Elder Stone works to ‘light the world’
ORHS grad Cameron Stone is half way through an LDS mission and will head to Harvard next year.
On the first phase of his journey Cameron arrived at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, on July 12, 2017, where he spent three weeks getting oriented in how mission life works, the expectations of him as a missionary and “how to share messages about the gospel of Jesus Christ in a conversational way,” his proud mother, Ladawn Stone, recently explained.
He has been given the title Elder, which is a Christian title used to indicate that a young LDS man is a missionary and has been ordained to minister and preach the word of God. A young woman is given the title Sister. Since the initial training, Cameron has been stationed in the greater Baltimore, Md., area, spanning as far as eastern West Virginia.
Cameron keeps an online journal for friends and family to keep up with his colorful experiences. He relates each impression, whether it’s a person he has met or a challenge he’s faced, with honesty and a willingness to learn as he expresses his focus on his primary mission — to “light the world.”
In his first letter, Cameron posted, in part, The (Missionary Training Center) changes you like crazy, in a good way! You gain a whole new perspective on life. I am so blessed and really haven’t had any huge trials in my life. A lot of these guys worked all summer to pay for missions … Everyone should have this experience, he continued. The days are insanely long … but somehow it is so fun.
A typical missionary’s job is to plan that week with the following in mind: Find ways to daily serve people; share messages about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and invite people to learn; help them gain a testimony of Christ’s teachings; and be baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
While in Abingdon, Va., Cameron wrote about meeting a man in the street who invited him to talk more at his house. I got into his living room and you could tell he was in a really dark place in life. It was dim, messy, heavy with smoke, and just felt dark, with cigarettes, beer cans, and pill bottles everywhere …
Then an update. We went back over this week and (the man) cleaned the whole place up and he just looks like a completely new person! It is so cool to see the immediate change and affect the Gospel of Jesus Christ can have in our life.
A typical missionary’s job is to plan that week with the following in mind: Find ways to daily serve people; share messages about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and invite people to learn; help them gain a testimony of Christ’s teachings; and be baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
While in Abingdon, Va., Cameron wrote about meeting a man in the street who invited him to talk more at his house. I got into his living room and you could tell he was in a really dark place in life. It was dim, messy, heavy with smoke, and just felt dark, with cigarettes, beer cans, and pill bottles everywhere …
Then an update. We went back over this week and (the man) cleaned the whole place up and he just looks like a completely new person! It is so cool to see the immediate change and affect the Gospel of Jesus Christ can have in our life.
Ladawn explained that missionaries always have a companion for safety and friendship that they are assigned to work with for anywhere from six weeks to several months. “They don’t get to choose their companion, which can be a great learning and growing experience for them, but in Cameron’s case, his first companion and his mission trainer — a more experienced Elder to show them the ropes — turned out to be a friend from El Dorado Hills, Brayden Shouse,” she added. “It was a very fun way to start.”
Cameron is currently on a special assignment, acting as assistant to the mission president. “It is a leadership opportunity where he works with his companion, alongside the mission president and his wife to help lead, motivate and train the missionaries,” Ladawn continued.
In his latest letter Cameron described helping after severe flooding in Ellicot City, Md., writing, We’ve been able to help unload trucks of supplies, and spent days helping to clean up the mess and debris… As I look back over the past 11 months, I identified about 10 experiences that undoubtedly changed my life forever. Most of them were pretty small (as simple as a one-liner someone said to me that was an answer to prayers), but all of them were moments where I felt connected to heaven and decided to act upon the things I learned.
Cameron is the oldest of four boys. When he gets to Harvard, he will be on the school’s football team. Cameron plans to study computer science and eventually pursue an MBA.
To stay updated on Cameron’s monthly blog posts visit mymission.com/eldercameronstone.
Article posted by permission from https://www.villagelife.com/news/elder-stone-works-to-light-the-world/
