Meal Appointment Milagros!(2)

Hola Familia!

How is everyone doing? Country Walk is awesome! The ward is bilingual, so at church we sing some hymns in English, others in Spanish, and the Bishop conducts every other sunday in Spanish, then the next week in English. It's interesting, but I love it, haha. Most of our members are latin, so I get lots of practice in! It feels so good to be back!

So yesterday for church, we were really hoping it would rain (it's been raining all week, practically non stop, its great! Florida is so weird, it will absolutely pour for 5 minutes, and then the sun comes out, and then its back to pouring. ha) so our investigators would come and not work, but it was sunny until the afternoon. So, Miracle time! We had one investigator, Flor come to church, though she is more looking for help from the church. Well, we were fasting for our investigators and turns out, the family who usually feeds us on sundays, their mom was sick, so we didn't have a meal appointment and couldn't go back home to eat because it was so far away. HOWEVER,GOD IS SO GOOD! After getting my blessing from Bishop, he asked if we had a meal appointment and we said no, and he felt so bad. Later he said his mom was expecting us, and that we could go right on over and eat!!! Sacrifice brings forth the BLESSINGS of Heaven! So yesterday started our a little rough, but ended up being so amazing! So we got fed and didn't starve ha. But not only that, we got fed AGAIN! And only 30 minutes later, ha. Here's the story. We thought about going to visit an investigator who has been investigating the church for a long time, but then felt we needed to visit someone else. The first Less Active we visited (who the sisters in the past had visited several times but they never answered) answered right away and said "Are you the Mormons? I am Mormon!" He let us right in and he and his wife(non-member!) invited us to stay for dinner! We got to know them both, and they are family friends from many years ago in Peru with our Bishop's family in the ward! They are excited to come to church this next Sunday, too!!! It was SO COOL!

I just finished Jacob today, which is so good! Jacob was truly an amazing prophet, so dedicated to the work and full of love for his people. Jacob 5 where he recounts the allegory of the olive tree is full of missionary work! The last few verses are particularly meaningful as they talk about how we have been called, by the Lord, to labor in His vineyard for the last time, to do everything we possible can for the Salvation of Souls before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. I feel so much urgency to do as much as I possible can, to help as many people as God will place in my path to bring them to the true church of Jesus Christ before He comes again. I love missionary work!

I hope everyone is having an amazing week, I love youall so much!

Love, Hermana Stokes

P.S. I took pictures and mean to send them, but the computer I am on won't load them... Ah, public Libraries, got to love them ha

Country Walk Journey Begins... August 21, 2017 SOLAR ECLIPSE TODAY!!!!

Hola Familia!

How is everyone doing? Sister Harris and I are doing great! Sorry in advance, I forgot my camera today 😬 but hopefully I won't make a habit of that, haha. Sister Harris is from Houston, Texas but her family moved to Lehi, Utah her senior year of high school. She says she is from Texas :) She also went to BYU for a year, I think, so that's cool. Go Cougs! Haha.

We have seen so many miracles just being here! Transfers were so fun! Sister Rosario went home :( but we got a picture, and I already received her email from home about her first few days back in the DR, she looks so happy! Now I am getting settled here in Country Walk, and after meeting most of the ward on Sunday, feel more ready to go out and help the ward here and the area grow and progress! It's been a week full of miracles, as less actives and part member families that the sisters in the past had tried for months to contact, answered their doors the very first time we knocked! I am so excited to help all of the people here, and I already feel so much love for the people, they have so much potential. They just need a little TLC, ha. We also found some new investigators this week, some we knocked into, another was a walk in at church last week that we have begun teaching, so we have got a lot to do, haha, which is how I like it!

Two of our new investigators are Becky and Ivan. Ivan is really old and can't talk, we think from smoking. He had a mesh-like handkerchief around his throat, so he may have one of those aspirator thingies, but he was just so sweet!!! We taught them the Plan of Salvation after sharing a prayer with them, and they loved it! There was such a sweet spirit there, It was so humbling to have been able to help these people see that God truly is so aware of each and every one of us and our own individual trials. He stared reading the pamphlet before we even finished, nodding his head at this and that, ha, so cute.

Living in a 4 man (Sister Harris and I, and Sister Tueller and her trainee Sister Lynch) is super fun! It's like being back up at school with roommates, except missionary style! I love it haha. We each have a car, and guess what... They are both RED!!! If any of you didn't know, I happen to love red cars! Ha. I though it was cool, I haven't driven a red car yet. We have also already biked here, to, which I love! We didn't bike at all last transfer, so it's fun to get back at it, haha. Excpet when there's no sidewalk.. Oh, funny story! So we stopped by some train tracks where the sidewalk stopped to figure out if we should find a way through the neighborhood instead of biking on a somewhat busy road with no sidewalk, and the dirt by the road was a few inches lower than the asphalt just where I was standing, so of course I loose my balance as my bike is pretty tall and slowly fall over. It was great, ha, a latin man driving down the road rolled down his window and laughed at me, haha. It didn't hurt, maybe just my pride! That's okay though, haha, God likes His missionaries humble! Haha. so embarrassing.

I just finished 2 Nephi, and something that really impressed me while reading Nephi's last words is how much love he truly has for his people, and for us who read his words today. You can really feel how much he truly wants everyone to come to a knowledge of the truth, how he speaks so clearly of the Doctrine of Christ and urging everyone to live it, even telling them how it will help them. Nephi is an amazing example of obedience, diligence, charity and faith. I always love studying his words and learning from his own personal experiences. The scriptures are so true!

Well, this is getting a little long, haha, I love you all so much, the church is true, and that is our way to finding everlasting peace! Have an amazing week!

My New Address

19820 SW 119th Avenue

Miami FL, 33177

Write me letters! <3

Love,

 Hermana Stokes

August 15, 2017

August 15, 2017

Hola Familia!

So much happened this last week, its crazy! We had Zone Conference last wednesday, and it was AMAZING!!! I love Pres. and Sister Garns, and guess what.....

WE GET TO GO TO THE TEMPLE AS A ZONE TWICE A YEAR!!!!!!  I am so excited! We did family history for an hour yesterday (an hour a month) and I finally found some names to take!!!! I an so pumped! There is nothing quite like the Spirit of Elijah, I highly recommend it!!

So funny story, we came home last week to find a little gecko on the wall above the door to the bathroom, so we had fun trying to shoo him out the front door, ha. He jumped on the ground and started running more inside, and we screamed, but Sister Colton to the rescue with our handy dandy little blue clipboard! We named him Titan. Titan the Gecko :)

Also, we had Transfers!!!! Sister Colton is TRAINING!!!! She will be staying in Cape Coral, and I will be going.... Back to MIAMI!!!! I am going to the area of Country Walk and will be with Sister Harris! She is on her 5th transfer, I believe! It is Bi-Lingual, but I am so excited to be immersed back in Spanish! And we get to keep all the people we meet! Unless they are YSA, ha, which one day I will serve in :) I've heard its fun, haha.

Something so amazing happened when we told our Rescue Brother Owen Hogel. Do you guys remember him? Huge Miracle, but he sent us a text (mainly to me) explaining how my testimony during his first sacrament meeting really touched him and helped him to stay after he wanted to leave. I didn't even remember it!!! So cool! I'll send a picture of the text, its so cool! God really does place us exactly where we need to be, and we speak HIS words when we have His spirit with us! Being a missionary is so miraculous!!!!!

Something that stood out to me during personal study was in the latter chapters of 2 Nephi, where Nephi talks about how some people will view the Gospel "as a thing of naught," some won't beleive there is a Hell, or believe in anything, and then the really scary one is how the devil pacifies the children of men, that they will believe that no matter what they do or what is happening in the world, that they are and will be fine. Nephi describes it as "and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell." What stands out to me is that he leads them "carefully." We see this abundantly today, that so many people have no idea that the life they are living is already so far away from God and His commandments, and how truly important it is for them to live obedient and faith-filled lives. This is Salvation! That is was is so amazing about us as missionaries, we are the ones that God has sent to rescue His people from a fate they have not even comprehended. We are here to Teach Repentance and Baptize Converts!!!

I love you all so much, and this will be my last though, haha. So a while back I was given the commitment from my STL to write down my definition of Peace and share it with someone that day. This is what I wrote down, " What does Peace mean to me? Peace is calm, like the eye in a storm. Even with the waves tossing , rain pouring, and lightning cracking around you, you can always find peace and safety as you center your life on Christ---The Eye in Every Storm."

I love you all, so very much!!!

Love,

Hermana Stokes

At our double Zone Activity, we did minute to win it games, and there was a pudding eating contest where your comp fed you pudding... lets just say we failed, haha. Entirely.​

August 7, 2017

August 7, 2017

Hola Familia! 

This has been another eventful and fun week! I've decided I will never understand how fast time flies by! I hope everyone's week was amazing, and if it wasn't, look for the tender mercies the Lord sent your way to help you know that He is aware of you and what you are going through, and His love and strength He offers freely to all of us!

So, District Training on tuesday ended with a roar! Haha, we had finished and Sister Colton and I had a picture we wanted to chow our Zone Leader, Elder Rackam. It was a picture of a liquor store with the title "Rack 'Em" and it was so funny! He goes home in just over a week (He dies in a week, though we are discouraged from using that kind of mission slang anymore), and was sad that he couldn't out that picture on one of his planners. So, here comes the best part. Elder Condor, our District leader, goes, "Well, most people only get famous after the die!" Hahahaha, everyone died, and it was so funny, and straight to the heart, too, because of course it is not fun having to leave your mission. Ah, man, Sister Colton and I had tears in our eyes, we laughed so hard, haha. 

Cool Knocking Miracle:

So we were knocking, and this one little apartment/house had a door farther down the sidewalk on the side of the building, so we go and knock it, and hear someone softly say "come in" and we looked at each other and were like "what?" No one just tells you to come in if you are knocking on there front door, haha. So we knock again and the same thing happens, but its kind of weird, so we though about going, but then we heard "It's Open," and I look at Sister Colton and shrug, kinda like "why not" and go right in! Haha. We find this cute old latin lady with one tooth in a wheelchair who hasn't been able to walk in years, all by her lonesome. We talk with her for a bit and I say the prayer (Spanish, she didn't actually know any english!) and I just felt so much love for this sweet lady. She knows who her Savior is and that He is always with her. She has to nurses check on her and feed her etc each day, but that's about it for company. I am so grateful we stayed and headed the prompting to open that door and to help her feel God's love, and that she was valued and appreciated to at least two more people in the world. It is such a simple thing, just going by to see someone, even for just a few minutes. You never know how that extra helping hand will change someone's heart. Pass the kindness on, and it will come back to you!

So, remember our Investigator Ayman? Well, our ward clerk had ordered a Book of Mormon for him in Arabic, and though we had lost contact with him, just this morning(his off day is Monday) we went over and dropped it off for him, and his wife's sister answered the door. She was nice, and we gave her the Arabic Book of Mormon, one in English, and a Bible that Ayman's wife Jessica had wanted. The sister knew who Mormons were and was really nice, so who knows? Maybe we will get a text or a call so to come back and teach all three of them! We got some pictures with the book before we gave it away, its really cool! 

Transfers are next week, I cannot believe this transfer is already almost over! That's how it goes with 5 week transfers, I guess, especially after following a 7 week transfer, haha.  I will probably stay, not sure though. Whatever happens, I know it will be God's will, and I know there are things I still need to learn here in Cape Coral. It hasn't been the easiest finding wise (Latins are usually more open to the Gospel and other people..) but i have already learned and grown so much! There is nothing quite like teaching a lesson in your own language! Ha, I love it, and am grateful for the people that I meet everyday who I can practice my Spanish on! We have run into quite a few, and it is cool to see how I am probably also in this area to contact all these latins who, if both the sisters working in this area were only english, wouldn't be given the chance to fully accept the Gospel because they wouldn't understand! It's a blessing, and I love it, ha. 

Have an amazing week everyone, and know that I love you soo much! Prayers are headed your way, too, so keep on going! I love you!

Love, 

Hermana Stokes

A dead frog Sister Colton is mailing home...

Scripture study in the Car!

Our water bottle collection... 

9 Months!

Our tree tasting avocado.. yum..not!