November 27, 2017

🦃🎄Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!!!!!🎅 🎁

Hola Familia!!!

   Ha, if you couldn't tell, I love the Holidays!!! This time of year is so special, full of warmth, love, brotherly kindness, and a feeling of gratitude for all of one's blessings! :) And then you can magnify that by 10 as a missionary, and it's just wonderful! Haha. So, something awesome that we found a few days ago in the junk closet in our house (just random stuff collected over the years being a missionary house, ha) was a Christmas Tree!!!! It's pretty big too, so we set that up and it already had beautiful lights and tinsel, it looks nice:) We are going to buy some ornaments for it today, we are excited!!!

   So before my excitement for Christmas takes over (haha, BEST time of the year!), Thanksgiving was super fun, too! We had lunch at our Relief Society President's house, Sister Velez. So funny, so lunch was supposed to be at 1:00pm, but the Latin timetable is WAY late, so much worse than just Mormon standard time, so nobody came but her sister and nephew at 2:00pm, and the rest of the family would be coming over for dinner at 5:30pm, haha. So funny. Sister Velez was hungry so we ate by ourselves, haha. Then we went out and knocked, asking people what they were grateful for, it was fun! Sister Chugg felt a little bad knocking on their doors on Thanksgiving, ha, but so many people were home! It was great:) Especially when they mentioned a turkey in the oven, haha, THAT only happens once a year! (Maybe on Christmas, too, I suppose[turkeys are a lot of work!]) We ate a later dinner with our members Brother and Sister Brown and their family, they feed us almost every Sunday, it was super fun! At first we weren't going to be able to eat with them because another member had asked us to eat with her family a few weeks prior, but she then told us on thanksgiving that they wouldn't be ready until late, so we called up Sister Brown (who had called us that morning to say Happy Thanksgiving! and to see if we could eat with them, again, haha) and let her know we could come over! She was happy! Haha, so cute, she is from Nicaragua:) So that was our Thanksgiving! Some of the missionaries went Caroling around 7pm, and I really wanted to go, but we were still eating, so next time for sure!

  We had Zone Conference this past week, and it was super inspired! Sister Chugg and I definitely need to Role play more and practice our teaching and plan more effectively, and that was what it was about! Here are some highlights:

• Excellence isn't a part-time job, it's not something you turn on and off
• We will be accountable to the Lord for all we did on our missions(and in our lives), including the opportunities we DIDN'T take to share the Gospel, so don't let them pass you by!!!!
• A daily goal sets URGENCY
• Planning is Revelation
• Spiritual experiences we have when reading the Book of Mormon with anchor you life in the Gospel

  So Zone Conference was amazing! Also, we can now listen to more than just MOTAB music on the Mission! We can listen to any rendition of the Hymns, so if you know of a good one that you love, send it to me! I'm sure I'll love it, too!

   Christmas is coming, and a great way to make this season really special, is by watching the newt the World" video, and serving others everyday this month! The church has come out with a cute calendar for each day in December with a scripture and an Idea of how to serve in your community! It can be as simple as donating a case of water bottles to your local shelter! We can all make the season a little brighter as we let the Light of Christ shine though our eyes and our actions, and #LightTheWorld this Christmas!!!

   I love you all, so much, and I know this Gospel is true! I know that the Fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with His Authority, is only found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This is HIS church, and we are building His Kingdom on the earth and preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive Him at His Coming. There is a little more each of us can do to be a part of the Hastening of His Work, and I encourage everyone to pray and find out from God what you can do NOW to serve Him. It will make your life better, brighter, lighter, and more full of love and of the Spirit, so "Just Do IT!"

Have an amazing week!!!!<3

Love,

Hermana Stokes

Pictures:

No one wanted to take a picture at zone conference because we like to have "A Speedy Departure" so I took one with Sister Lynch back home :)

November 20, 2017 Key Biscayne!!! :)

November 20, 2017 Key Biscayne!!

Hola Familia!

How is everyone? This week has been great! We found 3 new investigators yesterday while knocking, and all three of them are named Ana! We had a good laugh about that, haha. We went to Key Biscayne today and Downtown Miami with a Member, Sister Cowart, (she is amazing and we love her and her family, SO MUCH) and it was beautiful! We had her take pictures of our nametags in the sand, since we aren't aloud to walk on the sand, and they are really cute!

  I don't have any time today, sorry! But I love you all, the work is great, God is Good, and this Church is TRUE!!!!

Love,

Hermana Stokes 

November 20, 2017

November 13, 2017

Hola Familia!

   Hey everyone! How are you? We have been having lots of fun this past week, its so fun to live with Sister Napier again, just this morning we were reminiscing about the MTC and embarrassing stories, haha! They basically involve me, ha. We found two new investigators yesterday, too, which was a HUGE blessing, because we haven't been able to find anyone this past week, and the whole mission seems to be struggling with that based of our numbers. But that is okay, because a whole bunch of miracles are right around the corner and we give this work everything we've got!!! The zone leaders are going to do a "Nine 'o Niner", which is basically that they will knock from 9am to 9pm if the zone gets 100% on Project Perfection, a daily chart to keep track of our obedience, like knocking for an hour each day, getting up on time, etc. The Coral Reef sisters were talking about doing that as well, and I think it would be a great way to show the Lord how determined we are as His servants, and that we are really willing to sacrifice. Sister Chugg is less enthusiastic, haha, but that's okay, because KNOCKING MIRACLES ARE REAL!!!! That's how we got our new investigators, Hilderisa and Saray, yesterday. :) So we will see what happens with that :)

   Sadly, Emily did not get baptized this Saturday, though she did pass her baptismal interview, so she is ready!!!! She is dealing with a lot of opposition right now in her life, and until she feels ready to give 100% to the Church, she doesn't feel ready. She is thinking somewhere in January. because she really likes the 1/11 date, but it won't be a Saturday like 11/11 was, so it won't work.. But she will be baptized, she knows it! So we are here to help her be prepared for that day when it comes!

  We had our Ward Thanksgiving Around the World activity this Sunday, it was awesome! I made peach cobbler and Sister Chugg made White Chicken Chile, which by the way, is AMAZING!!!  There was SO much food, it was super fun!

  Besides that, not much else happened, but I love you all so much, have an amazing week!

Love,

Hermana Stokes

November 7, 2017

November 7, 2017

Hola Familia!

So, Transfers! I am staying, thank goodness!!! I am SO GRATEFUL to be staying!!!! I know this is where God needs me, I know I am here to help our investigator Emily make her baptismal date and be truly converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know she is at least one of the people I am supposed to find and teach on my mission, even in my life, and the funny thing is, is that SHE found US!!! God's timing is truly perfect!!! We are so excited for her baptism this Saturday!!!!! She has been facing some opposition from her family and some friends in getting baptized this weekend, so any additional prayer on her behalf would be greatly appreciated! There is so much power in prayer, I just love it! I love when the scriptures talk about "Mighty Prayer," too, ha. 

   So something new I am trying in my personal study of the Book of Mormon, is writing down on a separate sheet of paper the details of the chapter, like the characters, a short summary, the key events and words, and the Doctrine, Principles, and Applications taught. I am still organizing how I want it to look, but I tried it out yesterday, and I love it!!! I am focusing so much more, and am seeing the little details that though I may not miss them when I initially read the chapter, they are easily forgotten. It is so cool!
   A miracle that we saw this week is that even though our Investigator's schedule has been super crazy, we have still been able to teach her, and each time it is amazing. Our lesson with her on Friday was so powerful, we testified of the Savior's Atonement and I promised one of the most powerful promises I have ever promised, the Spirit was so strong. Then we had dinner at a members house who was baptized a year and a half ago and another family who is amazing and we talked about the Gospel the whole time, she loved it! She wants to learn everything, haha. She met with the bishop on Sunday and they really hit it off, too, she is so ready for her baptism!!! I am so grateful to be a part of her conversion, to be that tool in God's hands to help Emily feel His love for her!!!

   I honestly can't remember too much more about this past week, haha, but we did go to the Keys again on Saturday!!!! It was awesome! We got eaten alive, though, its been pretty rough, haha. But totally worth it! We also got a bunch of coconuts, which is always great! I love fresh cocnut water, its kinda tangy ha. We also saw some dear and even a buck on Dear Key!

   I love you all so much, have a great week!!!

Love,

Hermana Stokes​