping for!  All of the devotionals that we have been having are really good with a lot of really good stories!  I got a letter this week from Lauren Stahle so it was good to hear from her!  President Sawney isn’t here anymore and neither is President Brown.  And yes, I got all new badges -- so now I have 4!

I’ve made a lot of really good friends here lately so it’s been really good.  It was really good to hear from everyone with the handwritten letters! We inhaled all of those Andes Mints and Elder Kavapalu loved the chocolate mint pretzels! I went to the bathroom and I was gone for 2 minutes and when I came back, the whole bag was gone!!  Yes, I got all new materials when I got here!  There are so many cool Elders.  President Taylor told me last week that how all of the MTC doctors and everyone here, including a lot of my old companions, kept saying that with my back and with all of my pain that I would never come back out and serve, so it’s been really good.  Now I’m really excited to get out there and show everyone how strong I am.  It will be good to see the other Elders in the Malay district!  

If you have time, can you send me another lacrosse ball because Elder Kavapalu has a really bad back and he always uses mine.  Everyday I stretch in gym so I have no pain since I’ve been here.  It’s great!  

That’s way cool about my blog!  The language is really good!  The food is alright this time around.  I still don’t like it too much and I’ve only had one cookies and cream [BYU Creamery] milk, so I’ve been doing pretty good!  Haha.  I would get more but they are always out!  

I’ve met a lot of really cool guys from the other Malay district.  I’m pretty good friends with all of them.  Elder Stewart’s from Dubai and he looks just like Justin Bieber, so everyone here calls him “The Biebs”.   Haha.  I’ve made friends with Elder Smith too.  Elder Hirschi is in my district and supposedly his family started Hershey’s chocolate but the 2 brothers split and his uncle changed the spelling to what it is now and he’s from Layton and he went to Layton High so we live pretty close. And then there is Elder Sutherland.  He’s from Mapleton, Utah.  He is like a health nut.  He eats so healthy.  He’s a twig!!  He needs to eat way more!  Then we have Sister Hawea, and she is from New Zealand and she has a cool accent!  Sister Allred is from Sandy and she’s going to Indonesia but she’s in our district because she’s the only one here going to there!  Then there is Sister Lebareon.  She’s from Alpine, Utah and she’s pretty cool.  Some of the other good friends I’ve made is Elder Shepherd and he’s going to Tonga.  He’s from California and he is a district leader too, so we talk a lot. Another friend I made is Elder Ward and he just left for the Marshall Islands!   He’s from Mesa, Arizona and he’s really cool.  He’s in my pictures at the temple.  Yeah, I like everyone here quite a bit but I’m going to go take a nap and then write letters to people!   I love you Hannah! I love you Hannah, Brooklyn, Lydia and Maddie.  Love you Mom and Dad too!    I love you all so much!!!  I will talk to you later!

Jumpa Lagi! Sayang kami Kelauarga

Bye, Love you family

Elder Stahle

Sister Shaw and Elder Stahle (neighbors and both from
the Kerrybrook ward!)

MTC - Week 1....Again

It's been another really good week 1.  I haven’t been homesick at all! There is no time to be home sick here because all that you do is study and work your butt off like crazy. My companion is Elder Robbins.  He is from New Orleans.  I’m the District Leader for my district so it’s been pretty cool and I'm constantly helping people in class with stuff since I’ve been here so it’s been good.  Elder Baranov is in my room and he’s way cool.  He is from Huntington Beach, California.  He's super smart too.  He goes to MIT! And Elder Kavapalu is from Sidney, Australia and he is Tongan and he has such a cool accent.  He’s like 6'4", like 230 he’s a beast and he’s way cool too!  With our investigator it has been going really good.   I've been able to use a lot of words that I have remembered from the first time I was here. It seems like the language is coming easier too, which has been good.

How is Pepper doing??  How is the family and how did Lydia and Hannah do in their volleyball tournaments over the weekend? Any cool things been going on back at home or like on the news?  Gym has been alright.  I just do all my stretches that Sean has given me and I sit on my LAX ball in class a lot and then use my roller every day too so I’m not having any pain which is nice.  That’s way funny about what happened at the BYU Creamery! 

We are going to the temple today at 9:30 AM so it should be really good.  I’m really excited. There are 9 people in my district, 6 Elders and 3 Sisters but one of the sisters is going to Indonesia. I still love the spirit here.  It’s really good. Oh yeah, Brother Gines told us that right now there are 3,200 missionaries here and he said that in July they will have over 7,000!!!  I have no idea how they are planning on housing all of them and feeding them and just everything in general cause as it is right now there is like no room at all.

We learned about the whole toilet situation over there and uhhhh yeah, there’s no toilet paper…so that should be interesting.  All they have is a hose to rinse off with so it should be cool  -- I guess?? Haha! 

Oh yeah.  When I bore my testimony on Thursday and I made a ton of people cry.  It was really spiritual.  I said how some of the doctors were telling me that I probably wouldn’t be able to serve because my back wasn’t doing better.  I was determined to prove them wrong.  I knew that I was supposed to serve.  The spirit lead me to the people that could help me. 

Our branch has about 75 Elders and Sisters. It’s huge and its still the same branch presidency so they were all really happy to see me and everything it was really good.  I have to go change my laundry so I will email you next week.  I will probably send you a letter this week too so I can say more that I might have forgotten to write!

Saya menyanyangi keluarga!!!  That means I love my family.  I miss you all!

Love, Elder Stahle

1:35 PM

We just got back from the temple and it was really nice. I still like Bountiful and Salt Lake's temples more, but it was still really good.  I felt a lot of peace and knowing that what I’m doing is the right thing and that it is what I need to be doing.  Our first investigator is Sudau and it’s going really good. 

I’m trying not to use my notes very much already anymore.  I feel like the language is coming quickly.  We teach her everyday except on P-day and Sunday, so I get a lot of practice with the language and making sentences and she says she understands what I’m saying.  I have to go soon and go prepare my lesson for tomorrow that we are going to teach Sudau (Sudaow) is how it sounds when you say it. 

How are all the girls doing? I got the Valentine’s package.  It was really cool to get the package from home.  We woke up today to do laundry early and we got there at 5:00 AM and it was packed!!!  I was so surprised and kinda bugged about it so next week we are going at 4:00 AM.  Elder Kavapalu is way funny.  I've already taken probably 30 photos so I will probably send my card home next week so you can have some pictures sooner. Like I said in the other email, we learned that while in Singapore when we need to go to the tan das (bathroom), there is no toilet paper.  All it is, is a hose coming out of the wall and you hose yourself off and supposedly you take your pants all the way off to go to the bathroom so it should be an adventure.  They use American toilets and then the holes in the ground are just like in China, but Brother Blissett said that he liked hosing off more than using toilet paper because it gets you more clean than toilet paper. I heard from Elder Madsen today and he said he loves his new area a lot so now he's in Miri and that’s right next to Brunei. Oh, and the island of Borneo in Malaysia has like all of the Orangutans in the world.  That is where they are from!!  So you see them all of the time it is guna be so cool if I get to serve there!  Love you all.  I will email you next week probably at about 4:00 AM and I got all the dearelder.com letters you’ve sent me so I will answer all those questions in a handwritten letter tonight and I will mail it tomorrow.

Jumpa Lagi

Love, Elder Stahle 

MTC "Re-Entry"

Today is a big day!  Today was Elder C.J. Stahle's MTC re-entry day!  So proud of him.  It took him 6 months from the time he came home to have his lower lumbar back surgery, to the time her was able to go back and serve his mission.  He is so much stronger physically and extremely ready and willing to serve.  His desire has never diminished and his determination has been such a learning lesson to all that know him.  He has been a great example to our family of how to perservere and stay strong for what he wants and what he believes in.  He will be a strong instrument in the Lord's hands.

per·se·vere              Continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no indication of success.            Continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no indication of success.            Continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no indication of success.

He wanted to arrive at the MTC in Provo, Utah as early as possible.  He was told my the Stake President he could arrive between 12:00 -1:00 PM.  He decided he wanted to be there at 12:00 PM or just right before because he wanted to make sure he was going to get the "bottom bunk bed".  It was funny and we of course wanted to help him in his request.