It's a Christmas miracle!

December 23, 2013

I have seen so many blessings this past weekend- such a tender mercy from Heavenly Father. This weekend was pretty rocky, but never have I had such a strong testimony of the Plan of Salvation. I have received so many spiritual confirmations that Grandma Stoker is more than happy where she is, and that Heavenly Father is so aware of her. It has been so great to see His hand in my work and all the things He has taught me from this.

We had the COOLEST experience this past week with a lady that lives out in Lake Las Vegas (the fancy place where Sister Dion lives) She has been researching near death experiences and has been placing together bits and pieces of the Plan of Salvation, then researched different religions to see what matched up with her beliefs and came across the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day saints. She already has a testimony of Joseph Smith and told us she wasn't sure what we called him, but she is pretty sure he is a prophet. How golden.

I'm going to keep it brief since I'll talk to you in a couple days AND it's SIster Nilson's birthday so we are going to party! This morning i woke up at 2 am and put streamers and balloons all around the living room. We have too much fun.

LOVE YOU!!!!

Thanks again for the letters and packages. I really appreciate it :)

Love,

Sister Stoker

December 16, 1013

Family!
Sorry I got a little crazy emailing people and talking with the missionaries...so this will be short. But I love you and can't wait to talk next week!!

We had a fun Christmas leadership training this week. Sister Nilson and I played guitar/ violin/ sang Mary did you know? (and yes, Mallory. I thought of you) It was fun. I missed half the notes. Nobody noticed.

Serena is progressing like crazy- she is ready to be baptized. Her uncle is about to disown her because of this and the adversary is hitting her like crazy but she doesn't let it phase her.

Sister Nilson and I have been caroling at every door- sometimes we just knock on random doors  and sing to them and ask if they want to hear a message about Jesus (which is kind of unheard of in this mission since we don't knock doors) The only problem is that we are far too silly to get through a song so we usually sing half then have to stop because we are laughing too hard. What a blessing and a curse. Also there is an elder who just told me he is from Nesa (Nisa?) Oregon and knows Ballantynes. E. Boster. Tiny world.

Arlene's dad told her last week that she couldn't be Mormon, but came to church yesterday!! It was such a blessing...I'm telling you. Fasting works.

My companion from the MTC (Sister Nichols)'s mother passed away last week. She went home for 3 days to speak at the funeral and clean out the house then came back to work right after. She is such a saint and I look up to her in every way.

Thanks again for the letters and package! I feel so loved :)

God Bless and Merry Christmas!

Sister Stoker

This is Miracle, Jasmine's sister.... I love her to pieces. 

December 9, 2013

Hello! It's been such a great week- the work continues to pick up, except I'm not quite sure what happened this week. I LOVED that Christmas devotional yesterday- what a spirit it brought! We watched it at a members house with our investigator Serena and had such a great experience. She just cried and cried as she watched it and I realized that's a spirit I take for granted. I loved how the Prophet talked about how the only way to find true happiness is by helping others feel it and HELLO that is the epitome of the mission. Also, here is something funny that happened. The other morning Sister Nilson and I decided to conserve miles on our car and run to morning sports, except she can't run because of her broken foot, so she rode her bike while I ran. Well we live in this fancy house that is gated so I ended up having to crawl under the gate to open it for her to ride through. Well I failed to mention that the gate I opened opens towards you...and I'm not even sure if you can follow this story but the gate ended up just completely taking her and the bike out. She didn't really get hurt from it, it was mostly just the funniest thing to watch. And she laughed about it so it's ok for me to.

Yesterday at church was just great. I hung out with Brandon Flowers in the Primary room- we had a nice casual chat while I composed myself like a dignified missionary and pretended I wasn't talking to a celeb. Apparantly he is visiting for 2 months so that will be a fun challenge for me...remembering the power and authority of my calling. Haha just kidding. It's no big deal. But what IS a big deal is that we are serving on Lake Las Vegas and it turns out Celion Dion and Chris Rock and other celebrities have houses up there. Challenge ACCEPTED. It is so crazy having THE nicest neighborhood in all of Henderson and also the most ghetto in our area- how fun is that!

Sorry I don't really have any crazy spiritual experiences to share- guess I"m just used to those by now. We have an investigator who was set to be baptized this weekend and is SO ready, but her dad won't give her permission :( So if could keep Arlene and her family in your prayers, I would really appreciate that.

Love you all! 

Sister Stoker

December 2nd, 2013

Hey Family! 

The work is BLOWING up here in the Lake Mead stake!! I don't know if i told you but we inherited another ward in the stake (the Elders got double transferred out) so it has been crazy. SIster Nilson and I have had a fun time adjusting to the two wards which means 6 HOURS of church each Sunday. It has been a bit overwhelming with all that is going on with transfers and the new ward, but hey. What a good problem to have. We have over 20 investigators right now so balancing time between finding, teaching, dropping, and working with members is our latest challenge. But I'm up for it! Oh and plus also Brandon Flowers was in our Sacrament meeting yesterday (lead singer of The Killers) and I just about died. Someone mentioned his name and said it was good to see Brother Flowers visiting ( I guess he grew up in this ward and it his parents still live in it) and I looked over and was a bit distracted for a good portion of the meeting. But I got up and bore my testimony/ introduced myself to the new ward. So if his next hit is about a testimony he heard in sacrament by a sister missionary, you'll know it's about me. 

The new ward we got is one of the richest in all the land. There are these fancy gated homes that have gate keepers who have to check you in. You have to be on the guest list of someone's hosue in order to get in the complex and then they take down your license plate # and give you a ticket. It is crazy 

Let me tell you about Serena. She is GOLDEN. She referred herself on Mormon.org and says she just feels like God has led her to the mormon church. After our first lesson we set her for baptism (beginning of January) and invited her to read the beginning of the Book of Mormon. We went back a couple days later and she had read 10 chapters! That has never happened. 

Now let me tell you about Eric. He works at the church bookstore but isn't a member (crazy, I know) but he decided to read the Book of Mormon to see what this is all about. He was told to read with an open heart and claims to be doing that, but to be honest he is pretty narrow-minded about all of it. I don't mean that to be rude, that is just what I've observed. Well as he read, he got to the part where Nephi kills Laban and it was really hard for him to picture a God who would command someone to murder someone else. Well we tried telling him to pray about it and he wasn't too fond of the idea, so Sister Nilson pulled out the Bible and read a couple stories where the exact same thing happened (one in Judges where the Prophetess drives a tent stake through someone's temples? yeah never thought i'd use that in a lesson) It humbled him a bit and took him by suprise, but he said he wanted to read the story because it still didn't sound right. 

Now back to Serena. When we went to her house the second time, she had the exact same concern as Eric and her lesson was an hour after his- it was crazy. But the way she handled it was completely different. As soon as we started testifying and invited her to pray about the Book of Mormon, she accepted it and moved on to the next question (which by the way was wether we have to pay tithing on ALL we have ever earned or just from this point on, because she said she would have to sell her house) She is SO humble and ready for this gospel! She LOVED church and I am so excited to be a part of her conversion! I love this gospel. Oh and then at church she told us she prayed about Laban then watched Zero Dark Thirty and got her answer. She realized that sometimes bad people just have to  die. Heavenly Father has some peculiar ways of answering prayers. I love it.

Last week we went to Great Harvest and I got some AMAZING eggnog bread- you need to make that if you haven't yet. Holy cow. Then the owners came out and gave us a free loaf of Honey Whole Wheat, some HUGE mint brownies and some cookies. It reminded me of Dad and how he is always giving to those who need and there I was, back at home. It was such a tender mercy on the day before Thanksgiving. We spent all day Thursday visiting members then went to a couple widow's houses that evening. We only ate once (thank goodness) with a huge family that had to reserve the church to fit everyone and it felt like I was at a Stoker or Haueter gathering. 

Our investigator Arlene (17 years old. Cutest thing ever) is doing so well too. She is ready for this step, but her dad is a bit skeptical. He thinks this is just a phase she is going through and is scared she won't follow through. Well I fasted for him yesterday and after our lesson with her I talked to her about him and she said he agreed to come to church with her next Sunday! I know every other email is about the power of fasting...but honestly. It's as real as it gets. 

It doesn't quite feel like the holidays yet- I was in short sleeves on Saturday but I hear it will be getting colder soon. So hopefully. Also there is an Elder in my zone from Mattawa- Elder Callaway. Tiny world. Oh and the Bennet's son (Tyler?)'s girlfriend is serving in this mission too. 

Love you all!!

Sister Stoker

Novmeber 25th, 2013

What a crazy week it has been! I'm going nuts. We had transfers AND boundary changes this weekend- i have to keep telling myself that change is good. We lost part of our ward which was sad- we had to give away our awesome new investigator to the elders :( I hate that. BUT good things are comin! Sister Remund is leaving me and going to Kingman to be with my MTC companion Sister Nichols! I'm SO happy for her. She has been here all her mission and I'm sure was ready for a little change. I'm so excited to stay here because this ward is now my family, so I'll be able so spend the holidays with them. My new companion is Sister Nilson. I don't know her very well, but she is actually a visa waiter headed to Brazil, so we'll see how long we are actually companions. Word on the street is as soon as they get their Visas they are gone within the week.

We had an awesome meeting with Elder Bruce C. Carlson from the 70 on Thursday. He gave some really good trainings and mostly they were all focused on us becoming better people- not missionaries. I thought it was interesting. He talked about how (and Elder Anderson told us this too) they are more concerned with how active/ strong we are in 30 years then how many people we convert. I also had the privilege of leading the missionary choir for him so that was fun. There was fancy violin and everything.

So the temple trip with Yamilet. We had such a sacred experience when we went on Tuesday and I don't want you to freak out when I tell you, but it was such an answer to prayers and concerns I've had. We planned to go at 6:30 on Tuesday night and were freaking out SO excited and were determined to not be late. The baptisms were at 7:30 but we were going to have a lesson with her before and walk around/ show her the atrium before. Well somehow we were late- don't know how that happened- but we got out of an appointment a few minutes late. So Yamilet called us and asked if she should wait inside for us or out in the parking lot and we told her just to sit in her car till we got there. Well as soon as she hung up the phone, she heard a gun shot. Someone committed suicide that night in the atrium RIGHT when we were supposed to be there. Such a tender mercy from Heavenly Father. It was such a blessing because at no point during the night did we get an overwhelming feeling that we shouldn't go, or that we should be late. It just happened. To me, that was my Father in Heaven letting me know that He is guiding me through everything- whether or not I have a spiritual prompting or not. They closed the temple for the night but we were able to go on Friday night and OH what an awesome experience! IT was so fun to be all dressed in white with her and Sister Remund and watch Yamilet let others recieve the same blessings from baptism as she just had.

Jasmine came back to church this week! Her baby is old enough to take now so her and Sa'Niyah (the baby) and her sister Miracle (3 yrs old) came and sat by us. Mom thank you for teaching me how to keep kids entertained during sacrament. We colored with her and looked at the pictures in the gospel principles manual and somehow kept her quiet. She loved primary though. And after church, I saw the Burrups! Brother and Sister Burrup flew down here to pick up Laurel and they met her for the first time in the foyer of the chapel and we were standing right there during the reunion and it was so sweet! You all better take good care of her when she heads home.

Well I love you. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Sister Stoker

November 18, 2013

This week has been SUCH a good one. We saw SO many miracles...as always. We got 5 new investigators which was such a tender mercy and they are so golden! There are good things in store for the Palo Verde ward. We found out though that the ward boundaries are changing next week AND we are having transfers next week so things are gonna change! I hope I stay though- i would love to spend the holidays with this ward.

We are going to the Temple with Yamilet this week!!!! I can't stop freaking out. We are going to do baptisms with her and just can't wait. Yesterday was SO crazy- Sundays always are. But we went to another Why I Believe fireside (converts telling their conversion story) and it was so powerful. Our investigator Arlene came and said she loved it. Plus a ton of the Priests and Laurels in the stake were there so it was fun for her. I had a sneezing attack throughout the whole meeting though which was really embarrassing. Also there is a PHENOMENAL mission prep class here- i may have mentioned it before but it really has made a huge difference in the missionary work here in the stake. Dad you need to call me as a member of the mission prep committee when I get home. I'm instigating it. The youth are just on fire!

There is a guy who lives in an apartment complex that we are always at and we tried to convert him one time but found out he is a less active member...so i guess we are still trying to convert him. But he came to church yesterday! He sat next to me and I kept trying to discretely rub my temples/ face ( i had a killer sinus headache from this cold I can't get over) and afterward he asked me if i was feeling alright and said he felt so bad for me. Well he didn't stay for all of church which was a bummer, but after the meeting was over we were headed out to our car and he was standing outside waiting for us. He had went to the store and bought me menthol patches to stick on my forehead. Money for him is pretty tight and I am pretty sure he walked to the store and back because he doesn't have a car. It was the sweetest thing in the world. And they worked!

We have had at least 5 invites for Thanksgiving dinner already- I have heard horror stories about missionaries eating like 6 or 7 dinners so pray for me.

Love you all! 

Sister Stoker

Baptism and Pictures

This has been the best week of the WHOLE mission!!

First of all, YAMILET WAS BAPTIZED YESTERDAY. IT was SUCH a powerful experience and the spirit was of course so strong. Her mom and friend came which was a huge miracle. Sister Remund and I graced everyone with a song- turns out when you are on the mission you don't have hours to practice, but it turned out. She was confirmed during the service too, and her face was just BEAMING the whole time. The BEST part though was when she got up and bore her testimony at the end. It was so simple and sweet but so powerful. What a day. That night we taught the mission prep class- it was a girls only night and so we talked about being a Sister Missionary and what an honor it is and it just got me even more excited to be out here! What a blessing.

We also had the chance to go to the temple with our investigator, Sister Rahim this week. We walked around the temple grounds and talked about covenants and helped her see the eternal perspective a bit more. The attendants at the front desk let her and her son come inside and sit in the foyer and what a neat experience that was! Not being able to go to the temple as often as you want makes you realize what a great opportunity it is. That day we also got to help a lady move apartments. We got a phone call the night before from a random number who got a hold of our card somehow and heard that missionaries like to help people. So we said heck yeah and spent a good chunk of the next morning moving her out and she invited us back to teach her! I have such a strong testimony of service.

Also this week was the Gladys Knight fireside- SO GREAT. She has such a powerful influence and I can't get over how much I love her. We invited a new investigator (who is african american) and she said she loved it and " didn't know Mormons let blacks into the church" which broke my heart, but were glad it was all cleared up. The performance was crazy- we went with Sheranda ( a less-active who i LOVE) and I have never seen a chapel that lively before! People were up and clapping and raising their hands and singing along. I loved it. And Gladys and her husband have such a strong testimony. It was so cool to hear their conversion story and their thoughts about Mormons before and after they met with missionaries.

LOVE you all! Thank you for the emails and the prayers :)

Oh and I finally found a cord to send pictures so enjoy!

Sister Stoker

Our Biking Adventure

with a crazy dog i had to walk...and by that i mean carry because he wouldn't move

Outside the temple

Gladys Knight Fireside

Yamilet's Baptism! 

October 28, 2013

Family! Thank you so much for the prayers on my behalf and for my head. I had a very severe migraine on Wednesday morning and didn't know how I was going to work but we decided to go to District Meeting anyway. Afterward, I received a Priesthood blessing from one of the Elders in my district and received some incredible council. I haven't had a headache since. He told me that my headaches won't last my entire life and there is something I need to learn from them. He encouraged me to study the scriptures and learn more about the enabling power of the Atonement and as I do I will be able to help those I teach. This week I was studying the New Testament and  Timothy 1:12 just hit me. Paul is thanking the Lord for enabling him then trusting him to be a missionary. He goes on to talk about the strength he recieved from his past and how it was only through the grace of Jesus Christ that he was saved. In verse 16 he talks about being able to use that experience to help those around him. I realiezed that I am not much different than Paul. Through the grace of Christ and power of the Priesthood I have been relieved of these headaches for at least 5 days now and have strengthened my testimony of His power on this earth. I have already been able to use this experience to strengthen one of the young women in the ward who needed guidance on feeling God's love. I have never had a past like Paul or Alma but have felt the exact same power that they did as they were relieved from their pain. It is crazy how much I have learned to appreciate trials in my life now. 

We set our investigator Jason for baptism on December 7th this week! He told us at the next appointment that before we set him he just had an overwhelming feeling that he should be baptized! This is no small miracle because that lesson was a crazy one. The member that was there definitely compared Christ to Pumba from the Lion King and said that Egypt is the Promised Land. Thank heavens the spirit didn't let that one sink into his heart and distract from the lesson. Also he is 17 and an amazing wrestler- he is top in the state and went to Nationals this weekend but was released because he got elbowed in the eye and lost his sight for a bit. So that was crazy. But we were excited for him.

We have a lot of new potential investigators we are really excited for- there are two girls in high school we have been working with who we might end up tutoring in school work. So if you all could pray for the Holy Ghost to bring Algebra and Goverment back to my remembrance that would be fantastic. it is the end of the month so naturally we have been biking again. We clocked 15 miles the other day! And it has actually been hot here- it definitely does not feel like Halloween. 

Well I love you all! Keep up the incredible missionary efforts in the Ridgeview ward! I am so excited for you all and keep you in my prayers. 

LOVE,

Sister Stoker

No Better Time

Family! There is no better time to be a missionary than right now. Let me tell you. We had a mission conference this morning where we talked about a Gladys Knight performance that is coming up in a couple of weeks and we can't wait! Word on the street is the spirit is incredibly strong as she sings and she incorporates her testimony of the church and the Restoration of the gospel into the program. There have been so many inspiring stories of people that have gone and requested missionaries as soon as they left and were baptized within the month. The more I have learned about her the more admiration I have had for her and how she uses her talent to bring others to Christ. She has such a fire about her and I am so excited to bring investigators and nonmembers to listen to her. 

This week we have been all about the service and I have seen so many blessings from it. We have been walking our investigators dogs which turns out to not be the funnest chore on earth but it allows us to serve them and also talk to people on the street as we do it. I had a little foofy dog though that decided to quit walking halfway through so i got to carry her. We took pictures but this computer won't let me download them so I'll have to find a converter and hopefully send some pictures your way soon! 

Susan (the girl in Paradise) had such a great baptism last week! Our investigator Yamilet came and it was such a good experience and oh boy was the spirit strong! It was fun to see people from the ward again too. We met this amazing family this weekend- so humble and SO friendly! They have 17 animals- something I am definitely not used to, but it makes for a fun house. Their newest edition is a couple of baby chicks which reminded me home and when Carson put all the chicks in the pockets of the pool table. Haha. But we taught them a quick lesson about the Book of Mormon and I guess they liked it so much they invited us back for BBQ this weekend! 

Thank you so much for your prayers on my behalf. I know there is such a power in prayer and I am so blessed to have so many  coming my way! I love my Savior and have such a testimony that this is Christ's church restored to the earth and it is the ONLY way to find true joy. 

LOVE YOU!!

Sister Stoker

October 14, 2013

Family!

What a week it has been! This week has been a complete turn around from last- i'm not quite sure what changed but we have seen tons of miracles. And miracle #1 is that Sister Remund and I will be staying in Palo Verde ward for another transfer! That will make 4 1/2 months as a companionship. Thank goodness I love her. Miracle #2 is that I have successfully been a missionary for 6 months now! How crazy is that. I feel like it has only been 2 months since my first day at the MTC and yet I feel like I am a completely different person. It's crazy how the mission does that to you. Oh and miracle #3 is that a girl I taught in Paradise is getting baptized this weekend! She asked me to sing the musical number so we have a good excuse to go!

We met this fantastic lady named Barbara this week who has already adopted us as her grandkids- as she tells us everyday. We did some yardwork for her because she can't pull the weeds herself and she just broke down in tears. We said a prayer with her yesterday and she chimed in at the end of the prayer and just started crying as she told God thank you for sending us as an answer to her prayer that day. She is such a sweet lady and we are so excited to be able to teach her.

We had such a great day yesterday- 3 of our investigators made it to church! Fast and testimony meeting was a little nerve-racking though. A sweet sweet lady in the ward stood up and confessed all of her gambling problems and issues with the word of wisdom that have been keeping her from the temple then told the congregation that satan is almost more powerful than God. It is times like that when you have to rely on the spirit to not carry messages like that into the hearts of those that we brought. Haha. But the rest of the meeting was great. Jasmine is due to have her baby next week so we will have to wait to hold her baptism for a while because the emotions of a baptism could most likely put anyone into labor.

I gave my first training in District Meeting last week! I loved being able to do that. As I was studying for it, I realized the divine importance of Self-Mastery in our life. It is something I have been thinking about a lot since Elder Russel M. Nelson's talk on the body. Being on a mission has helped me realize the importance of giving up our worldly appetites and pleasures for that of a spiritual nature- and when we do it willingly we experience all kinds of crazy joy! That is what I have found. A lot of what we teach people is about giving up things of this world/ our old lives for something so much better and there truly is power behind testimonies and commitments when we have experienced it ourselves.

Las Vegas is finally cooling down and it is such a blessing! We have been wearing cardigans which is unheard of- it is like 50 degrees when we go running in the morning. Thank you for all the prayers and emails! I sure do love you all.

Sister Stoker

Conference

October 7, 2013

What a great weekend! We loved watching conference- it was different watching it in the Stake Center as opposed to on the couch in my PJs, but it definitely helped me stay awake. There were so many answers to my prayers within those talks I loved them so much! I loved Elder Bednar's talk on Tithing- I loved the way he described the blessings from tithing. Elder Holland's was fantastic as well...as always. It helped me gain a better perspective on how to help those we teach/ come in contact with with mental challenges- no matter how subtle they may seem. I also really liked President Uchtdorf's talk. I loved when he said to doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith. I have used that a lot already in addressing concerns.

We had an amazing experience with our investigator Yamilet this week. She is a pretty quiet girl but on Wednesday she was all bubbly! She told us how excited she was to read the Book of Mormon and is still taking time out of her lunch breaks to read the Book of Mormon. After the lesson she told us that she was reading her Book of Mormon at 6:00 one morning (What??) and she recieved the most distinct answer to her prayers that it was true! She was pretty nervous about her baptism on November 9th last week, but she told us that she is ready now. She has already announced to her friends and family she is becoming Mormon and she has such a light about her! I love the power of the Book of Mormon in conversion!!

Thank you for all the prayers and support! I love you all!!

Membersionaries

September 30th, 2013

Family!!

Thank you so much for the prayers and fast. Believe it or not I have been headache free for 3 days now which is a world record. I KNOW that is because God answers a loving family's prayers. All of these engagements are crazy!! Give Chelsea and Camille a huge hug for me when you see them- this is all so exciting!

Yesterday was such a blessing. Our mission president and his wife spoke to the ward for the 5th Sunday (3rd hour) all about member missionary work. He encouraged the members to come to lessons with us so that our investigators could see what normal people are like. Then he had Sister Remund and I stand up and pointed out that we are not normal. Only weirdos spend 24/7 dedicated to the Lord and His gospel. Haha. Thanks President. It was cool though because that night I got to see this member missionary work in action. The stake has a phenomenal mission prep class (they call it PMG) for youth ages 16-19. Each week they focus on a fundamental from Preach My Gospel and practice teaching each other afterwards. When us missionaries don't have any set appointments on Sunday nights, we go and help them improve their teaching skills and role play with them as investigators. Well one of the youth brought her friend Chris last week who isn't a member and didn't know much about the church. I am sure he was a little shocked during the class as they talked about tactics to get people to listen, but apparently he felt the spirit. Two of his friends and I had the privilege of teaching him the first lesson that night and never again will I doubt the power of member missionary work. I had fun teaching him the doctrine of the lessons and helping explain what we believe, but as his friends shared their simple testimonies of what the gospel means to them, the spirit was incredible. These girls were just friends from school and had never really shared with him what they believe until that night and when they did, he listened because he already trusted them and had always been curious about what made them so happy. He told us he could really feel the spirit as we all discussed the atonement and the restoration of the gospel. This past week, he attended early morning seminary every single day and told one of the students that he wished it was 2 hours long. He read 5 chapters in the Book of Mormon and said he liked it because it made him feel good. When we met with him again yesterday, he said that this past week he couldn't stop smiling. His friends noticed a change in the way he carried himself and in the way he dressed. He used to wear all black but hasn't been lately. As we began to  teach him the restoration, he was grinning like the freaking Cheshire cat the entire time. When we started talking about Christ's atonement again, you could tell the spirit was hitting him like a brick wall. I gave his friend Lynsie the "you should invite him to be baptized right now" nod and helped her lead into it, but she took over and popped the question and he accepted! When he said yes they were all speechless and were probably replaying the conversation in their head to make sure they got it right, but as they testified of what their baptism meant to them and what it still means, i could tell that he really connected with them. OH MAN!! I just love all the member missionary work in the world!!!

What I have come to the conclusion of on my mission is that us missionaries, we really are weirdos. So many people think we are obligated to be out talking to people and/ or we are getting paid to do it and they don't have time to listen to us. But when a friend reaches out to another friend and invites them to an activity or fireside or something, there is a barrier that is already broken. And the awesome part is the members don't even have to know much about the gospel or teach the uncomfortable lessons like Word of Wisdom or Law of Chastity because us weirdos are trained to teach those! All the normal people have to do is invite them to an activity and we will ask them if they want to learn more. If they reject us, who cares? We get it all the time and most of the time it doesn't really phase us. Plus we are getting transferred so we will never see them again. That way it isn't the member trying to shove their beliefs down another person's throat. But if they say yes (often to the member's surprise), we will teach the doctrine if you testify. So that is what I want to invite you all to do. You don't have to sit your friends or neighbors down and teach them the first lesson in PMG but just invite them to an activity or dinner with the missionaries and let them do the inviting. Let us be the weirdos, you guys can keep being the normal ones.

I am currently obsessed with this member missionary stuff if you haven't noticed.

We also encountered a modern day troll on a bridge this week. That was fun. We met Mandy on the side of the road and she agreed to teach us ONLY if we answered her riddle. Here it goes:

What does God NEVER see,

Kings SELDOM see,

and we see ALL the time?

After much stupor of thought and self-induced headaches, Sister Remund and I sent out a mass-text to the missionaries in our zone (we figured as long as they were missionaries it wasn't cheating) and the Zone leaders got the answer! We went back 2 days later and taught her yesterday. What a blessing! I'll keep you updated on how she progresses. She said her dad had been asking missionaries that for years and we were the first ones to come back.

Also, that Relief Society broadcast blew my mind! I loved every second of it and realized how important it is to be keeping my covenants if I expect those I teach to prepare to make them. Oh and PS I'm not giving you the answer to the riddle until next week. STAY TUNED!

I don't know if I have talked about our investigator Yamilet yet but she is fantastic. She is another product of membersionary work (yes I made that word up, no I won't go on another tangent about how much I love it)- she is dating someone in the ward. But we set her for baptism this week! What a BLESSING! November 9th- mark your calendars.

LOVE YOU ALL!!

Sister Stoker

Gag Reflex

September 23, 2013

This week has been the CRAZIEST! Holy cow. Remember that 15 mile bike ride Sister Remund and I were going to go on? Yeah that didn't turn out. Well we went for like 5 miles and rode along the lake and through old railroad tunnels and stuff so that was fun. But then we started home (and didn't realize it was 108 outside- yeah that seems like nothing to us now) and my head went nuts and I almost passed out so a nice couple from michigan drove us home. So that was sad. But we had fun while it lasted. I brought my iPod so we stuck it in a grocery sack and I blasted efy music along the way. 

On Saturday we ate dinner with our investigator Jasmine (the 8 months pregnant one) at a member in our ward's house- the Gillespies. Who by the way happen to be my favorite people in the world. We ate pizza and Jasmine hardly ate any because she wasn't feeling well so we proceeded on with the lesson. Jonah and the Whale is our current favorite Bible story so we were telling that one and I kid you not as soon as we get to Jonah 2:10 where it tells us that the whale vomitted up Jonah Jasmine leaps up from the couch and runs to the bathroom...except she didn't quite make it to the toilet on time. You better believe what little pizza she had eaten was plastered all over the bathroom. Miracle of the week: Heavenly Father spared my gag reflexes as Sister Remund and I cleaned up that bathroom with Clorox wipes and TONS of Febreeze. Haha. I felt so bad for her but apparently that is just what she needed and she felt fine and dandy for the rest of the day. 

Yesterday we had a lesson with the world's most prepared new investigator. His name is Jason and he just recently moved in with a family in the ward. We talked a lot about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ at the beginning of the lesson and somehow we all got talking forever and couldn't finish the whole lesson. Before we left though he asked why there were so many churches since there was just one Bible. He also wanted to know about what will happen when Christ comes and where we will go and it took all I had not to answer his question in full detail. So we gave him the short sweet answer and he seemed excited for our next lesson to learn the rest. It is so cool to see how the Lord is preparing these people! 

LOVE YOU!

Sister Stoker

Best Week EVER!

Hola Familia!

Sometimes I pretend like I speak Spanish to people on the street. It usually doesn't work out that well. But it's cool- Sister Burrup teaches me a little here and there. This week has been the BEST week so far! Holy cow it was such a blessing!

On Tuesday Elder Neal L. Anderson came to speak to our mission! We had a conference with the Las Vegas West mission and ours. He was only supposed to talk for 2 hours and ended up going for 3 and thank goodness he did! We learned so many great things from him. He told us that he wants us to serve in our areas for 6-8 months at a time now so we can get to know the ward better and gain their trust. That means sisters will probably only be in 2 or 3 areas their whole mission! Crazy. He really emphasized the atonement and the power of bearing testimony at all times. Elder Tad R. Callister of the presidency of the 70 also came and talked about not just changing our behavior as missionaries but changing our nature. The whole meeting just empowered us for the rest of the week. It was fun to see all the missionaries too- there were about 500 of us in the stake center. I saw Elder Perrins and Elder Titus was there too.

Yesterday church was magnificent. We had SO many people there and the whole meeting was just awesome. Sister Remund and I were a little worried about having our investigators and less actives in the ward feel welcome, but the ward completely reached out to them. The investigators are already a part of the Relief Society and have lots of friends there. The kids loved Primary too so that always helps. Our Primary program is coming up in a couple weeks and it looks like our investigator (Jasmine)'s nephew and an inactive family we are working with will be in it! So we are excited.

We are working with so many amazing people right now- 2 of our investigators are SO ready for their baptism and it has been fun to help them prepare for that. Jasmine is still doing so great and is such an example to me. We are teaching another Lady- Sister Rahim- and we had the coolest experience with her yesterday. We took her to a Why I Believe fireside which is a mission-wide fireside where converts come and tell their conversion story. It was so great and the spirit was CRAZY strong there. Right when the fireside finished she said "Alright I want to be baptized this week" and she couldn't stop talking about the "overwarming feeling" that was there. She said that as she was sitting there she didn't even crave cigarettes and she wanted to sleep in the chapel so she wouldn't ever pick up a cigarette again. Haha I love her. We then taught her that she can have that warm feeling any time she wants- she didn't need to go to a chapel or hear someone's testimony. When we read the Book of Mormon we allow the spirit to come into our lives and the spirit is what helps us keep the Word of Wisdom.

Well hope you all have a great rest of the week! Sister Remund and are off to this crazy 13 mile bike trail along a mountain and apparently there are railroad tracks involved? I don't really get it but I'm excited. Thank you for the prayers- they really are helping me.

Love,
Sister Stoker

September 9, 2013

Hey Family!! 

This week has been the greatest. We had one of the coolest experiences yesterday with a lady named Janet. We met her on the street about 2 weeks ago and she told us we could come back in a few days but she wasn't there. So sad. So we kept going back like 4 times a week and no one ever answered the door. We were pretty sure the house was vacant but tried one more time yesterday and there she was! She let us in to teach her right then (which hardly ever happens) and we had the world's most spiritual first lesson with her. She was just soaking in everything we said. Before we started she wanted to know how long we would take because she was pretty busy preparing her house for something so we started teaching very briefly, but then she kept  asking questions and was sincerely interested in what we were telling her. By the end of it, she was so excited to read the Book of Mormon and asked how much it was so she could buy one. She asked us if we could come back and talk about what she had read with her family. What a blessing! 

Jasmine is doing fantastic still. She cannot wait for her baptism and when we went over there on Saturday she had read 4 chapters in the Book of Mormon that morning. We taught her the Word of Wisdom this week and she was so ready to give up coffee by the end of it. She said she is addicted to it and has it all the time but realizes why she needs to stop drinking. She didn't put up a fight or anything! 

So we have a super sketchy apartment complex that we tend to frequent often- mostly because that is where all the humble are. It was built on an ancient indian burial ground though and is crazy. When we were there on Friday though 3 people came up to us and asked if we could come teach them about Jesus. 3! That never happens! Haha. Guess the word on the street is that the girls in the skirts do a Bible study there. Sister Remund and I have been asked just about every single day if we are sisters. Like the related kind. I guess we look the same. I'll have to send you a picture of us one of these days. 

This week there was a lady in our ward who had a friend who really wanted the missionaries to come teach him but she didn't know how she could get a hold of us since she attends another ward and had never met us, and we showed up the day she prayed for missionaries, right before she was going to see him. I love being a tool in His hands! I have been reading in the New Testament in the mornings and am in the book of Acts and am just blown away by Paul! What an amazing missionary. I thought it was crazy in Acts 16 when it talks about Paul and Silas being beaten and then thrown into prison and yet in verse 25 they are singing praises to God. You better believe when it is 110 degrees outside and we are biking up a hill after people have rejected us on the street the last thing I want to do is sing praises. But Paul did it and so I have implemented it! My companion thinks i'm nuts.

Hey I love you all! Thank you for the emails and God Bless!

Sister Stoker

September 2, 2013

Hey family!! I'm soo sorry I wasn't able to email last week! Life has been nuts. As expected. We have transfers this week- Sister Remund and I are both staying here! I'm so excited. Mostly because we just found the most GOLDEN investigator named Jasmine. She is SO ready to hear the gospel and is so willing to listen to us! People like that are hard to come by these days. She wants us to come by like every day. What a blessing. Also did you hear about those two guys who dressed up as missionaries here in Vegas? I heard it made national news, but then again you can't really trust what most people tell us on the street. Anyway they beat up some old guy then robbed him when he let them in. So sad. Luckily most people just joke about it to us- we haven't had anyone not trust us because of it. Plus most people don't know we are associated with the boys on the bikes. So that helps too. 

This week was the end of the month, so naturally we were on bikes for 4 days. Don't worry though- I now haves thighs of steel. And permanent helmet hair. AND it was monsoon weekend so we got caught in the rain a couple times. That was crazy. But it has been fun. We like riding because we can talk to more people on the street, so I think we are going to do it more often. We will see though. Tell the Mowers and the Mengs thanks so much for the letters! I love hearing from the home ward.

I have been focusing a lot on Charity this week- I realized it should be my main motivation behind everything I do as a missionary. I love 1 Corinthians 13 where it talks about how you could have faith to move mountains, but without Charity it really doesn't matter. As a missionary (with or without the black badge) we could have faith that we will bring ton of people to the gospel, but if we don't love them the way Christ does or do it because he atoned for us, it really means nothing. Sorry. Wish I could go into more detail but alas we have to head to WinCo and buy the dried mangos! 

Love you all and thanks for the prayers!

Sister Stoker

August 19th, 2013

We have met tons of cool people this week I want to teach all of them! I went on exchanges with the YSA sisters this week- it was fun to be in a singles ward again. We went down to Boulder City and visited people. What a cute little place! One of our awesome investigators moved to Mexico this week, so that was a bummer. His name is Julio and I was getting ready to fill the font for that guy he was so great! Hopefully missionaries will find him down there. The less-active lady I was talking about in my last email came to church this week! It has been over 2 years that she has been to church, so that was exciting. There was another lady we had been visiting at the hospital to sing her hymns and read scriptures- she was the sweetest little lady and had the strongest testimony ever. She passed away just a few days ago so that was hard, but seeing her faith in the Plan of Salvation really helped.

Sister Remund is a crazy runner- like Kaylee style- so we run every morning for like an hour. It is fun. Most of the time. Haha well I wish I had more time but i'm getting kicked off the computer. Love you all!

Sister Stoker

Elvis Presley Fan Club

I know I always talk about how crazy each week is, but really. This week was NUTS. The Lord has helped us so much. And the fasting works! This area has been averaging 1-3 Lessons with investigators a week- we just got 10 this past week. I am so excited to be a part of all of this! This poor ward has no idea what they signed themselves up for. The Lord is working full speed ahead ini this tiny part of the vineyard! 

We have been teaching a less-active lady in the ward, and the first few times it was really hard for me to stay positive after her lessons. She was constantly complaining about her neighbors, the government, Las Vegas, and lots of other things she learns on talk radio. She just broke out in a bad case of shingles on her face and her son might be headed to prison soon- our conversations really would just wear you out. After much prayer and scripture study though, we have been able to see a complete turn around with her. It is so great! In fact, when we taught her yesterday she was laughing so hard she was crying, and she only mentioned obamacare once! Once we started to read the Savior's teachings with her (in both the New Testament and 3 Nephi) she lit up and started talking positive and bore her testimony to us! She told us about when her and her friends started an Elvis Presley fan club- she was the president- and would hang out at drive-in movies back in the 60s. That was a huge miracle of the week.

We had the chance to meet with a less active family this week for the first time. They were so sweet- it was a single mom with two of the most darling girls i have ever met. We taught them the story of Ammon and they were so excited! At the end of the lesson, we offered to have someone pick them up on Sunday for church and they said they would come. She had a nonmember friend at the lesson and she said she wanted to come as well! They all got to church right as it was starting and we were so excited to see them. After church though we had two members come up to us and ask how in the world we got them to come to church. Apparently they are very less active and the mom has refused to come in years. We had no idea! All we did was invite them and get them a ride. Guess sometimes that is all it takes. So never give up on anyone! 

Sister Remund and I are going to the temple tomorrow. I am so excited!!!! Oh and the Hoover Dam was quite the experience. We went down to some secret tunnels that apparently aren't open to the public. And we got to see where transformers was filmed! The perks of wearing the black badge. Oh and also we went to Great Harvest and they gave us 4 loaves of free bread. Bad idea. They all may or may not be completely gone now too. I don't want to talk about it. 

There is an awesome article in the Ensign this month called A New Writing. I hope you guys have had a chance to read it. I love how it talks about feasting on the scriptures. There was also one about asking questions in class and I have been able to implement that a lot as we teach. Especially this Sunday because we taught Gospel Principles, Young Women, and had a brief thought in Relief Society. What a Sunday. 

Well I love you all!

Sister Stoker

No A/C

August 5, 2013

What a week it has been! The work is hastening here in Henderson- we have seen some crazy miracles. I think the Lord is blessing us extra though because our A/C is broken at the moment- not quite sure how we have been surviving, but it has been a fun adventure. 

So last week we re-calculated our miles and found out there was a mathmatical error like 2 weeks back and we had gone over our alloted mileage. So Tuesday and Wednesday were spent all on bikes. It was crazy! We had fun though and kept ourselves sane by singing on our way to appointments. Plus now I have calves of steel. 

Today we are going to the Hoover dam- I'm pretty excited about that. Us missionaries don't get out much so this is quite a treat. Also you need to tell everyone to stop getting engaged and stuff. Sister Burrup and I exchange Tri-Cities news every week and it is getting a little out of hand! Sister Remund and I are currently obsessed with Bible Stories and so we have been teaching a lot of basic principles and commandments from Preach My Gospel from Bible stories. It has been fun reading those again. The work in Henderson is a lot more slow paced than I am used to, but like I said it is hastening. We are preparing for Elder Neil L Anderson to come to our mission in September by increasing the amount of lessons we teach a week to investigators. As a mission, we fasted to up that number in the coming week, and we have already seen the blessings from it. We have just recently found 2 new investigators and quite a few potential investigators. I secretly want to never eat again because of all the blessings we have been seeing! And then i step into the grocery store and want to buy everything. Alma 17:9-13, 16. Fasting works. 

Hey I love you all! 

Thanks for the emails each week :)

Sister Stoker

Hendertucky

Family!! Holy cow those were quite the updates this week! Sounds like I am going to have a lot of new cousin-in-laws to meet when I get home. Henderson is great. Apparently they call it Hendertucky because it is the old Henderson, not as nice as the other part, but I love it. It has been quite an adventure training Sister Remund. I have learned so much from her though and am excited for the rest of the transfer. I forgot my pillow and towel in Paradise so that has been a fun little adventure. Last week Sister Lake and I blew up our area right before I left- it was fun to end with a bang. We set 3 people for baptism that week and and got a ton of new investigators. On Tuesday morning we had a lesson at 8:00 am right before I left. It was a good send-off.

I think the most common phrase I hear in this area is "Are you related to the Stokers in..." Apparently there are Stokers in Henderson and all over Utah and Idaho-someone told me he grew up on Stoker milk in Burley.

I wish i had tons of stories to tell from this week. The area I'm in is mostly member/ less active visits so it is pretty different. On Saturday the Stake had what they called Camp Zarahemla and so we had 2 Laurels spend the entire day with us. It was so fun and they loved spending the day as a missionary. You should think about doing that in the ward or stake. I spent my first Sunday here having Ward Council, speaking in Sacrament and teaching a lesson in Gospel Principles. Welcome to the area!

Sister Remund and I are about out of miles so we spent all of Friday on bikes- that was a fun adventure. I felt like a real life missionary.

Love you all! I promise I'll have more next week :)

Sister Stoker

Transfers!

July 22, 2013

I'M GETTING TRANSFERRED!!! I'm so sad/excited/terrified/up for the challenge. We found out on Saturday and I'll leave tomorrow morning. I'm going to serve in the Lake Mead stake in Henderson. Sister Lake and I are actually switching companions. My new companion (Sister Remund) is newer than me, which means I am going to finish her training. Which is also a little bit intimidating. It was hard to say goodbye to all the members at church yesterday and a lot of the people we have been teaching, but I know there are much better things in store for me in Lake Mead. Plus our Ward mission leader told me that my revelation for the Heritage Ward is diminishing so I guess that means it's time to head. 

So it turns out July is monsoon season in Las Vegas. We got caught in a crazy storm and were drenched within 5 seconds. It was good symbolism for the flood we are preparing to have. We have been in somewhat of a drought lately with people to teach, and this week we set 3 people for baptism and founds tons of new investigators. There is TONS of potential in this area and I'm so sad to leave- there will probably be a lot of baptisms in this next transfer. On Sunday one of the less-actives we have been working with got the Priesthood! Best day ever. And rumors have been spread from a very reliable source that all missions in the US will be getting iPhones and iPads by the end of the year. The mission will supply them, and they figure it will actually cut cost since they won't be printing out all of our manuals and planners anymore. We are a pretty big deal. 

Sorry this email is so short- I might have procrastinated packing so I have to do that. Love you all!! 

Sister Stoker

June 15, 2013

Hello Family! 

This week has been so great! ROCIO WAS BAPTIZED!! She was interviewed on Tuesday and said she wanted to be baptized right away so we made it a Friday night event. I don't know if I have talked about her before...but she is amazing. She has completely given up her lifestyle to follow Jesus Christ and has such an amazing testimony. A couple of Elders found her a couple weeks after Sister Lake and I got to the area and taught her one lesson then passed her off to us since she is YSA age. She couldn't stop talking about the way she felt when she was baptized and then confirmed- you could really see a change of countenance with her. She invited 2 nonmember friends to the baptism and another one of our investigators that came invited his nonmember friend, and they all talked about the spirit that was there. One of them also came to her confirmation and seems interested in learning more about the church. She got her temple recommend right after church (our Bishop initiated that and was so on top of everything!) so hopefully we will be able to go to the temple to do baptisms with her in the next couple weeks. 

We got the best text in the entire nation from a less-active on Tuesday. So background story. We went to his house about a month ago because he was a name on the ward directory that we didn't recognize and had never seen at church. He wasn't there but his family was and we had a nice visit with them. His mom told us what time he would be home so we could come back, but said not to call and make an appointment with him because he would tell us no. So that was reassuring. But we came back about a week later at the time he would be home, and his mom was frantic and told us they had no idea where he was- he had ran away and didn't want anything to do with the church. The next day was fast Sunday, so we offered to fast for him with the family. We didn't go back to follow up with them for another couple weeks, but when we finally got around to it (a couple weeks ago) he was home! We met with him, and he told us he would come to church on Sunday if we got him a ride. I was so amazed. At church, he didn't have a hard time making friends and seemed to really enjoy himself there. That's not even the best part though. The best part is when he texted us on Tuesday and told us he wants us to help him prepare to go on a mission!!!! AHHH!! Guys. The power of fasting and prayer is REAL. If you are willing to give up a little food and pray your heart out for someone, God really does pay special attention to it. 

I went on a couple exchanges this week and learned a ton. As always. I spent a day in the stake near the temple and there are tons of Hispanics. In fact, almost everyone we talked to on the street spoke Spanish. Somehow,  I had a 15 minute conversation with someone in Spanish and found out she is living here alone, her husband is in Mexico and she came here to make money in a tiny Mexican restaurant. Apparently the gift of tongues is a real thing. I was able to get her information and send her off to some Elders that speak real Spanish. Also, we are obsessed with riding our bikes around since we are baptizing or dropping a lot of our investigators (dropping is the worst thing in the world by the way) so we find people on the street and do service for them. We have realized that people are so much more willing to listen to what you have to say if you serve them first, so that is what we focus on. And Heavenly Father caught on to our plan so there are always tons of people around us that need help lifting or carrying something...or just anything. We even rode around this lady's neighborhood looking for her pitbull named Doody who had ran away. I can imagine that was a sight to see- two sisters yelling out "Doody! DOODY!" in that neighborhood and at the nearby park, but we were able to teach her a couple days later because of it. Hopefully though it helped us burn off a few of the calories we gained at Anna's this week. She made us fried chicken and cornbread with some homemade mac and cheese. And i ate enough to last me for the summer. Oh boy. 

I love you all!! And I don't want to think too much about the grilled sandwiches you are going to make at Great Harvest. They sound like a dream. 

Peace and Blessings

Sister Stoker

Happy 4th!

July 8, 2013

This week was incredible. When we first got to the area (beginning of May) we we averaging about 5 or 6 lessons taught to investigators with a member present a week. We are now at 18 a week. The work is crazy! That isn't including all the other lessons we teach to recent converts or less actives either. We saw tons of miracles this week. One of our investigators was hesitant to get baptized for the longest time, and she told us last week she wants to get baptized as soon as possible! So it might happen this weekend. She had the hardest time believing there could be a modern day prophet, but we watched President Monson's talk "Be of Good Cheer" and she fell in love. Of course. The spirit was incredibly strong and she said she had a good feeling as he was talking and loved his stories. I went on a couple exchanges this week- one was with a sister who speaks very little English (She is Sister Burrup's companion) and we had a blast! We just laughed the whole time and she taught me how to say some key phrases in Spanish because so often we meet Hispanics and can't say much to them. We had a fun 4th of July- the Bishop fed us kabobs and we were able to see some of the fireworks at the strip from a distant. We also had flash flood warnings for a good part of the week- I was freaking out a tiny bit. I guess they can get pretty bad here. But we never got caught in one, thank goodness. I went on an exchange with one of the sisters we live with, Sister Schenk, and it was incredible. We prayerfully set some goals for the next day, including 3 new investigators (which means we have to meet them, have a lesson, then set up a return appointment). They had only had 1 new investigator that entire week so it was a huge leap of faith. We decided to ride our bikes around so we could talk to more people and we got 3 new investigators! Each person had been prepared to hear our message and after we prayed with one of them, she commented on how she felt different- her whole body felt peace. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the spirit working its magic. We met every single one of our goals that day because we heeded every single prompting we received.

We also had an amazing experience with someone named Matt. He was visiting his friend Kenny (a recent convert of about 3 months) from Florida and decided to join in on a new member lesson we taught Kenny. So naturally we decided to teach him the Restoration. Before we began, he told us he didn't believe in God- he only believes in what he can see and feel- so we told him to pay attention to how he feels while we teach. The lesson was amazing. Kenny bore a powerful testimony of the atonement and Matt asked a lot of good questions. We invited Matt to pray at the end of the lesson, and it must have been the most powerful prayer i have ever heard. He said "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for sending me these girls. I now know that you are there and believe what they have told me. I am excited to strengthen my relationship with you." I just about started to cry. He went from not believing he had a Father in Heaven who cares about him to knowing that he is there and that His church is on the earth today. He is very logical and had a bad experience with religion when he was younger, so he has been studying science and started to believe the Big Bang Theory and evolution.  During the lesson though, he just kept telling us that everything we said made sense. We met with him 2 more times that week and by the end of our last lesson, we were getting his contact information so we could send it to the missionaries in Florida and let them know he wants to get baptized. Miracle. 

Also, I just realized that when i told you about the Refiner's Fire (Book of Mormon challenge) i definitely lied to you. We are just supposed to be done by the end of the summer, not the end of the transfer, which will be over in a couple weeks. But reading it every morning has been a huge strength to my testimony. 

Oh, remember that one time when Sister Lake and I made 4th of July cupcakes to bring to all the veterans in our ward then left them in the car for only like 20 minutes and they all melted into nasty looking things? Yeah. Huge fail. 

Well hope all is going well in Kennewick! Thanks for the prayers- I know I am being blessed because of them. 

Love you all!

Sister Stoker

117 degree Christmas

July 1st, 2013

Family! It was so great to hear from you! Yes, it is hotter than Hades here. 117 to be precise. Every time we open the door to go outside it feels like we just opened the rack oven in the bakery, except then you have to walk in it. We have had heat warnings on the news all week and just about every street we drive down there is an overheated car just chillin on the side of the road. It is nuts. When we play sports in the mornings it is usually 95 or hotter. Luckily one of the members in our ward made us scarves, so our necks will stay nice and toasty when we are out and about.  Our power went out for over an hour last night because of the heat, so we all gathered around my flashlight which was our only source of light. The A/C wasn't working though, so we started cookin. It was quite the adventure. The Lord has blessed us so much though- we have had appointments just about every hour so we spend most of our time in a lesson or in our car. Plus, people give us water everywhere we go so we stay hydrated and out of the heat. The other night, Sister Lake and i were feeling a little bit of the Christmas spirit, so we decorated our living with all the Asian decorations we could find and Sister Lake whipped out her Christmas tree and lights and stocking and we just left it for the sisters to find in the morning. They were so confused. But then we celebrated that morning with presents and we all told Christmas memories and marked the new holiday Asian Christmas in July. Even though it was June. We may or may not have forgotten that part. 

Well the work is still so great here. I have been in some super ghetto neighborhoods all week, so that's always fun. Got peed on and attacked by a chihuahua. Highlight of the week. We have had LOTS of people try to use us just because we are nice people. Someone told me they would come to my church if I gave her a ride. Another lady told me she believes in Jesus but would steal some food if we didn't give her any. We always try to respond to those situations in the way Christ would, but it is hard. We want to help everyone but need to realize that giving them things isn't the way the Lord would have us work. We have a more important work to be doing. Tons of people showed up for church yesterday, that was a tender mercy from the Lord. It was an even bigger miracle that most of them stayed for all three hours. 

How is the missionary work in Kennewick? I have already started a list of the things I will do when I get back home to help the Elders and Sisters out. Our ward has pretty much adopted us so I want to be that kind of member after my mission. Also, have fun at the Stoker Reunion this week! Tell them all I miss them and make sure Todd feels as uncomfortable as possible around the uncles. And let Uncle Craig know that I'm doing my best to repair the damage he caused here in the 80's, but it's rough. Give my best to Grandma too. It really is an honor to wear the name Stoker everywhere I go and to remember it is more than just my immediate family I am representing while i'm here. So thanks for all your prayers! Here are some more pictures. Enjoy!

1. Asian Christmas in July

2. Jarom and Helaman Street. 

3. My first night out!

4. Apparently this is how i pray. Sister Lake felt the need to document it. 

Love you all!

Sister Stoker

I believe in MIRACLES!

June 24, 2013

Hey Family! 

What a great broadcast! It was so great to see the Marriott Center filled with so many missionaries and to hear how the Lord is hastening His work! It really makes the work so much more effective when we work with the members, so keep up the good work! I am sure the missionaries there just love the going to the Stoker's house. Our mission president just emailed us and said our mission won't be using internet right away, but it is coming! I'm not sure how i feel about it, but it will all work out. 

Turns out the Great Harvest here feeds the missionaries for FREE! We took a trip to Henderson last p-day to shop and get some bread. It smelled like home! They had a cool sign that said "Give us this day our daily bread" and i liked that it was their way of sharing their belief in God and in the Bible. Also, just so you are aware, I probably gained 15 pounds at Anna's this weekend. She made us garlic shrimp and also some crab shrimp stuff that apparently called for 6 sticks of butter...it was SO GOOD. I told her I am taking all of her recipes so I can impress you guys when i get home.

This week was so wonderful. We had a sister's luncheon/ training on Thursday- there are now 50 sisters in the mission (it just about doubled in the past 2 months) and we are headed toward 65 by September. It so fun being a sister- we talk to so many people who are just taken back that there are "girl ones"- not just the guys on the bikes. So naturally we use it to share our testimonies and invite them to church. Sister Lake and I started to keep track of all the miracles we see each day, and it is insane how much the Lord is in our work. The scriptures say He will labor in the vineyard alongside the servants, and he has been doing exactly that. We met a guy named Michael on the street and he invited us to stop by his house sometime and talk to him. He is a freemason and it was so cool to learn more about that. Turns out they don't just exist on National Treasure. A few days later we were getting out of an appointment at the other end of the zone and we were impressed to go visit him. When we got there, he had some company and so we just started talking to everyone- mostly clearing our own name and answering the questions they had about mormons. There was a girl named Sarah there who was basically clinging on to everything we said. She told us that just the week before she had been pondering some of the questions of her soul, mostly pertaining to the Plan of Salvation, and had some other doubts about her own beliefs. As we taught her what we know, she just seemed ecstatic and said that was exactly what she needed to hear. She also said she was having trouble accepting her own weak testimony and didn't want to claim that she knew things to be true when she was still struggling to know for sure. I was able to relate part of Elder Holland's talk with her and read the story from the New Testament about the man who had faith that his son would be healed but declared, "Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief." She said she had been struggling with that for so long but hearing that story completely reassured her that she isn't the only one who needs to rely on the Lord to help her in her unbelief. It was so cool to be an instrument in the Lord's hands- to be able to give her the comfort He would have given her if he were here. That is the power that comes with being a representative of Jesus Christ. We are on His errand, devoting 18 months to His work. Sister Nieder said, "Don't you DARE pass someone on the street without testifying of the Atonement and allowing them the blessings of it. Don't you dare." I love that! That is why we are here on missions. To allow others the blessings of the atonement. Also, if you ever need a pick-me-up, listen to the Bill Carpenter conversion story. It is the best thing you will ever hear. 

It has been cool to be a part of the Book of Mormon challenge in the mission. We were promised that we would be able to relate the book to people we meet on the street or in their homes, or just in casual conversation, and it is happening! I met some guy on the street and he talked about how great America is, and so i whipped out 1 Nephi and read him the blessing of the promised land and how the Lord had a hand in guiding the settlers here and the wars and what not. Another guy we are teaching started reading Deuteronomy and the law of Moses and cut out pork and other food from his diet, so i read 2 Nephi 25:24-27ish with him. Cleared it all up. That book is MAGIC. 

Well, I love you all. Oh and here is a picture of us at Great Harvest, enjoying a chicken n berry sandwich ( i think). 

Love,

Sister Stoker