October 1, 2018

With our favorite members the Horrocks!

With our Russian investigator Victoria and her twin babies!

This week: 20th birthday & 1 year out?? WHAT!!

Hello my fellow friends and family! well, as many of you know I have been booted out of the beloved Russian work and am back in English. I think President wants to keep an eye on me so he put me in an area where I will see him all the time, plus I am serving in his ward, haha. But my new companion is Sister Jones! We go wayyyy back, all the way back to last year around December I think? She was my Sister Training leader while I was in Bellingham and we have been around each other a lot throughout our missions. It has been a blast already! She is from Enoch Utah and will be going home in December! 

But lets go back to Tuesday, the day before transfers, That was a crazy day! Sister Pryshchepchuk and I started out the day going to the doctors for both of us haha, all is well. we then had checked out this food bank that we possibly could do service at, but didn't really feel like going our last day together, but I felt like we needed to go! So we did and there are always a lot of Russians who go there, but there was a volunteer named Anna who was from Russia! We get talking with her and she has been looking for a church to attend. She was very much interested in what we had to share and even asked for a Book of Mormon and wants to come to church! we swapped numbers and they will start sharing more with her! Miracles!

So my ward I am now over is the Mays Pond Ward, and It has been on fire! They have been teaching someone named Aaron, who is actually from Hong Kong, but he is super cool! Long story short, He met a member on a plane and it started with a "fart joke" lol. It's easy as that Folks! Just opening your mouth and talking with people. Everything relates to the gospel haha! But we taught him his last lesson this week, lesson 5 and He was baptized this Saturday! It was an amazing service, He even gave a testimony/speech and it was awesome. 

Really cool miracle,

We were teaching our Friend Laurie and she is on date for December 1st. she is an older women and has been through a lot in her life. Her husband passed unexpectedly in the night about 5 years ago and it has been really hard on her. But we were talking out front at a table about the Book of Mormon and how it connects to the bible and everything, and while we are just having this lesson, a guy who was painting her neighbors house comes up to us and says, "I just wanted to say thank you, I've been over here listening and just wanted to say thank you, I am a believer, God bless." Laurie goes, "Come and Join Us!" but he was on the job painting haha. we sadly couldn't find him after her lesson, but one day we will!

This Sunday was 5th Sunday and we were asked to give the lesson to all the adults about how they can share the gospel through technology. It went surprisingly well for not preparing for it at all haha. We helped out a lot of members who aren't the best at using their technology to know how simple it really is to use technology to share the gospel to our friends. We later had a lesson with some members in our ward and went through the restoration with them. It was super cool though, the wife's dad goes to the ward that President Nelson went to when he was here and so they went, her dad also gave the opening prayer to the meeting.They were all able to meet him, but the 9 year old son was grabbed by President Nelson and he gave him a big hug! they said he bent down to his height and told him he loves him. I couldn't even imagen. The wife was saying how sweet President Nelson's eyes are, like you could tell from pictures and things, but being that close to him was unreal the spirit that he carries.

We had the Come See For Yourself Fireside That happens every 3 months put on by President Wilding and The O'Hara's were two out of the 4 Recent converts who spoke! I love them so much, they are up in Oak Harbor, but the spirit was so strong that entire meeting. I Love this Gospel and the impact it makes on our lives as we live it. I am way excited for General Conference this upcoming weekend and hope you all can do something to prepare for it! Have an amazing week!

Love,

Sister Stokes

September 24, 2018

Russian work coming to an end September 24, 2018

This has been a fast last full week of this transfer. Sad to say I will be leaving and going back to English work, but I am excited at the same time. It has been one for the books, and I can say that I love Russian culture, they are so nice and love to feed you everything they have! But a little bit about this week:

We have been trying to find new people to teach, but it's hard when our Russian potentials live all over the place and driving takes up most the time. The last potential we tried one day was named Rustik, we first off couldn't find where he lived, and we're about to leave, but right before we left the complex, I saw his apt. number! So we go but he wasn't home, but while were at his door, someone comes up behind us and it was Rustik! He just got home from work haha. He was super cool and said that he could probably meet another day. So that was a blessing.

Another miracle was at church yesterday, we are setting up translation and one minute before sacrament starts this man grabs my attention and asks for translation and so I give him one, but don't have time to talk. So afterwards, he says that he actually is just trying to learn Russian because his parents are from Russia, and that he is interested in learning more about this church! We asked him lots of questions and he has a long time ago gone to a church service before and talked with missionaries, but has had a feeling he needs to make this apart of his life. He thought he was taking too much of our time and said "Sorry, I just have one more question, during this meeting I was having this feeling over me, it was a very good feeling, may I ask you what it was?" and so we explained to him it was the Holy Ghost and how it speaks to us. But it was way cool! He also said his parents are wanting to learn more too, so the Lord is blessing this work!

We provided service to our investigator Victoria with the twin babies, she needed to go to Costco, but it is way to difficult with her babies, so we came with her and helped her in Costco! It was great.

We met with our other investigator Sophia and she fed us these homemade turkey/chicken meatballs, soup, and lots of other Russian styled antres. She is doing good, her husband has not been health wise. So crazy, Sophia's Husband Leonid was born in Belarus the time when the Nazis were taking over and his parents were in those camps. His mom gave birth to him while they were in hiding and they put a stock of corn in her mouth while giving birth to him so the Nazis wouldn't find them. So he has gone through a lot in his lifetime. Leonid's friend when he was a baby as well while hiding was crying and to make him stop crying his parents choked him so he wouldn't give up their hiding place, and he has grown up the rest of his life with a messed up neck and vocal cords. It is so sad. I think they said he passed away a couple years ago due to the damage from that day as a baby. They showed us the article Leonid wrote about it I'll put it in my pictures. 

We had English Practice with Shahita and her husband from Pakistan, They are the sweetest couple ever. Not interested in the church, but the nicest people you would ever meet. I am so sad to be leaving them and so many others. Her husband, who doesn't speak English very well tells me "give me your hand" and starts reading my palm! he tells me so many things about myself that were actually accurate haha. He told me that the first man that proposes to me or that I love "won't be good" and I was like well that's concerning lol. He also said my 3rd child will be a boy😂 so we will see if this is accurate haha.

We got to help out at our Stake day of service and labeled lots of food which was fun.

So we were in Everett on Saturday and it is pouring rain, we lost where our car was and were running in the rain! by the time we found our car, it looked like we had just gotten out of the shower. We were freezing and had to got to a lesson right after in our wet clothes haha. we're not smart.

It has been such a blessing being in this Russian work, I will remember the people I have been able to meet forever and the impact they have had on my life. I hope you all have an amazing week!

Love,

Sister Stokes