June 18, 2017

Happy Father's Day June 18, 2018

We started the week off by hiking up Mount Erie with President and Sister Wilding! President was crazy and started running at the church, which is almost two miles till you get to the base of the mountain, then up the mountain is a  mile and a half straight up! He ran the whole thing! It was awesome. He wrote in his weekly email to all us missionaries about it and I want to share it with you all!

"Last Monday, Sister Wilding and I, along with members of the Oak Harbor Zone tackled an item on my bucket list. I wanted to run to the top of Mt. Erie! There is a paved road to the top which is curvy with very steep inclines. As we started it wasn't too bad. We had some flat and downhill grades, so I thought no big deal, piece of cake. Then the challenge began. We had approximately a mile and a half of steep uphill. It was not easy, in fact, it was difficult and painful. We had to keep pushing and encouraging each other and tried our best to remain steady and consistent. A couple times I ran backwards, sideways and I even tried shuffling with my eyes forward on our goal. The key for me was to keep my feet moving forward the entire time. After a difficult stretch we had a nice flat and even downhill stretch. This was a tender mercy and we were very appreciative of this section of the run. Then came another steep incline! We climbed with greater confidence knowing we had just conquered the beast of the hill minutes earlier. The road is secluded and surrounded by trees. You know you are climbing to higher ground, but you can’t always see the view beyond the trees. Sometimes the path narrowed, and we had to step around, through or over obstacles in our way. Eventually we made it to the top. First, we were happy we made it and congratulated each other. Then we took in the amazing view. It was a clear day and it was so beautiful and breathtaking on top. I am so grateful for that experience!

You may face your “Mt. Erie” at some point in your mission or post mission life. An old proverb states that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Stay true and “in single step” with your covenants. Recognize the tender mercies of the Lord along the way. They are all around us! Sometimes we must look through the trees to find them, but they are there! Celebrate the victories and appropriately reward yourself."

We are so blessed in this mission with the most amazing Mission President and wife, I look up to them so much, and have learned what it really means to be a disciple of the Lord because of their example.

We went on exchanges this week with our Sister Training Leaders (STL's) I went to Mount Vernon With Sister Schill! She is dying this transfer..but we had such a great time together! 

Crazy story!

We went to see this Less Active lady named Ashlie who our ward council told us we should go visit, and so we knock on her door and a lady answers and we ask her if she is Ashlie and she says yes. She lets us in and is very friendly! we get talking, and she asks us if we are from her mother in laws church and we told her no we're from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and she has never heard of it?? about 30 minutes go by and she is just telling us about her life and we are both so confused, so sister Pedersen asks her what her last name is and it was not the same last name as the Ashlie we were looking for! it was so crazy though, we told her everything and she was mind blown as well! She goes, "Well, that was divine intervention." It was really cool, so she told us we could come back another time, when her husband is home and so we did. We taught them part of the restoration and were able to make them new investigators! They are super cool!

We also picked up someone last night named Jean Paul, He is in the navy and is from Africa! He was super friendly and way interested, so we are going back tonight!

Half Mission Conference:

We had Elder Kopischke from the Quorum of the Seventy come speak to us on Thursday! He is from Germany and is so Funny! at the very beginning, he told us to right one question down that we have that we want answered, and at the end of this conference he promised us that it would be answered by revelation we would receive. The spirit was so strong that entire meeting and my question I wrote down was answered in many ways. We talked a lot about the Book of Mormon and also family history work. We were asked to fill out the family history booklet before coming to the conference and while I was able to fill it out, the spirit was so strong, testifying to me the importance of families and even though I have never met these people I was writing down, I felt so close to them and that I have so much love for them. The spirit of Elijah is real and brings us closer to our families. 

Coree's Baptism!

We had Coree's baptism on Saturday and it was so amazing! We sang "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" for the musical number and President and sister Wilding did the restoration, it was so powerful, the spirit that they bring is just incredible. Coree bore his testimony afterwards and it was very special. 

We met some interesting people yesterday. We met a Wicken if that is even how you spell it, but they have some interesting beliefs and apparently can cast spells and things.. then we met this lady who was super sweet and let us in, but definitely not interested. At the end, she anointed us with consecrated oil, and put water from the River Jordan on our heads haha, so that was pretty cool!

I am grateful for the experiences I have had on my mission this far, I have come closer to my Savior and can see how he has been strengthening me day by day and helping me in every aspect of this work. I know that the gospel is true, it mends broken hearts and families and brings relief to our weary souls. 

Love,

Sister Stokes