YM and YW Called as Family History Consultants.

   Eleven Young Men and Young Women have been called to serve as family history consultants in the Mokelumne River Ward.  They will work under the direction of Shawn and Elizabeth Kirkley to be trained in the "Family History Guide" which will include Family Search, MyHeritage, Ancestry and Findmypast.  The group had their first meeting April 22 where they began a plan which will invite a person to access a Family Search account, then set up the resources to find an ancestor.

L to R:  Shawn and Elizabeth Kirkley, Smantha McGhie, Addison Burton, Andi Stewart, Olivia Currington, Molly Robision, Natalie Robison, Betty and Earl McOmber--Stake Family History Directors.  Not pictured are Steven Aberle, James Boyer, Gillian VerSteeg, Jackson VerSteeg, and Caden Webb.

Shaunee and Russell Get Married!

    Shaunee Gonzales, daughter of Sylvia Gonzales; and Russell Cook, son of Janet Cook, were married April 20, 2018 for time and all eternity in the Sacramento Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  They plan to live in Lodi for the summer, then continue their studies at BYU-Idaho.  Shaunee is near graduation, and Russell is in his sophomore year after completing his two year LDS  mission to Argentina.  He plans to become an orthopedic surgeon. 

Personal Family History Mission Accomplished (Almost!)

 

   Shirley Mason started her family history years ago before we had desktop computers. Several years prior to typing up her life history, she had made a family scrapbook (left) with notes, dates, and pictures which was a great reference when preparing her life history.  She says, "It's important to start young and add as you go, because when we get older, we take the chance of forgetting some important events in our lives." Shirley's final history was created on Microsoft Word (right) and saved as a .pdf file which can be read on any computer. She will have the pages printed at Staples and bound into  books for each of her children and grandchildren.
    Life histories can also be posted on FamilySearch via a .pdf file.

The biggest job Shirley had before she could start was sorting the pictures she had collected through the years. How she did this was designate a plastic bag for each category of pictures, then spend hours going through hundreds of pictures.  She digitized picture choices by photographing them on her Smart Phone, then transferring them to her computer.

   Decisions had to be made about which pictures were priceless, which were usable, or which ones were similar to others or didn't really matter for the history.

    Many church leaders have spoken to us about writing our personal and family history. As far back as 1980 in General Conference Elder John H. Groberg, a Seventy, counseled us:  "By writing personal and family histories, we are helped immeasurable in gaining a true, eternal perspective of life.  Writing our histories with the proper blend of fact and feeling (and so often, feelings in spiritual things are the real facts) gives us a keen spiritual insight into the meaning and purpose of our lives.  I wonder if, as in so many things, we don't deny ourselves this deeper spiritual insight by simply neglecting to write our histories."

  Shirley is an example to the ward and is willing to  help anyone starting on this journey.

Ministering in the Mokelumne River Ward

Mokelumne Ward members were "ministering" before it became the go-to word in the LDS Church. Here are a couple of examples that show the love we have for each other and for the Lord.

Elder Holland (above,) President Nelson, and several others talked in the recent General Conference about the importance of ministering to each other.  At the same time Cathy Leonard was serving as a care giver for Sherrill Adamska after she had a knee replacement. It wasn't anything official--Cathy just wanted to do it because she saw a need. It was greatly appreciated by Sherrill.

   Tammy Woods asked Alysa Webb if she could sing "I Am A Child of God" at the "Celebration of Life" service for Lopaka Baptista who used to live here, but passed away at his home in Hawaii. She was asked if she could play the ukulele while she sang, as it was a favorite instrument of both Pua and Lopaka Baptista.  Keep in mind that Alysa didn't know the Baptistas at all, but was still willing to serve.
    When Pua and her family arrived here in Lodi, she had brought two of Lopaka's ukuleles that he had made, and were very valuable.  "Wouldn't it be nice if Alysa could play one of them as she sang?"  Ann Kerr took one of them to Alysa's house to see if that were possible. Alysa noticed that it had more strings than the regular ukulele she played, but said she would look on YouTube and see if she could learn to play it.  (The service was two days away.)
    Alysa came, played Lopoka's ukulele, and performed a touching rendition of "I Am A Child of God." A few days after, we found out Alysa woke up sick that morning and had prayed to Heavenly Father that she would be well enough to sing. This is ministering, and also a connection of adult sisters with Young Women, as the recent conference has suggested we implement.
    NOTE:  Alysa's brother Caden also sang a beautiful rendition of "O Holy Night" for Guy Condor's recent funeral service. We are so proud of the Webb children and their willingness to serve.

Special Sealing for the Gonzalez Family

   Gideon and Rheannon Gonzalez received their endowments in the Sacramento Temple on April 15.  A week later they took their two children, Ephraim and Liahona, to the temple to be sealed to them for eternity.
   Sister Gonzalez said this of the event:  "We were sealed on Saturday, April 14th, and it was such an amazing experience.  The children were so sweet and reverent, and son Ephraim keeps talking about it.  I am so thankful for the temple and for the opportunity we have to be sealed as families forever and to just visit the temple and feel the amazing spirit there.  Heavenly Father is truly a gracious, loving and caring Father."

Evan Webb Makes the News -- AGAIN!

  Once again Evan Webb is in the Lodi News-Sentinal for making great plays as first baseman on the Lodi High School baseball team.  He's on the left, tagging out Lincoln's Vincent Crook in the second inning of a recent TCAL baseball game at Zupo Field.  Evan was mentioned last month in the Stockton Record for outstanding play.  Evan is a senior in high school and plans to serve a mission.

Keeping Babies Warm: It's A Family Affair for Shirley Mason!

   Shirley Mason and her granddaughters have made dozens of warm, cozy blankets and donated them  to hospitals, police officers, and fire departments.
   "I love fleece!" Shirley says. She keeps an eye open for bargains, mostly shops at Joann's when they have a 50-60 % off sale.  One time she saw some fabric for 99  cents a yard, so she bought all that was left.
   One time Shirley was in a store buying fabric and a lady next to her asked what she was doing with all the fleece she had.  Shirley told her about her projects and how important it is to get in on the sales. The lady then asked, "Are you interested in some free material? I have a friend 89-years-old who has a lot of material she would like to donate."  As it turned out, the lady lived in Sacramento and had a lot of fabric Shirley could use. Her brother-in-law picked it up and brought to Shirley in big plastic totes. She shared it with other Relief Society sisters who wanted to make blankets, or use for their own projects.

You can see from this picture than Shirley has quite a stash of fabric, and never fails to put materials together that "go" together.  She has an eye for what looks good.

Shirley's granddaughters are a part of the blanket project and have learned how to measure, cut, sew on a sewing machine, and tie a quilt with yarn.  In the picture above Shirley is in the upper left using her surger to finish the edge of a light blanket used for newborns.  Below her is granddaughter Breonna Felkins tying a blanket; Brittany Wait is pinning and measuring, and Briley Felkins at a very young age is sewing blankets together on a sewing machine.  What a great way to teach skills to grandchildren, as well as spend quality time with them, and at the same time, serve others in need.

Delivery time is fun too. Here are Shirley and the girls delivering blankets to the Lodi Police Department for use when needed.  L to R : Officer Bahr, Wendy Felkins (daughter,) Brittany Wait, Briley Felkins, Shirley Mason and Officer Cipponeri.  Blankets are delivered in plastic bags as required by the Police Department.

A blanket delivery to the San Joaquin General Hospital.  L to R: Wendy Felkins, Briley Felkins, Lillianna Carmono (Activity Director for the hospital,) Breonna Felkins, and Shirley Mason.

Judy Bogran Teaches Online Seminary

   Did you even know there was such a calling as "Internet Seminary Teacher?" This was certainly new to Sister Judy Bogren when she was called in January, then was trained, and started teaching in March. "There are only two qualifications," she said.  "You have to be approved by the Stake President, and you have to have high speed Internet. It sounded like a real stretch for me, but I was willing to try it."
   The program has been operating in the Church for four years. There are 8 to 10 students in each class and they have various reasons for taking an Internet class: live too far away to get to a church building each day, are ill and chances of getting up early are pretty slim, have obligations at school in the early morning, etc. Students don't have to live in Lodi, but are mostly from central California, with one being from Santa Cruz.
   The students have a church-produced PowerPoint lesson each day that they can complete any time.  They meet on Tuesday night with Sister Bogren.  She can see them on the screen and they see her. They have a devotional and prayer to begin, just like any seminary class. Then she goes through a PowerPoint with them together.  There is information, scriptures, and questions. They communicate back and forth.  "Basically, I've learned A TON," she said. Unfortunately there can be no music or video in the lesson due to the cost of high powered Internet transmission. Judy has learned to add pictures, which has been "major" for her, as she says.
  During the week, she communicates with her students, checking on their reading, and giving them messages of encouragement. She can also communicate with parents. Judy tries to think of things to keep them involved. She has an outgoing, friendly personality, which is a big plus in this calling.
    Judy also works at the temple on Tuesday afternoon,  then gets home in time to teach Internet seminary. "What a wonderful thing to do after the temple," she says.  "to come home and teach seminary. What an experience!"

Ann Kerr helps Judy add pictures to her PowerPoint to make it more interesting for the students.

Two Delightful Girls Baptized on Same Day

The Broughten family on Natalie's baptism day.

   Eight-year-old Natalie Broughten, (white dress) daughter of Erica and Riley Broughton was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on March 31, 2018 by her father.
   Her parents said she was so excited to be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost.  They are happy as parents that she made the choice to follow our Savior Jesus Christ.
   She had planned out on her own, almost two months in advance, her baptism program--being very thoughtful to include each  member of the family in some way.  Natalie and her sisters shared a special musical number, "He Lives and He Loves Me."

L to R: Broden Greenly (father,) Anika (sister,) Minau (foreign exchange student,) Caroline (sister,) Jessica, Ann Chuamchidkamon (mother,) Adam Allen, Sister Shafter, and Sister Lau.

     Jessica Greenly is from a part-member family and has been coming to Primary for some time.  She was also baptized on March 31 in a separate ceremony. She is nine-years-old and has been taught by the sister missionaries.
   Adam Allen performed her baptism and confirmation was by Steve Parker. Ardell Gillingwater (former Primary teacher) and Jessica's father Broden Greenly gave talks, and Alysabeth Webb performed a special musical number for the program.
     We welcome these two special girls as "official" members of the Church and our ward.