Mokelumne River Ward is Three Years Old! Let's Celebrate!!

   It's a tradition to have a party on the birthday of the Mokelumne River Ward. But we are in the COVID-19 pandemic and not allowed to get together.  The ward council came up with the idea of having a drive-by party with donuts. It turned out to be a huge success.

   Three darling girls welcomed each car as in came in the West entry.  Next, hand sanitizers were supplied for everyone in the car. The Elders' Quorum was next with take home treats.

The Relief Society was a big hit with their giant helium balloons.  In addition to the balloons they entertained with a bubble machine constantly blowing tiny bubbles into the air.

There were all kinds of treasures for the Primary children as the primary staff offered goodies to the children in the cars.

Young Women leaders also had a table full of gifts for all to share with the ward.

The grand finale was the bishopric handing out a donut for each person in each car.  They served 160  donuts and enjoyed every minute of it. This ward knows how to celebrate!!

A Special Fireside Sponsored by Elder's Quorum

 Bishop Holden introduced Neil Anderson as the speaker for the Elder's Quorum fireside, which also doubled as a sacrament meeting.  Brother Anderson gave an excellent talk illustrated in PowerPoint. He said that the light coming from Christ is brighter than noonday. What brings happiness?  First we must have faith, which means aligning our will with Heavenly Fathers'.

   Next is LOVE.  When we make a connection with God and others, the result will be happiness. It is estimated that over 70 people attended the Zoom meeting.

Deacons Enjoy Weed Pulling Service Project

    When boys get together, hard work can turn into joy.  Six boys tackled three overgrown flower beds in Kerr's back yard.  Also there to help was their advisor Jeremy Mecham, and Joseph Stringer, bishopric counselor over deacons.  The boys enjoyed a drumstick ice cream cone after the work was done.

Missionary Changes in Mokelumne River Ward

 Sister Peapealola (left) and Sister Bradley enjoy their last Sunday together in Lodi.  Sister Peapealola will be serving in a Polynesian ward in Sacramento (where she has served before) and is being replaced by Sister Durfee (below.)  She is from Denver Colorado.

Sister Brandley and Sister Dunfee  pose for a selfie.  Sister Durfee has been in the mission field for 17 months, so her mission is near completion.  She had this to say about completing her mission here:

I've had three companions come from this ward: Sister Guymon, Sister Ballantyne, and Sister Ball.  They all said great things about this ward,  so I was so excited to  come to meet the members and friends here!  I'm super excited to see the miracles the Lord has in store for the  Mokelumne River ward.  Everyone that I've met so far has been so welcoming and kind!  Thank you so much for everyone's sweet spirit!

Two Couples Choose Marriage During COVID-19 Pandemic

 Brendt and Saane Boyer

 

    Brendt Boyer, who lives in Lodi and is a member of Mokelumne River Ward, married Saane Moli, who is from Tonga, but was working and living in Montainview. They met through a LDS dating website. Her job was taking care of a 90 year-old-man. When time came for their first date Saane was nervous, not knowing if she would be safe, so she took that man with her! He and Brendt hit it off right away as soon as they each found out the other was a pilot. The man told Saane that Brendt was the greatest, and it was all uphill from there.

    Brandt proposed to Saane on April 4 and they were married in a civil wedding July 24 on Pioneer Day.  They plan to be sealed in the temple as soon as one is available.

Isaac and Brittany King

     Brittany is the daughter of Chene and Andrea Mogler, Mokelumne Ward members.  She and Isaac King met in chemistry class in 2017 while at Tokay High School. Isaac is now on active duty with USAF and has a contract through 2023.  He works on the communication and navigation systems on the C-130 plane.  He may re-enlist or join the reserves.

   Brittany has five semesters left towards her agribusiness degree and is doing remote classes now.  She will be returning to BYU-I next year to continue on-campus learning.  She hopes to use her degree in the floral and horticulture industry.

   The couple were married August 29 in a beautiful ceremony in Sister Ann Grether's backyard, officiated by Bishop Eric Holden.  It was her sister Lily's 16th birthday too, so they had a special birthday cake for her in addition to their wedding cake.  Her mom Andrea said "It was very sweet." Ward members helping with the details were Sister Annie Leach, photography; and Sister Megan Blackwell who did hair and makeup. The family picture includes Chene and Andrea next to the couple, and their other two daughters Pamela and Lily.

Tammy Woods Joins Relief Society Presidency

    Sister Tammy Woods has been called as a counselor in the Mokelumne Ward Relief Society presidency.  She replaces BrieAnn Congrave who was released as second counselor. Tammy said this was her first time serving in a Relief Society leadership calling.  "I am excited to work with a wonderful group of ladies and I look forward to getting to know the sisters in our ward," she said. Her assignments include overseeing compassionate service, young adults, and a portion of ministering.

   Tammy began service right away when she accompanied the presidency to welcome Saane Boyer (who was recently married to Brendt Boyer) into the ward with a bouquet of flowers.  Pictured from left to right are Suzanne Fairbanks, First Counselor; Bronwyn Webb, Secretary; Saane Boyer; Lisa Clegg, President; and Tammy Woods, Second Counselor.

Mark and Judy Wilcox Love Their Pathway Calling

    "BYU-Pathway Worldwide brings an innovative approach to education--one unique to the Church Educational System, and to the world ," says President Russell M. Nelson.  The church values education and with BYU-Pathway Worldwide, everyone can access higher education.

• The cost is low and there is adaptive pricing.  Tuition is approximately half the cost of traditional universities.
• BYU-Pathway Worldwide inspires hope, opening new opportunities to learn by study and by faith
• Courses and programs are completely online.  All a student needs is access to the Internet to be able to participate--anywhere in the world.

   Where do Mark and Judy Wilcox come in?  They do their work on the Internet like teachers, but they fulfill another roll.  They encourage potential students to register for Pathway to earn certificates or degrees. They welcome students to the program with pre-coursework phone calls. They facilitate a two hour "gathering" on Wednesday evenings where a lead-student directs a discussion of the week's lessons. They use a Zoom room to talk with their 18-20 students, answering questions, sharing testimonies and encouraging everyone to participate.

   The Wilcoxes are given an agenda for each week. They encourage  students to share insights with one another so they can learn from each other and deepen their understanding.  The evening includes prayers and songs that invite spirituality.  Mark and Judy are a support to the students with reminders of their goals and they help them stay on track. They are known as Pathway Missionaries. They say: WE LOVE WHAT WE DO!!

Sister Missionaries Teach Through Social Media

   Since Covid-19 has extremely hampered our ability to meet together, full time missionaries have had to invent more ways to communicate through social media.  Elder Uchtdorf recently gave a virtual talk for an MTC devotional broadcast. He said that innovations like smartphones and social media are unexpected advances that can provide inspired means to share the Lord's gospel in normal and natural ways.  Elder Uchtdorf recalled President Spencer Kimball's April 1974 address on missionary work, "When the World Will be Converted."  The late Church president called for "better and additional methods of approaches" for missionaries, saying "I believe the Lord is anxious to put into our hands inventions of which we laymen have hardly had a glimpse."

   President Uchtdorf said, President Kimball "envisioned a day when missionaries could be supplied with handheld devices that would help them teach the gospel." Fifty years ago, he was thinking of small recording devices, but the Lord had much bigger plans, recognizing what is possible today. He also commented that the recent pandemic may have been a "divine reset" that could help us recalibrate our efforts to reach more people--and especially a younger audience.

Our Sister missionaries are doing a great job.  Sister Peapealalo shared on Facebook a personal experience with the Savior softening her heart. She had a picture of the Savior the whole time and it was very touching.  As of this writing it has been viewed over 3,000 times.

Her companion Sister Brandley is an artist.  She used her talent to offer a free Book of Mormon.  She did a speed version of her painting a scene from the New Testament on the front of the book.

These pictures show Sister Brandley working on the book, and the picture below shows the finished front of the book. She ran a contest on Facebook and offered the book as a prize.

    Members can help the missionaries by seeing their post in their news feed, liking them, commenting on them, and sharing them on their personal profile, or sharing them through Messenger if they think they can help any of their friends.  The missionaries said that "the more people follow these pages and engage with their posts, the more other people are likely to see the posts and learn more about the gospel of Jesus Christ."

Primary Presidency Keeps Things Interesting for Children During Pandemic

 Here are just a few of the things that the Primary has offered the children of Mokelumne River Ward to keep them thinking about the Gospel.

BINGO:  Primary President Sister Ginny Shull sent a note:  "Hi Primary Kids!  You should have received a BINGO card in the mail.  For the rest of the month, try to complete all of the prompts.  Have a parent text me  when you're finished for a special prize.  Hope you are all doing well.  Your primary presidency misses you."

Leanna Clegg shows off her prize for finishing her BINGO card!

SINGING:  Sister Allie Wren from the Thatcher 2nd Ward presented a virtual singing time for primary children and families. Viewers sang six different primary songs in  a game of "Name That Tune"!  Children were encouraged to sing other primary songs with family members throughout the week.

Book of Mormon Story:  Elizabeth Carlston read a story about the 2000 Stripling Warriors from the Book of Mormon.  She sent this note:  "Hi Primary Kids!  Enjoy learning a little more about one of my favorite scripture stories from this week's Come Follow Me lesson.  Happy Sabbath!"

Mission President D.W. Zimmerman gives R.S. Fireside

   

 California Sacramento mission president began his fireside by saying his loves his missionaries.  He loves the scriptures and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Because of this, it is easy to be a mission president.

    He presented some "simple gospel principles that God wants to share with us." He emphasized that the gathering of Israel is the greatest and most important thing taking place on earth today.  He encouraged us to follow the counsel Elder Ballard gave in a 1984 talk:  Set a date!  This means to set a date when we will have someone ready to accept the Gospel.  We don't need to know who that person is, but promised blessings will flow into our lives if we do this. 

   After his presentation, Relief Society PresidentLisa Clegg encouraged all of us to set a date.

Some of those present on the Zoom Fireside were President Lisa Clegg, upper left; Judy Wilcox, upper right; Ward missionaries Sister Brandley and Sister Peapealalo, lower left; and Bishop Eric Holden.

Relief Society Sisters Learn About Nutrition

   Cyndie Parker gave a Monday morning virtual class on how to lose weight and have a nutritious diet.  Here are some of the tips she gave during the presentation.

•  Measure food for a short period of time, then in the future you will know what that amount looks like.
• Instead of counting what you should eat less of, count what you should eat  more of.  Positive thoughts!
• Count macros, protein, carbohydrates, and fat.  These are in every  food you eat.
• Tips when eating:  Use smaller dinnerware, including serving spoon. Drink water first, then you will likely eat smaller portions throughout the meal.  Eat slowly.  It takes 20 minutes for the brain to catch up with eating.
• At restaurants ask for only half a portion, and put the other half in a container to take home.
• Don't eat straight from the bag with such things as popcorn and chips.  Take out and put in a smaller bowl.  Don't keep open bags near you.
• Keep a picture diary of food intake.  Those who keep track, tend to eat less.

Awesome Sister Missionaries Give Service

   Our new sister missionaries are delightful!  Sister Peapealalo is from Wellsville, Utah, although she looks like she came straight from Hawaii.  Sister Brandley is from Ogden, Utah.  While practicing social distancing, they helped non-member Karen Sorenson prepare her peppers for canning.  Sister Kerr was helping too.  There was a lot of good conversation and friendship.

     After dinner the missionaries played a fun game, read some scriptures and bore their testimonies.