Hola Familia,
Happy New Year, everyone! I cannot believe it is already 2018! I have been on my mission for 14 months!!! That is so crazy! I hope everyone had an amazing 2017, it's crazy to think that I have been a missionary for that entire year! It is the best :)
I wanted to share a quote with you from President Garns, he first shared a quote from President Hinckley, stating, "Let us encourage the divinity within us to come to the surface.” Then President continued, saying, " We are sons and daughter of God and therefore of a divine nature. In the deepest most profound way it is simply who you are. Cultivate the divinity within you by scripture study, prayer, and consecrated work."
I loved that because it shows who each of us are and the potential we all have to do great things! It all starts with the little things, and we see that pattern throughout the scriptures. Prayer, scripture study, faith, it all accumulates and brings happiness! The Lord brings about mighty works through small means, and we can each be a part of the means He uses to bring even one soul back to him!
This has been a super fun week, especially with all of the holidays :) We have been biking a bit this week, haha, and it has been so nice outside, I just love it! We OYM all the people we pass on the street, and a few days ago we talked to a girl sitting at a bus stop and she was so nice and really appreciated that we stopped to talk with her. It's little things like that that will carry us in our missionary work, especially for this area of Pines. Last night when we were knocking, we knocked into this nice man and his wife, and he told us his story of how he really came to God, and it was so cool to see that God loves all of His children and helps all of us in the way that we each individually need it!
Although we did not find any new investigators for our own area, we were biking to a former but the community was super gated and we couldn't get in, and so we kept biking to find another neighborhood to finish our knocking, and we found an open community we hadn't noticed before, and the last door on the street we met Lillian and Javier, who are the nicest Colombian family, and we taught them (in Spanish, yay!!!) and passed two new investigators over to Silver Lakes (Spanish Branch)! It was so amazing to meet them, the Spirit was so strong, they both began to cry after we shared a prayer and testified of God's love for them, and though we will not get to teach them, I know we were led to find them and that one day they will accept the Gospel!
I just read Helaman 5 in the Book of Mormon, and it was so amazing! I love Helaman 5:12, and Nephi and Lehi were always my favorite scripture heroes growing up because of their amazing faith and missionary work! When they are in the jail with the lamanites, surrounded by fire and the lamanites hear the voice of the Lord calling them to repentance, I love it so much because even though the earth is trembling and the walls are shaking, they hear the Voice of the Lord and it pierces them to the very soul. God does speak to us, and even when trials and obstacles surround us, we can always turn inward to hear His voice and accept His counsel in our lives.
Although we did not find any new investigators for our own area, we were biking to a former but the community was super gated and we couldn't get in, and so we kept biking to find another neighborhood to finish our knocking, and we found an open community we hadn't noticed before, and the last door on the street we met Lillian and Javier, who are the nicest Colombian family, and we taught them (in Spanish, yay!!!) and passed two new investigators over to Silver Lakes (Spanish Branch)! It was so amazing to meet them, the Spirit was so strong, they both began to cry after we shared a prayer and testified of God's love for them, and though we will not get to teach them, I know we were led to find them and that one day they will accept the Gospel!
I just read Helaman 5 in the Book of Mormon, and it was so amazing! I love Helaman 5:12, and Nephi and Lehi were always my favorite scripture heroes growing up because of their amazing faith and missionary work! When they are in the jail with the lamanites, surrounded by fire and the lamanites hear the voice of the Lord calling them to repentance, I love it so much because even though the earth is trembling and the walls are shaking, they hear the Voice of the Lord and it pierces them to the very soul. God does speak to us, and even when trials and obstacles surround us, we can always turn inward to hear His voice and accept His counsel in our lives.
I love you all so very much, have an amazing week and know that prayers are headed your way!!!(On this side of the veil and on the other!!!)
Love,
Hermana Stokes
Pictures:
1) Sushi! I tried the yellow one, and it was delicious! I have had sushi twice now, and I am really beginning to like it!
2, 3) Pictures from our Sisterhood lunch
4) Sister Measles cut her hair today!!!
5, 6) What we did on New Years Eve(we were home by 7:30 and worked on a world puzzle, I colored in a princess coloring book (YES) and Sister Thurman read to us out loud a book about marriage. Haha, it was awesome)
7, 8) Christmas Eve Dinner at Presidents'
9)Christmas Call:)
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