My goodness gracious is it really only 12 days until Christmas!? I feel like only last week I was calling home for the first time, one month into the mission. Time is flying by and today someone told me I had a little over 2 months left and I wigged out for a second telling them not to round down, then tears filled my eyes. Ah, the emotions are already starting. This Christmas is going to be absolutely wonderful. We have so many plans and not with gifts or money or food, but with goals we're trying to accomplish in the mission and specifically in our area. Today we had a wonderful Zone Meeting about increasing our faith in finding the elect. It was something I had been studying lately and it wasn't a chance lesson. There have been big changes in the mission and transfers have become completely unpredictable. Its all in the Lord's plan and we're excited to work with our faith, put our comforts out of the way and find the elect.

As for the new companion.... OH MY GOODNESS!!! Heavenly Father answers the prayers of missionaries who are trying their hardest to do His work. Her name is Sister Christofferson and we immediately hit it off. She is perhaps the kindest, most genuine, and humble individual I have ever had the blessing of knowing. She has a strong love for music, a beautiful voice and a rock solid testimony of her Savior. Random fact, her grandmother is none other than Janice Kapp Perry. She plays the flute beautifully as well. Our whole apartment right now is a musical feast. President has created a Christmas devotional for investigators and recent converts and I am in charge of the choir, composed of all hand picked individuals who can sing and read music. I'm pretty excited. Sister Freeman will be playing violin and Sister Christofferson will be playing the flute.

Our plans for Christmas day include Christmas caroling and getting into as many families homes to share a Christmas message about Jesus Christ. Sister Christofferson is honestly an answer to many prayers spent on my knees crying to the Lord for someone who will catch the vision and wear themselves out in the work being led by the spirit. I could not have been happier with the Lord's decision. She had been in the mission for 6 months, but in a Cebuano speaking area. La Carlota is her 2nd area and she'll be learning a new language. :) She's not nervous though and is already doing great. Pray for her and for us. She's from Lehi, Utah and we'll definitely be seeing each other after the mission.

As for Erwin, he just made goals yesterday for his giving up cigarettes and we feel pretty good about it. We'll teach him tomorrow and see how he's doing with his goal. Pray for him to be honest with us. Unfortunately Ricky's baptism did not go through. He didn't pass his baptismal interview for multiple reasons. His understanding of the doctrine is amazing. BUT....as I was asking him questions about his personal information to fill out the baptismal record he wasn't giving me straight answers. SO...turns out he has a past and has to repent of some things. We're trying to find if he's truly accountable for his actions because he has a history of attempted suicide and deep depression. It's been a very sad experience. Elder Scott, our district leader, pulled me aside and asked if I knew about any of it. NO...I didn't. SO, he explained some things to me, very jumbled concerns...I was so confused as to what to do.

As Sister Christofferson and I planned and prepared to teach him she stopped and said, "Well Sister Stadler, we need to be incredibly in tune with the spirit so we can fully discern if he is telling truth and is accountable." Exactly right, and that's exactly what happened. The lesson started off a little rough, we explained about baptism and I was wary to get into questions, but the questions just came. His sister was able to be there for the lesson as well and add greater understanding to the situation, which then caused him to open up. By the end of the lesson my heart was so full and there was great peace in the room. So now we're working on getting some legal verification on things before we give him another baptismal date. Long process, but so worth while. So, thank you for your prayers. Continue to pray for him.

I love you all so much. Pray for me to have the faith to accomplish the work that Heavenly Father has in store for me. I have this overwhelming feeling that something big is on the way. I have such an urgent feeling about this work. At times I feel almost uneasy because I feel this is of such vital importance. The more I read in scripture the more I know it is true. There is such power in the word of God. This Christmas season find a copy of the Book of Mormon and share it with someone. don't chicken out! This is salvation we're talking about. I love this gospel and I love all of you! You're in my prayers. Continue to be a wonderful example to those around you. I look forward to talking to you soon! Press forward ever! We're all called to serve our King. Until next week, God Speed!
All my love,
Sister Stadler

Hello family!!!!! My goodness I love you all so much! All of my friends that read this too, I love you as well, just not as much as my family. : ) So this morning we had transfer announcements and drum roll please......against all odds...I'm staying in La Carlota!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was shocked! I had already started packing. I am so happy that I'm staying and I feel it is a tender mercy from the Lord. I just....I love these people and I love the work here. Its hard, don't get me wrong, but I love it. My sweet companion will be transferring, which was surprising to us since they usually leave people in their first areas for longer. BUT....President is pulling a lot of weird stuff this transfer. Lots of changes! Those of you that read this from the mission...try this on for size. In La Carlota Zone, Valladolid is closing as well as Bago 2nd ward and possibly the 1st ward too. Pulupandan is having a full white wash. They're putting elders in and pulling sisters. Not sure about the rest of the area but this means I'll be spending Christmas here! AND...with Sister Freeman and Sister Gamil!!!!!!!!! A huge tender mercy from the Lord. I love these sisters so much. As you can tell from my silly photos, I have become quite attached.

Tell Christina I said hello! My goodness I love that girl! Did she even get my letter I sent her? I'm sure she's swamped, but I did send her another letter. Haven't heard from her.

Thanksgiving dinner was delightful, and you can tell in the photos I definitely stuffed myself to maximum capacity. I was dying....haha! But it was delicious. The stuffing was amazing and Sister Jackson made an apple crisp...which was amazing as well! Yes...that is a coconut filled with fruit salad in the photo. That was Sister Gamil's contribution.

This week was pretty uneventful to be completely honest. Sister Jackson was sick for most of the week and then I also had a fever for a day, so our work was pretty little. But I feel fine now. Because we missed so much work we did have to push Ricky's baptism back a week. Otherwise we would have had to marathon teach him. I don't have much else to say this week. I love you all so much and you each have a letter that will be sent this next week, so look forward to that. I promise next week will be longer. I hope you're all doing well. I know that the Lord is watching over you and I have full confidence in Him. I love this gospel so much! Stay strong and until next week, God speed!
all my love,
Sister Stadler

Well today was a beautifully flaming hot day with more sunlight that I ever thought humanly possible. It was one of those days where you can feel your skin burning while standing in the sunlight. :) Made me miss home for 2 seconds, then I snapped back into gear. Thank you for the emails. You will never know what your emails do for me. They are like a straight shot of adrenaline for a missionary.

Dad, happy early birthday! :) You're 72! Happy Happy Birthday Daddy dear! Happy days will come to you all year..if I had a wish then it would be!!! A happy happy birthday to you from me!!!!!! :) (sing that)

Alright folks...here's some other things I need to say before I forget. A gigantic thank you goes out for the Relief Society sisters from our ward! I was so surprised to get the package and I loved everything in it! Especially the notes! I miss you sisters so much! I ate the beef jerky like it was going out of style...and our adorable Filipina roommate here had never had it, she thought it was heavenly. :) Everything was so well thought out! Thank you so much!

As for our Thanksgiving meal, we will be partaking of it in approximately 2 hours or so. We're pretty excited. Also, if anyone would like to email me some music tracks, christmas music (anything you have) and mo-tab or classical music. I don't really want anything from EFY. I miss classical a lot and hymns. That would be wonderful. Thank you!

Erwin is continuing to progress but very very slowly. We had another wonderful lesson with him this week and he's still in the process of feeling like his prayers are answered about the Book of Mormon. When we were teaching I felt I needed to ask him what his expectations are for receiving an answer and his answer was, "Money and means for my family." So it was good to clear up that he was looking for a sign, but the Lord asks us to work with our faith. So, we'll see. He watched the Restoration video and he liked it a lot.

Rocky Yanson is progressing quickly. He is still set for December 11 and he's incredibly excited, as are we. He was way early to church on Sunday and then was way late leaving, he stayed and stacked the chairs and helped clean up. Yes..he's golden. haha! Our investigators are few, but we're going through referrals right now. The members are finally starting to provide referrals and we're excited to see what will happen. Its a very very very slow process working with the CMIS, but it's slowly working.

Transfer announcements are this next week and I can't believe it's already time to start another transfer. I'm not sure at all if I'll be staying or going. Either way, I will be happy, however I would be so incredibly excited to stay in La Carlota for Christmas. The members have a place in my heart and I love helping them in their branch. I feel like they want to do what is right, its just not what they're used to and they haven't quite caught the vision. It's like they feel its a beautiful idea, but they have real life matters to deal with so they put the branch on the back burner.

This week we were waiting to have PEC meeting (Priesthood Executive Council) with all the Auxiliary and Priesthood leaders...seems odd the sisters would be there no? BUT...when missionary work is involved, we are invited for our part then we're dismissed and they continue the meeting. Well...I asked President when the meeting would be...he scheduled one and I feel like it's maybe the first meeting they've had in a very very long time. ha! But as we were waiting for his counselors to show up he was just talking to me about life and asking some questions about the area and everything and he stopped and said, "Sister Stadler, you are so kind." I just laughed and said, "Oh president..only sometimes." He said," No really, you're just a kind person." and I said..."If you asked my siblings, they might argue that!" He just laughed. :)

I miss you all so much! Missionary work is exhausting. Sister Ball and I talked a lot over sister conference. That was a huge tender mercy. I love that sister with all of my heart and I know Heavenly Father put her in my life to be an eternal friend. She told me, "Sister Stadler...I'm tired. and I still have 3 transfers left." I responded, "ha! I'm tired too. I don't know how elders do it. But you know what my mom would say.." she waited for a second and then I said, "...Suck it up princess!" She just laughed and said, "And this is why I need to meet this wonderful woman!" We're tired, but not too tired. We've worked hard, and yet we feel like we still haven't work hard enough and we're constantly trying to be better and to refine ourselves. We've been sick, we've been rejected, we've been disappointed in investigators, in companions, in ourselves...and yet we have experienced the sweetest joys and the most tender experiences we have ever witnessed in our lives. We have been blessed beyond belief and suffered trials we didn't know if we could endure. The mission is remarkable and shapes us is ways we couldn't have ever dreamed. I love being on a mission and I am excited for these next 2 transfers.

I love you all more than I could express. Enjoy this Christmas season. Share the gospel! Just open your mouths! It's not hard to do..it's a little weird at first, but then it becomes natural to talk of Christ, to rejoice in Christ and to teach of His life. I love you and I will email you all next week! Until next week, God Speed! :) xoxoxox
All my love,
Sister Stadler

P.S. Ariel, thank you for your email! Your teaching will be awesome! wish I had a recording of you teaching the elders quorum lesson. remember when you were terrified to be a teacher in the relief society back in our sparks ward? And look where you are now!!! Does the Lord not prepare us for things to come? :) I love you tons!