July Emails

July 7th, 2014

Hello! Sorry I never replied about the DVD but YES I got it and LOVED it! I watched it at a member's house and so now the secret is out that our family is nuts. Great. 

Sounds like you all had a blast in Rexburg, and OF COURSE JESSICA IS HAVING A GIRL!!! We don't know how to handle anything else. I freaked out when I saw that. And I am so glad she is naming her after me! Little Whitney :) I can see it now. 

This week was the 4th of July and it was not so much like yours...but it was fun:) My companion is from here (S. Rollins the mini-ssionary) so she went home to spend it with her family so I was riding solo all night with the members. It was fun though I got to know a lot of them and had some good food! We were able to see a few fireworks as well from the strip, so that was fun. Then I had a sleep-over with other sisters in the zone (sister Nichols my MTC companion who I LOVE). It has been crazy trying to coordinate companions- I have a couple that can come until the 20th and then for 2 weeks I am still looking for one. Quick. Paige come down here and be my companion! 

It has been really stressful not going to lie- trying to figure out an area basically all by myself, but we have seen SO many tender mercies from the Lord. So many prepared people out of no where and so many people accepting the invite to be baptized! This Ranch is about to be harvested!!! I sent some of the miracle stories in the voice recording...just a few of the tender mercies :)

LOVE YOU ALL!!

Sister Stoker

July 14th, 2014

Oh man. If you haven't been able to tell, I am going nuts this transfer. Probably it is good for me... and heaven knows I've grown a TON. When I logged on though I got a letter from the new mission president that made everything OK. He said:

Sister Stoker (My heroin!):
Thank you so much for being such an awesome missionary! Thanks for your obedience and the amazing example you are to others. I wish I could clone you so I could have a couple of you in each District! 

We love an appreciate you,

President Snow

What a blessing they haven't figured out how to clone yet. This mission would be full of stressed-out bald girls. 

Despite the challenges though, I have had a week of MIRACLES. Miracle #1- I had 3 different companions this week and am still alive! Miracle #2- people are coming out of the woodwork. We went on a "set everyone for baptism!" kick and we now have 9 people scheduled to be baptized these next 2 months! We are just gonna keep the font filled.

One of my companions this week was Sister Campbell and she was a BOSS. It was so great seeing her fire and lack of fear as she talked to EVERYONE and extended bold commitments in lessons. She had just graduated and is preparing to serve in January when she turns 19. 

We had a miracle lesson with two girls named Tina and Jamarra. We taught them the restoration on Wednesday and I hadn't felt the spirit that strong in a long time. Their eyes LIT UP when we talked about baptism and you could tell they wanted it so bad. We set them in the first lesson and they called their moms that night and told them about it. They are in their 20s and are sisters-in-law. Tina has the cutest son, Jojo, and it has been such a privilege to teach there. When we came back on Saturday to teach the Plan of Salvation they soaked it all up. I loved it because the doctrine was all new to them and they weren't afraid to ask questions and try to understand things. They had a lot of questions about the pre-earth life and the atonement and for the first time in a while I felt more like a teacher than a convincer. It was so great. 

Other than that though life it just peachy keen :) The temperature is craking up, but the hotter it is the better we like it! Tan lines and sweaty faces for DAYZZZZZ. 

Love ya! 

Sister Stoker

July 21st, 2014

Hello! 

Man sorry my emails are probably getting shorter and shorter. 

We have had another crazy week of new companions and trios. My new companion is Sister Hall. She is from the Lake Mead stake as well and we have been having a marvelous time! 

David, our investigator, will be baptized this weekend! He is one of the greatest people you will ever meet. He is missing an eye because he saved a friend from committing suicide and the bullet ended up hitting his eye and is still in his head! That is crazy. But he is so golden. We started teaching him like 3 weeks ago and he knows it is true. He found the church because he drove down the highway everyday and saw it on his way to work and felt drawn to it. What a blessing! 

Oh man. Too many stories and no time! We found a GOLDEN family with mom and dad and 2 teenage girls- the Garcias. They said they have tons of LDS friends and love the members. I got the strongest impression that their friends (some Bishop in California) has been praying for missionaries to find them independent of them and we were an answer to their prayers. Man, I love the gospel. We also had a family invite some non-member friends to dinner when we went and were able to get them PUMPED about the  Book of Mormon and they said they would LOVE to take the lessons! The members didn't even have to say anything. I'm telling you, that is the best way  to share the gospel. Invite friends to dinner and let the missionaries do their magic.

Hey, i love you all! Sorry this is short...I will try to make a recording next week :)

LOVE

Sister Stoker

July 28th, 2014

Familia!

This week was one of my top ten! So many blessings. David was baptized this weekend! I will try to send pictures soon. There were so many people from the ward there and the spirit was so strong! He bore his testimony then was confirmed the next day in church and it was such a spiritual highlight- such a good way to end the week! 

I called President Snow this week to figure out companions and what- not and told him there would be a one hour gap between a couple companions and he said hold on I will call you right back. Then Sister Snow called and asked if she could be my companion for an hour and take me to dinner. It was so nice! We went out to eat and it felt so good to relax and just talk to the mission mom. 

Transfers are this weekend, so hopefully by next Tuesday I will have a real companion. Hopefully :) I am assuming I will stay in the area, but the APs said something about combining my ward with another one, so who knows. 

July is the season of flash floods, so that has been fun. We haven't been rained in yet, but it has poured pretty hard already. Just like our investigators. They are pouring down! We are working so hard and I love that feeling. This week I will have a companion in the evenings then will be three-packing it with some sisters for the night into the morning. It is actually Sister Smith- the one who's mom is dating Clint Glibert. Tiny world. Her and her companion are taking such good care of me though. 

I was sad to hear Ridgeview ward is known as "hard". I was transferred into one of those areas about a year ago and there was a district leader who told is there is NO such thing as a slow area. That inspired me like crazy and I realized that the Lord doesn't put us in hard situations to make us look like idiots or set us up to fail. He puts us there to challenge us and change lives! So those Sisters must be 2 of the best in the mission. Watch out for miracles coming your way. 

President Snow told us to be Preach my Gospel missionaries for life and that is what I have been focusing on so much lately. Especially as you share missionary experience with me- I'm excited to have you all as my trainers into the real world! And I'm going to be one of those awkward RMs that share the gospel with the server at Red Robbin and the random guy that comes in to the Bakery during a slow hour. You welcome. 

Thanks for all the love and the prayers! Love you guys :)

Sister Stoker

June Emails

June 9th, 2014

We had the coolest experience this week! It all started when we fasted on Sunday...naturally. We wanted to find a family. In fact Sister Fields and I decided that independent of each other and shared our experience after we had ended. So we found tons of potentials all week and potential families but no fruits or lessons with an actually family...UNTIL Sunday night! Of course. This is how it always happens. But we knocked on the door of a man we met last week and his family was there...as well as a good friend of theirs from Utah who is an RM and they had JUST been talking about missionaries when we walked in. We offered to say a prayer with their family and the moms face was streaming with tears afterwards. It was such a sacred experience. 

Oh last Monday was cool too. We were playing basketball at the stake center after we went grocery shopping and we stepped into the hallway real quick and saw a lady sitting on the couch. She was 9 months pregnant, had a two year old, and looked exhausted. Turns out her car had just broke down on the way to her doctors appointment and the church was the nearest building. What a blessing!! We sat and talked with her a while as we coordinated a ride and she kept saying how grateful she was. We asked if she would be willing to hear a brief message by the missionaries in her area about how the Savior can lift those burdens from her. She looked so hopeful and said "when can they come?" I love the gospel!!!!!!!

Ed and Janine got back from their trip to Cali where they listened to 5 CDs of the Book of Mormon!! That was cool. We only talked to them briefly but Ed seemed to really like it. We also had another lesson with Susanna whom i have learned so much from. We shared the Mormon message "flecks of gold" and she related it to her relationship with God. It was such a great lesson. You should look it up! There are all kinds of analogies. 

Well I love ya with my whole heart!! 

Sister Stoker

June 16th, 2014

Hello!

Sorry- no voice recording this week. You just have to read a long boring letter.

First of all, I'm obsessed with this ward. The people here bend over BACKWARDS for us. There is a dentist in the ward who offered to whiten our teeth for free, so that was cool. Then Sister Lee who I just adore has gotten us on this health kick and stocked up our fridge with fruits and veggies and greek yogurt. Haha. This ward really takes care of us. Oh and another family bought us books from Seagull Book because we mentioned there was one we wanted to read. They are so involved in the missionary work as well. They often call our investigators to invite them to activities and are the friendliest at church when there are new faces.  I am going to be just like them when I grow up. Mom I love that you have neem reading the Power of Everyday Missionaries- I read quite a bit of it and it has changed the way I'm going to do missionary work when I get back home. Let's get the Sisters in the ward a river of people to teach!

 

We had a great first lesson with a new family we found this week. The dad is one of the producers of Pawn Stars, American Restoration and some other show we didn't recognize. So that's cool. We set up an appointment the day before (so Monday) and when we went by on Monday they were anticipating our lesson! Sadly that hardly ever happens. She had made german pancakes and had the table set adn everything when we came in. It was so cool. Oh and this is cool- ED AND JANINE SHOWED UP AT CHURCH! We weren't expecting it at all- in fact we hadn't really been able to get ahold of them all week and they had told us different excuses for the past few weeks of why they couldn't. But they came. They wanted to surprise us...which they did. We didn't realize they were there (and sitting in one of the first rows!) until Janine got up during the last song to use the restroom. We just stared at her and both Sister Fields and I had a really confused look on our face like "how do we know her...?) and then we looked at each other and kind of freaked out in the chapel. Haha. And it turns out one of their really good friends of like 15 years is in our ward!

 

I'm headed back to Lake Mead this weekend for a baptism- someone I found and taught is ready to get wet! So that will be a fun trip. It will be good to see my ward again.

 

Hopefully you got my picture of the zone. LOVE YA!

 

Sister Stoker :)

June 23rd, 2014

HELLOOOOOOO

Transfer news came this week! They are splitting up the dynamic duo- we are so sad to leave each other but, let's be real, we had way too much fun in those 2 transfers. it was about time. 

I am going to the WHITNEY RANCH WARD!! crazy. It is in the Green Valley stake, which is like 5 minutes away. Wooo. Pretty sure it is right on the border of Henderson and Vegas. I am actually going to be double transferred…AGAIN. Not sure if you have noticed, but i have done this my whole mission. Some people call it "white washed" but basically 2 missionaries are leaving and 2 brand new ones are coming in. I will be with a mini-missionary and i'm still not quite sure what that means. In fact it sounds like President still doesn't know who my new companion will be- i'm thinking it is a youth from the area that is in a mission immersion program? Hopefully i will know by next week! haha. Not gonna lie, i'm pretty nervous. It sounds like i pretty much have to run an area by myself, and meet the whole ward and the investigators. i am so excited to draw closer to my Savior though as I rely heavily on the spirit on what to teach, where to be, and who is a priority in the area. Sister Fields is staying here and will be training! 

We had another great week- lots of new investigators, lots of lessons. We had the best experience with Susana last night. We brought her to a musical fireside- actually she drove us there, and it was in my old area so we had a while to talk in the car. she really opened up to us a ton about hard things going on in her life that we didn't realize. She told us that she wants so badly to believe in this gospel and as we were talking about me leaving she started crying!! It was harder to say goodbye to her than anyone else. 

We brought a mini-missionary out with us this week. She is a laurel from another stake that is putting in her papers soon and we had such a good time with her! Afterwards she said she can't wait to serve a mission after going out with us. boo yah. And she bought us each a skirt afterwards! One of our investigators passed his baptismal interview- not sure if we have told you about Quinn, but he is 17 and has been taking the lessons for a while but has just recently started progressing. It will hopefully be this weekend or next. 

When the transfer news came in this weekend there was a special message from Sister Neider. She told us her cancer has returned and will be starting her treatment this week. I was devastated when I heard it- she has been one of the most influential people in my life. This was supposed to be her last week anyway, President and Sister Snow should be arriving soon. It will be a hard adjustment this transfer, but i have full confidence in the new mission president. I am just so anxious! 

I went on an exchange with a Sister this week that was so fun! i took her night biking and we probably talked to 7 people that said we could come back. There are tons of trails we are discovering- i'm biking everywhere after the mission by the way. It has been fun having the Book of Mormon musical playing here- people ask us about it all the time. i even had someone sing me the song on the street, putting my name in the tune ("hello! my name is Sister Stoker and i would like to share with you the most amazing book!) haha. it is pretty obnoxious having it here, but it also raises a lot of questions we can answer. 

well love you all! pictures to come next week:)

Sister Stoker

June 30th, 2014

This has been hands down the CRAZIEST week of my life. And I am alive. What a blessing.

This is what happened. President and Sister Neider ended up leaving for Utah about a week early, and so he was operating as a mission president from Salt Lake. Poor guy. In that time, my "mni-missionary" ended up needing to delay for a week, so I was pretty much companion-less. I was able to spend one day with one of the Sisters that was here in the area before, so that helped me get a little more familiar with the investigators and members, but I still had that deer in the headlights look all day...and pretty sure I am still in that boat. I ended up serving this last week with Sister Veazey which was a huge blessing- she is actually going home on Wednesday and was planning on just 3-packing it in her old area, but was able to help me SO MUCH as we prioritized and organized the area so we could work hard when I got a real companion. So she's been here since Wednesday and yesterday (Sunday) Sister Rollins joined us! She is the "mini-missionary" from another Stake in the valley and is getting ready to go on a mission next February! She will be here for about a week, then it sounds like I will be companion-less for about 4 days then will have another mini-missionary for the rest of the transfer(about a month). So that makes life exciting. What a blessing it is to serve though and see the tender mercies of the Lord. I could feel His influence as I planned, knowing no idea where anything was or who these people were, and we saw tons of miracles as we went out and worked- we caught a lot of people "just in time" and the members really stepped up and relieved us. There was an RM who said she remembers that "white washing" an area was the most stressful part of her mission, so she invited us over and told us what she knew about each of the members- who we should focus on, who was active, etc. It was so nice.  

We knocked on the door of a "potential investigator" who was so quick to let us in. Guys, this was a such a huge miracle. He invited us to come sit down and we were able to teach the Restoration right away, in like 20 minutes. I LOVED teaching with Sister Veazey! Anyway, he told us his son had been baptized in the church a few years ago and he has seen a complete change in his son since then and wants that in his life. He said the best way he can describe how he has felt everytime he has gone to church with his son is "comfortable." Hello! This is Christ's church! Of course you will be comfortable. We invited him to be baptized and he readily accepted. I love this gospel with my whole heart. And my new area! It is a different kind of missionary work here- I really am like 10 minutes away, and yet I could be  in a whole different state. It has a good mix of ghetto apartments and homes, and TONS of people outside to talk to. My favorite. And it is right in the middle of  "Whitney Ranch" which is EVERYWHERE. My name is all over the place- it's crazy.

Well, I love ya. Thanks for the letters and emails and prayers!

Sister Stoker :) 

May Emails

May 5th, 2014

Hey family! It has been another great a week! We finally made it to 100 degrees- it's all uphill from here:) we were of course biking all week so you would think I would have a tan by now. Turns out the sun makes me whiter. Probably. I think I sent you the picture, but jake Myers is serving in sister lakes ward! She just went home a couple months ago and is in Palm Springs. Tiny tiny world. 

We saw this awesome miracle this week. We have been finding a lot of new investigators lately (9 this past week- The Lord is so good to us) but we have had a hard time retaining them. We teach a lot but the people here are so well off, they don't think they need anything else in life. So we prayed real hard one afternoon to be led to someone who was searching for something more in their life and no joke as soon as we got out of the car we contacted the most golden lady of my life. We have had a couple lessons with her and basically she and her husband have fallen away from churches because they have seen corruption and are seeking for truth. We invited her to read the Book of Mormon and she read way more than we anticipated- love it when that happens! We have been going on tons of exchanges- we had a crazy emergency this week again so we have just been exchanging all the time, but it is fun. Makes the mission exciting:) 

Thank you for all the emails and letters they mean so much! There was a sister in our zone who just lost her grandfather and i was able to use the hard experience I had a few months ago to help her and I was so grateful to turn my trial into a strength as I comforted those that stand in need if comfort. 

CANT WAIT TO TALK ON SUNDAY!!!

Love, Sister Stoker Jr.

May 12, 2014

I feel like I just talked to you yesterday. Weird.

Updates:

1. THE REYES FAMILY CAME TO CHURCH!! It was the best. They looked like Mormons. AND last week this recent convert came up to us and said her son wants to be baptized- the work is blowing up. 

2. We are staying in ANTHEM for another 6 weeks!!! That was an answer to like 3 of my prayers. 

3. We were in a trio for the past 7 days and it has been so fun! I am obsessed with trios. One night we went on 3 way splits (we each had a different companion) and got triple the work done! Oh yeah

Sorry we don't have a lot of time to email but I LOVE YOU!! Thanks again for the wonderful skype conversation :) I love you so much! 

Love,

Sister Stoker

May 19th, 2014

Hey family!

This week has been a fun one. We are in another trio- not sure if I told you that last week but we had another sister with us for about 10 days then two days after she left we inherited another sister for about 5 days now. Guess we are just the transition sisters. We enjoy it though and get SO much work done! What a blessing. 

Guys. We had the BEST experience of my life this week. There we were, all three of us strolling down the street contacting people we have been trying to teach. We were actually on a street where we already have 9 investigators. It's crazy when God prepares entire streets at a time. But we passed by a house and I looked at it and had this burning desire to wait outside until someone came out so we could talk to them. Apparently it did not cross my mind to just knock on the door, but we don't typically tract in this mission. I said something out loud to my companions about wanting to sit and wait and Sister Fields said "I was just thinking about how much I wanted to baptize that house!" It was cool. So we decided to visit who we had planned and then came back to the house and there were now two cars in the driveway! We practically ran to the front door and knocked. The man who answered looked at us and said "Honey, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is here!" I think we were all thinking, "Great. One of those guys." But without us even introducing ourselves he let us right in. He announced to his wife that God had sent some angels to his house and he sat us right down and started sharing stories with us. He claims to be the most powerful businessman in Nevada- guess he is pretty high up there (their house is one of the big ones in a gated community) and he has traveled all over. He brought us into a room with tons of Native American artifacts and actually presented us with an ancient Jesuit crucifix...we are working on taking care of that still. But he told us of a sacred experience he had on a reservation one time and how it completely changed his world and I know the whole time we were all thinking about how much he is going to devour the Book of Mormon. So we left him with a prayer and set up a return appointment for later that week and came back with our ward mission leader. Ed told us at that second appointment that when we had knocked on his door two days before he saw the "gaze of Christ" in our eyes and that is why he let us in.  We had a powerful first lesson with him and his wife Janine and have another appointment this week so I'll keep ya posted! I have such a testimony of inspired knocking though. It works! 

The Reyes family are still doing great- they were out of town this weekend so they didn't make it to church, but we had some great lessons with them. We brought a couple to the lesson and when the man (B. Zitzmann) testified of the difference the gospel has made in his life, B. Reyes looked at him and said "and how has the Book of Mormon blessed your family?" It was the spiritual high. I  LOVE THE GOSPEL.

ok one more story. We had another one of those"we have been waiting for the right missionaries to come into the ward to share the gospel with our friends and family" experiences with a ward member. She invited us to dinner when her less active grandparents were over and their nonmember step aunt...or something like that. Anyway we shared the restoration with them and had the most powerful experience- grandpa started crying and we found out later that his granddaughter has never seen him cry. Ever. The step aunt lives in Cali and allowed us to send missionaries her way- she was so intrigued by the Book of Mormon. Spiritual high of the lesson was when we looked straight at grandma and testified of the healing power of the BoM and she teared up. We later learned that she has been struggling with all kind of health problems- mostly emotional- and has needed somewhere to turn for help. 

I'm never coming home. I'm going to be a missionary FOREVERRRRRR!!

Just kidding. It is crazy how the time is creeping up on me! And the weather. We are getting HOT down here!!! 

Love ya!! 

Sista Stoker

April Emails

April 14th, 2014

WHAT UP FAMILY!?!

This has been the best week of my life

Sorry i didn't really write last week- we are still trying to get used to the email schedule in Anthem. Also Sister Fields and I made a voice recording…hopefully you can understand it. I forgot to record something for this week so we did it in the car and we have a bit too much fun anytime we are together

So the best thing that ever happened to me began when Sista Fields and i walked into REI. We had this great idea to buy the cheapest walkie-talkies we could find and use them when we bike around to talk to each other and keep each other entertained up the hills and during the long stretches of boring. We may or may not laugh too hard we have to pull over real quick. Haha. She is my best friend. Oh and she is from Portland (more specifically Beaverton/Hillsborough). So she is close! She came out just a transfer before me too. Sorry if she is all I talk about. I'm obsessed.

So yeah we have been biking everywhere (i converted her to the bikes…I think. I am known as the crazy sister who bikes all the time and i love it) And so naturally we have seen TONS of miracles from biking. Let me just brag for a second- except I am not boasting of myself but of my God because it is in HIS strength that i can do all things. But this side of Henderson is known to be the hardest area of the mission because people are so content in their life. The Anthem stake is the highest tithing contributors in the nation or something. If that sheds any light on the kind of people we meet everyday. But yeah Sister Fields and I are CONVINCED that there is no such thing as a "slow area" and we put some faith and obedience to the test and combined it with bikes and saw some crazy results. We reached the "standards of excellence" in the mission- basically quadrupled the numbers in the area and have had so much fun in the mean time. We had 7 new investigators, 12 lessons to investigators, a couple people at church- it has just been a great week. The Lord is so good to us.

Sorry I can't chat more. LOVE YA!!!

Sista Stoker

April 21st, 2014

Highlights from the week:

We had lunch with Sister Neider this week. I think we think we are a big deal. But it was so great! We really just called her up and decided to meet up at Zupa's. When we were there we were talking about the new article that is all about Sister Fields' training and apparently there are some negative comments so Sister Neider wanted to help us feel better about them and this was exactly how her sentence started...

"So when I was talking to Elder Bednar about it.."

WHAT UP?!

We are famous. 

I have had the best birthday so far- Sister Fields is the best. Also, we are getting kicked off the computer but hopefully we can get on later to send more pictures! And thank you for the recording! Except I can't figure out how to listen to it. 

LOVE YA! :)

Sister Stoker

April 28th, 2014

FAMILY!!!!

Sorry, no voice recording this week. It has been CRAZY. Hope you enjoyed them though :)

Since Sister Fields and I are STL comps, we have a lot more on our plates which is fine, it keeps mission life exciting. But we have both been a little sick this week. OK i haven't been sick but I went to the doctor to get my blood drawn. Actually I went to the comprehensive cancer center to get my blood drawn. Every worse case scenario flashed in my mind sitting in the waiting room. It's fine though. He said I don't have cancer. Probably. But yeah we have had to stay in a few hours to get better and I realized how much I love to work. But it was good for me and we both needed it. The days we weren't taking of ourselves though we were on exchanges- we went on a double exchange this weekend and are actually on one right now. We might be put into a trio for the next couple weeks until a situation is taken care of. But we are still having success in this area! We have found lots of new investigators and we both love the challenge of a slow area. I have also just grown to love the Neiders with my whole heart this past week because we have spent so much time with them trying to figure things out and they just have the best relationship. They actually remind me of you, Mom and Dad. You would love them. 

This week I have grown so much from my own trials. I realized that the Lord is busy making my weaknesses into strengths and it took me long enough to allow them to become that way. But the insight I have gained from my headaches is unreal. I realized that a headache is similar to depression or anxiety or anger problems- things I have needed to help other sisters with on the mission that I go on exchanges with. Not as their therapist, but helping them know what steps to take. With my headaches, I don't know the underlying cause of them but I know there are triggers. In my case, it is cheese and chocolate and gluten and sugar. So basically the only things in life to enjoy. But whatever. With mental illnesses, there are also triggers. Sometimes it is stressful situations or a certain person or a mindset that can set off depressed feelings or anxiety. So we avoid those. But as Elder Holland said (in the Like a Broken Vessel talk) we see mental illnesses no different than a battle of high blood pressure or a broken arm. There are also outward signs- for my headaches I am not as energized and can't think as well and that is the same with depression or anxiety. Most of all though there is a long term solution that needs to be fixed- something underlying the problem. I think the migraine support formula and eating healthy will help me (yes mom, i take it morning and night. It makes my pee bright yellow in case you were wondering.) And for the sisters, it is balancing the seratonin levels in their mind or talking to a therapist that can help long term. So that was my epiphany and I know it can help with our spiritual illnesses to. If we look for things that "trigger" our low spiritual moments and then focus on how we can long term change our habits so we are continuing to progress, we will find ourselves happier and more like the Savior. So yeah. Call me Dr. Stoker

Also, there is a CD that we listen to by Mercy River and I just love it. But one of the songs ( I think it is called Blessings) has a line that has really helped me on the mission. It is talking about trials and how "the pain reminds this life that this is not our home" and I LOVE that! I think that is why we go through trials sometimes, or why they have to hurt. We need to search for that peace and realize it only comes through the atonement, and that we are here to search for what will give us lasting happiness.

I know sometimes it sounds like we get no work done, but I promise we are working hard! Still biking and talking to everyone and their dog. Mission life is the BEST!!!

Love always,

Sister Stoker

March 31st, 2014

HEY!

What a week

I sent some recordings so hopefully they went through.

BIG NEWS- I'm getting TRANSFERRED! This is crazy. 8.5 months later...

I'm headed to Anthem stake which is the one I was dreading the most because it is the richyrich people but I think it will be really good for me. My companion is one of the funnest sisters on the mission so i'm STOKED about that. And she looks just like Jessica. Our area is about the size of my thumb nail, so that will be exciting. We have already decided to park our car and bike everywhere. We are getting double transferred in (meaning neither of us have been in the area prior) which will be a challenge at first, but I think it will be a good fresh start with the ward. But I'm still a little nervous.

We are teaching the most amazing girl in the nation. 

She actually just got out of rehab/juvie and is ready to change her life. It is crazy to see how much she has changed. She is 17 and I love her dearly.

Also, I'm turning into mom. I eat either salad or green smoothies for breakfast. I use olive oil instead of salad dressing. And I put the weirdest things in my smoothies. Thanks mom!

Sorry this one is short and sweet. LOVE YOU! 

March 24th, 2014

Ok this has been the craziest week.

I can't even decide what happened, but it was such a miracle week! People were coming out of the woodwork...we found 12 new investigators and there are some really solid ones. I actually just realized why it has been such a good week. It's because transfers are coming up and I am probably leaving. It always works that way.

We find out about transfers on Saturday...which will be crazy. I am SO ready to leave this area and yet I don't want to go at all. I love it too much. We are having a ward BBQ on Saturday though so I'll be able to say goodbye to everyone there. Yeah don't worry they were planning on having it closer to Easter but when they found out when transfers were they scheduled it to this weekend so I would be there. Haha. It will be good though to leave- Sister Onorato is doing well in the area and I think she is ready to lead it without me. Plus the Neiders told us they are going to start putting Sister Training Leaders together so hopefully that will happen. I have loved training but it gets pretty tiring after a few months. 

We had a few miracle finds this week. I think I sent a recording about John, but he went to the LDS chapel one day to pray and we showed up later that day. Love it when that happens. We had a follow up lesson with him and taught him how to give a formal prayer and he prayed at the end of the lesson! It was so beautiful. Afterward he looked up and said that was the first time he had ever done that. THIS is why I'm on a mission

 We taught Sheryl again- the one who is a minister/ theology major and oh boy was the spirit strong in our lesson. I just love teaching her because she gets it! She understands the restoration and the Priesthood and what it would mean if the Book of Mormon actually were true. When we got there she had invited her neighbor to sit with us and had brought her husband and they all had their books out and had been reading 1 Nephi 1-2. She loved learning about the visions and compared Nephi to Joseph of Egypt which I thought was an interesting comparison. She studied more on the Melchizedek Priesthood and said "It just makes sense. If the Apostles had this priesthood and then gave it to Joseph Smith, the Mormons must have the authority!" It was so cool.

Gotta head..we have a date with some older ladies in the ward later. We are going thrift shoppin! Can't wait :)

LOVE YA!
Sister Stoker

March 17th, 2014

Heyyyy! I sent some recordings because I knew I wouldn't have much time to email. Highlights:

-I'm going to be in the Deseret News! WHAT UP!

-We taught a religious scholar and she accepted the invitation to be baptized! Guys. The church is true

-I went on a couple exchanges this week and could really feel the Lord working through me as I tried to help the Sisters through their trials. It was so great and I realized that  I have been stressed out of my mind since I've been called STL because I forgot who I was working with. I know it's through Him I can do what He asks of me. 

-We are teaching this really old  guy who is essentially deaf because his hearing is so bad and it is one of the most entertaining things. He yells at us in his quiet voice because he can't hear himself and everytime we come over he is like "HEYYY STOKERRR!!" haha. We have to write down just about everything we say to him and just give him pamphlets to read then we discuss them when we come by. It is a crazy way to teach but it works. 

-Oh and today marks 11 months. I don't want to taco about it.

LOVE YOU!
Sister Stoker

March 10th, 2014

Hello! Those voice recordings were from last week- I'm glad I got it all figured out. Not that you probably noticed though since you are all in FLORIDA! I don't want to talk about it. Haha just kidding. But really.

We have had another great week. This past fast Sunday we fasted to find a family. So many people we teach are single or young couples and we just WANT A FAMILY! So all week we were trying to find one- we were seriously talking to EVERYONE. Even the inconvenient ones. And I'm telling you it wasn't the best experience. We got some pretty hard core rejections. Some lady told me to "shoo" with the hand motions and everything. And some guy tried to convert us to be born again Christians. He made us stand there and tell him what makes us so special. It was my companion that started the conversation so he looked right at her and she just stared at him. Poor thing. But like a good ol trainer I left her hanging out to dry for a good 10 seconds until she looked at me and just said "I have no idea what to say." So I quickly testified and got us out of that situation while we headed out to find more people. Seriously nothing came of the whole day (this was the last day of the week and we still had yet to find our family.) But the thing is you already know how this story is going to end because we ALL know the power of my fasts. Seriously Heavenly Father knows how hard it is for me to not eat for 2 whole meals- miracles are always comin my way after a fast. So we found our family. at 8:30 at night. Just half an hour before we were supposed to turn in. It was so crazy! There are 4 kids in the family, they live right next to some members, and allowed us to come back and share more with them next week. I LOVE THIS GOSPEL!!

Also, here is a crazy story. Elizabeth came to church last week (the one I talked about on the recording) on fast Sunday. Now Fast Sundays in the Palo Verde ward are great, but always super sketch. Meaning you never know what will be said at the pulpit. So a dear sweet old lady got up to bear her testimony last week and it started out great and sincere, but oh boy by the end...

She talked about how she got in a fight at the Senior Center (not an uncommon occurrence) and someone asked her what she believed (I think they were arguing over religion and politics. What a great combo) She stood up and declared "I believe in the resurrection because King Husein is now in the White House! 

Yeah. We just hope in moments like that that the spirit gives our investigators a "stupor of thought."

LOVE YOU!!
Sister Stoker

February 24th, 2014

We had another crazy week. I can't even decide if it was the worst or the best- lots of growing that is for sure

This morning, though, we went to the Hoover Dam! Hence the pictures. We went with this family who I still can't figure out how we know them. The very first week I came to this area (forever and a day ago) Sister Remund had planned for us to go visit the Rickard family who just moved in. We stopped by the  house and the husband was home but told us his wife wasn't there so to come back later. Well to make a 7 month story short, we continued to visit them and would just chat for 15 minutes or so, sometimes read from the Book of Mormon, la ti da. Then we realized that there was no Rickard family in our ward directory, and no family lived at the address of this family we had been visiting. It was crazy and when Sister Nilson came into the area I had her casually ask them if they were members of the church. They aren't. I still have no idea what led us there besides the spirit, but now we are good friends and they took us to the dam! And it is the perfect weather outside.

Being a Sister Training leader  is a whole lot harder than anyone cared to warn me about. Mostly it is just inner feelings of having to have a "model area" with the highest finding teaching and baptizing numbers of all the sisters i'm over. And now I'll be giving a lot of trainings/ going on exchanges which can be stressful. But most of all I'm excited and very humbled to be in this position.

I am obsessed with teaching our golden investigator Valerie. She doesn't have a baptism date nor has she been to church because she is handling the situation very cautiously. I love her. She came to the Relief Society activity this week and met a lot of ladies in the ward, which was really good. She was turned away from the Catholic church because the members were hypocrites, and is having a hard time trusting organized religion again, but LOVES the Book of Mormon. "The Book of Mormon, combined with the spirit, is your most powerful tool in conversion" I'm pretty sure it says that in PMG. While we were there her dad was over and started bashing the Book of Mormon and she stuck up for it, telling him it was like Volume 2 of the Bible.

We found out last minute last week that we had to move apartments- we went from our super posh 3 bedroom, 2 story townhouse to a stinky old elder's apartment. It actually wasn't too bad though after we introduced it to our good friends clorox and windex. We are now closer to our area and can walk to church and district meetings so it is a blessing.

LOVE you!
Sister Stoker

February 17th, 2014

Hey! I can't even remember what happened this week. I didn't record anything though- sorry you'll have to go 2 weeks without hearing my voice. It has been crazy. We got transfer news on Saturday- I'm staying here to finish Sister Onorato's training. President actually called me and asked if I was burnt out in this area yet since this will be my 6th transfer (a transfer is 6 weeks. NUTS I know) I told him I could stay one more, but after this I need to get the heck out of here. It is pretty hard to stay for so long because honestly half the people we pass on the street I've already contacted them. All the "former investigators" in the Area Book are ones I found. I know all the members, their kids, their life story, and all their dogs' names. And I'm sure they are getting sick of me too. But at the same time, this is HOME to me. These members mean the world to me and are so aware of us sisters. They will text just to let us know they are thinking about us, they are so thoughtful and love to come to lessons with us. At least most of them do. I hope. The relationship missionaries have with the members will determine the effectiveness of the work in the area. THAT is doctrine. 

We are teaching a guy from Tunisia right now. I would tell you where that is but I am afraid I'll get it wrong and feel like an idiot. So look it up. He is Muslim and just the nicest guy. He is engaged to a member in the ward and came to church with her last Sunday so, like the good little missionaries we are, we pounced. I never realized how similar our religions are, especially when comparing Mohammad to Joseph Smith. I have so much respect for those people. We ordered him an Arabic Book of Mormon and it is beautiful. It looks like it was copied straight from the Gold Plates.

I've probably gotten a total of 4 hours of sleep ever night. Ok that is a little bit of an exaggeration, but I just want to tell you my companion snores like none other. In fact, I'm sure you can hear her in Washington. Haha. Just kidding. And I love her so it's ok. But I am seriously investing in quality ear plugs today. Hopefully they will help get rid of those bags under my eyes. Which reminds me, some lady stopped us today at the grocery store and said she wanted to take our picture and send it to our parents. Please don't judge me. It has bee a weird morning and since it's P day make-up/ doing my hair wasn't a priority. And feel free to delete that picture.   

We had Stake Conference this weekend. I was squeamish the whole time because someone spilled the beans that I was on the "who to call up from the audience at random" list. Guess that's what happens when you've been in the Stake longer than half the members though. Luckily though I wasn't called up. After the meeting though some lady came up to me and said she was a Stoker so in a split second I whipped out my pedigree chart to see where we were related. #youknowyou'reamormonwhen...

Turns out she is related to David Stoker from the 1700s. There are quite a few Stokers out here in fact.

Favorite quote from Stake Conference:

Adversity is mandatory but misery is optional. 

Ok i'm getting kicked off the computer. LOVE YOU. Oh but really quick this week we had a crazy encounter in some DRAMA at a super ghetto complex and the cops were called on an investigator and we were in the middle of a fight and had to get the heck out of there. Don't worry mama we have the spirit to protect us. And I think the 3 Nephites stand behind us to bodyguard us. 

Love,

Sista Stoker

February 10th, 2014

Hello! I decided to send mostly voice notes, so I will just give you the highlights:

- We did baptisms for the dead with Serena last week and it was so great. She was baptized for her grandma who just died a few years ago and she was wearing her ring when she was in the font. Such a sacred experience.

-We set 2 people for baptism this week and found some great new investigators! We are really excited :)

-I was called to be a Sister Training Leader (kind of like Zone Leader, but for sisters) It means I'll go on a ton of exchanges next transfer. I was able to attend Mission Leadership Council then give a training at Zone Conference on "Making Miracles Happen." It really pumped me up and now I am have such a stronger desire to WORK.

-The Cazier family (who I talked about last week) came to church! It was a HUGE deal- the 18 yr old son hadn't been in forever, and he is now working with the Bishop to be able to baptize his girlfriend.

February 3rd, 2014

I can't believe dad was released!!

This is crazy. It will be weird coming home to a new bishop, but I am sure Bishop Sorenson will be great. I'm calling Dad being called as ward mission leader. Or Mission President. Probably the latter. 

This has been a great week! We have loved being out on bikes- no one can see you in a car and you don't talk to anyone. Bikes= miracle machines. Sister Onorato is doing a great job inviting everyone to be baptized in the first couple lessons (the responsibility of the trainee). Unfortunately, it means everyone tells us their real concerns and we have been dropping people like crazy. Which is sad, but needs to be done. I love telling people where the BOM came from- so many people think it is a book Joseph Smith wrote that tells us all our rules and what we can and can't eat. We are teaching an elderly couple who I LOVE and they are from upstate New York, have been to the sacred grove, and still didn't know anything about it. 

Serena is doing great. She just got her temple recommend so we are going to do baptisms hopefully this Saturday. She already has a whole pile of names she wants done. The stake president asked her to speak at stake conference and give her conversion story. She is scared out of her mind but is excited to share her story. And yes, you know you've been in an area for too long when you will be there for two stake conferences. 

I sent a voice recording of a lesson we had yesterday- let me know if you didn't get it. Training is one of the hardest things i've ever had to do, but I love it and am growing every day. I have been able to see how trials in the past have prepared me for this, and I am grateful for them. 

Last week, we (as a zone) played dart wars. Best invention ever. We took pvc pipe and blew nerf darts out of it at eachother. We played in the chapel and set up tables on their sides as shields- we had wayyyy to much fun and played for close to 3 hours. We couldn't hardly walk down the stairs the next day though because we were so sore. It was basically 3 hours of squats. Haha. We are playing when I get home. 

LOVE YOU!! Sorry not much exciting happened this week- just saving souls!

Sister Stoker

 

Me and Sister Onorato

Lucio. Love him

January 27th, 2014

Hello! We have had quite an exciting week and yet I sort of feel like nothing happened. We found 5 new investigators though so I guess something did. There are way too many people to teach out here I love it. We went to the temple this week with all the new missionaries and I was just a big cry baby. Watch out the mission is bringing out sides of me I didn't even know existed. But I forgot how much power we really do receive as we make those covenants and I had so many prayers answered. Although the prayer to get more miles on our car was not one of the ones answered. We are still biking all day everyday. What a dream. 

We had a lesson with a new investigator last week that was a big surprise. We have been teaching her boyfriend and we were under the impression that she was a member but just less active. Well we had a lesson with just her and found out she was never actually baptized- she just went to church as a young women. She now prays to a cat Goddess and says she gets her answers. Another investigator told us his dad thinks he is Jesus and that San Francisco is the next Noah's Arc and will break off and the rest of the world will be flooded. OH and we met a guy who thought I was the actor P!nk when we were talking to him. I'm telling you this place is crazy. And I fit in so well. 

We have loved working with the ward here- I am so glad to hear you have a good relationship with the missionaries back home. Try to keep it that way- it makes things so much better. Especially since Dad is the Bishop- I wish our recent converts knew the Bishop better. We still love having members invite our investigators or recent converts to dinner when we come, so I hope you can still implement that. We have been praying about "inspired fellowship" lately so we can have those we bring to lessons be the perfect friends with our investigators. It has worked miracles. We are teaching 12 households right now and they all have a friend in the ward. Oh and they all live in real houses. About 5 months ago everyone we taught lived in apartment complexes. It's a big deal. We brought a couple to meet some investigators last week and it was perfect- they got along so great. Afterward, we were walking back to the car (my comp and I were on splits so it was just them and me) and I went to open my door and the Brother slammed it shut and scolded me. He then opened my door for me and told me I am a lady and should never open my door. I got a little teary eyed (told you this mission is turning me into a baby)- it is so weird how sometimes after a long day of rejections and disrespect I forget that there are people like that. He reminds me a lot of Dad.

I love you all and I love this gospel! Thanks for being the best :)

Sista Stoker

 

January 20th, 2013

Love you guys!

Sounds like there never really is a boring day at the Stoker house. I'll keep you in my prayers, Paige. You crazy animal.

This has been another week of learning for Sister Stoker! Heavenly Father is so good at giving me trials to make me stronger. And I am grateful for them. Training has been a learning experience for me- it helps me continue to work on being exactly obedient so I can set the example for Sister Onorato. We do still find ways to have fun though throughout the day which is always important. 

Yesterday the second counselor in the bishopric came up to us right before Sacrament meeting started and told us the speakers didn't make it to church so we were it! Haha. I was loving it- I think S. Onorato turned a bit green. But she did a fantastic job. We spoke on missionary work- big surprise I know- but it was great to get up and just talk to these people. It is so cool serving in an area for so long because I knew each and every one of the families in the congregation and love them all. There was a great spirit in the meeting as we sang missionary songs and our Ward Mission Leader came up as well and gave a great talk. We had a new investigator there too so it is always good to know there won't be anything crazy said over the pulpit. 

There was a missionary fireside last night and I was able to lead the choir again, so that was a fun experience. Afterward we found a couple new investigators who I am really excited about. The other day we were praying about the members in the ward and asked who of them have friends or neighbors who are prepared. We chose a family in each neighborhood and have contacted a couple of them, and so far they have given us great referrals! IT is so cool to see how the Lord really will work with you if you just ask him. Bobbi and Taylor were the neighbors of a family in the ward and said they have tons of LDS friends and love being part of a church community, they just haven't found one yet. My favorite phrase. They will be baptized in no time!

We have been meeting with Trevor, a 16? year old that we talked to on the street because we thought he was 21. But we teach him at his neighbor's house (members of the ward) who have started to bring more friends to listen to the missionaries. Guess it's the cool thing now. Last week we taught a lesson to 5 teenage boys- definitely a different experience than what I am used to. They were easily distracted and I think it was weird for them to share experiences from their heart, but it was cool to see the young men step up and prove that sharing the gospel isn't hard- they were all really chill about it. 

Thanks again for the emails! I love you and pray for you all the time. Thank you for teaching me just about everything I know- i think FHE is the best MTC anyone could have. So thank you for making that a priority. 

Sister Stoker