Amazing Sister Missionaries

    Our full time sister missionaries don't have to be in a formal situation on hold one of their encouragement meetings for ward members.  If the family needs to be in the garden at the time they can come, that's where it will be.  The Kerr family had only a limited time to harvest apricots and get them on the drying racks. Sister Webb and Sister Garner felt right at home here.  The apricot project got finished and the sisters gave a beautiful lesson, with encouragement to continue to invite friends to learn of the Gospel.  And they were excited to go home with a freshly picked bag of apricots. We are so blessed to have these two missionaries in our ward.

Relief Society Sisters Enjoy Temple Trip

 

   Relief Society sisters enjoyed a wonderful evening for their June temple activity. They carpooled from the church and had great conversations on the way. Most of the sisters went through the endowment session and a few sisters (Liz Sprowls, Pat Ambrosi and Kelly Heffington) did sealings for family members.

    For some of them it was the first time back since COVID. All enjoyed the spirit of being back in the temple and someone mentioned that they felt peace during the session. Another sister felt they should take the opportunity to attend the temple more often. 
    After the session and a quick photo shoot, they  headed to Brookfield’s for dinner and more conversation. All in all it was a really good evening and the Relief Society Presidency  encourages sisters to visit the temple every month. 

Athea Fluckiger Baptized

    Athea Fluckiger became an official member of the church on June 4 when she was baptized by her father, Jymard Fluckiger.  (Family on left)  It was exciting for her to have her grandparents present for the baptism.  (Pictured on the right)  They are Shawn and Liz Kirkley and were once members of the ward.  Athea's mother Maria came up with an idea of how to pass the time while Athea and her father were getting dressed after the baptism.  She gave everyone in attendance a little card on which they could write a message to Athea.  Her mom reported that "She just loved it.  It made her smile so much." Some of the notes were written in cursive, which Athea couldn't read, so her mother read them to her and it was delightful for both of them.  What a good idea!

Bonnie Raingruber Completes Important Temple Work

    Bonnie lost her husband Robert four months ago and wanted very much to be sealed to him in the temple.  He was not a member of the church.  To make this happen, Bishop Holden assigned Mark and Judy Wilcox to give her 10 lessons including various things she would need to learn and know in order to have this accomplished. They did an excellent job.

   The Wilcox couple along with Cliff and Ann Kerr went with her to the temple for her own endowments.  Cliff Kerr was baptized for her husband Robert Raingruber.

   A week later on May 26, Bonnie was sealed to her husband.  Following that sealing, her parents were sealed to each other and she to them.  Mark Wilcox was the proxy for Robert and her Dad.  Cliff Kerr and Judy Wilcox were witnesses.  The above picture represents Robert and Bonnie now having an eternal marriage performed in the Sacramento Temple, with Christ who makes it possible.  Robert was a talented poet and musician.  Ann Kerr make a video featuring Christ in a song Robert wrote called "Jesus Is His Name."  If you would like to see it click on this link:  https://youtu.be/gyOKdIfBO_M

 

Elder James Boyer Is Off On His MIssion

   Elder James Boyer has finished Home MTC and departed for the Tampa Florida Mission. He will be gone two years and return in April 2024.

   His favorite scripture is Alma 36:3 which reads:  "And now my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust n God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day."  

  We will add more information as he communicates his experiences.

Mothers Celebrated, Camp Money Earned, All In One Fun Evening.

     Bishop Holden overlooks the many goodies produced when Mokelumne River Ward held a bake sale auction and dinner to raise funds for Duty to God and Girl’s Camp. It was a massive success!

        The youth really shined with desserts that were both beautiful to look at and oh so yummy! 

   Ward members were very generous with their donations resulting in a significant amount of money raised. Brother Farlee did a fantastic job as the auctioneer and I think everyone would agree that it could not have gone better. Thank you to everyone who was involved in making such a memorable night such a success!

 

 

Youth Learn of Mission Experiences Throughout The World

 

Mokelumne Ward youth heard from five of our ward’s former missionaries. Sister Brown, President Means, Brother Nore, Brother Holden and Brother Daley all prepared a short presentation about serving a mission in their part of the world. The kids asked questions and ate treats from around the globe. We appreciate the time spent to enrich our youth.

YM-YW Enjoy Baptism Day at Sacramento Temple

 

     On Tuesday, April 26th, the combined Young Woman and Young Men were able to participate in temple baptisms. In addition, the youth were able to enjoy time together while playing games and eating a delicious meal on the lawn. The trip  ended  with a spiritual thought from Natalie Robison and a yummy dessert for the road. A truly meaningful and enjoyable experience was had by all.  A big thanks to the youth and youth leaders for all their efforts on a successful event.

Relief Society Sisters Get Organizing Tips

     Sister  Rebecca Simmons is a professional organizer with paying clients.  She was perfect for teaching R.S. sisters how to have a "House of Order."  Some of her tips:  (1) You probably won't ever use something if you've had it for awhile and have never used it.  (2) Stay in the room you're working on.  Don't go back and forth around the house. (3) Clear zipper file bags from Amazon are perfect for organizing small groups of things in a purse.  She had a sample for everyone to take home.  She spent about an hour giving all kinds of ideas and answering questions.  All sisters were given detailed handouts to take home.

   Sister Elizabeth Sprowls also had good advice on how to organize craft items--and she had hundreds of them in her craft room which is about 10x10 feet The walls are lined with shelves and cupboards filled with bottles, clear plastic boxes, and clear bags hanging from a rod.  She decorates tin cans which hold pencils, pens, and other items.  She has a clear canister for cookie cutters  All of these things are labeled.  The picture on the lower left shows a desk she made by putting a board over two small filing cabinets.  Elizabeth is very talented with crafts and will help anyone who is interested.  She will even share her many products collected over the years.  Both of these sisters are valuable additions to the Mokelumne River Ward sisters.

Primary Children Loved Their "Unbirthday Party"

    On April 1st the Mokelumne River Ward primary had an “unbirthday party." The event included pizza, cupcakes and games. The event was well attended with 70 primary age children there. There was even a juggling clown, Tim Shull. They played: Bean bag toss into the 10 plagues of Egypt, pin the animal on Noah’s ark, a relay game, musical chairs and ended with a story to help remind them that they are the light of the world. The lights went off, glo sticks lit and a dance party began. They finished the night with a cupcake. A great time was had by all!!

Relief Society Sisters Tackle a Big Job

 Mokelumne Ward Member Rex Barnes had been either in a hospital or in a rehab center for over a year.  The time finally came for him to sell his house and go to stay with a daughter in Montana. But the home needed to be cleaned out to make it ready for the sale so they could show the house.

      

   Under the supervision of Ardell Gillingwater, Relief Society Service Coordinator, the house was cleaned out and a garage sale was held.  In the collage above, in green plaid shirt is Brother Barnes' daughter Danielle who came from Montana to help. Pictured with her is Ann Grether who came almost every day to help.  In the top left picture is Liz Sprowls who also spend a lot of time on the project.  Others who helped were Lisa Holden and Tammy Woods. In the lower right picture the sister missionaries are having a cobweb celebration.  "It's a wonderful opportunity to get rid of cobwebs," said Ardell.  Anyway you look at it, a great service was performed.                   Above: Ardell poses with family in front of a nice clean house.                                                                     

Two New Missionaries

     The missionaries are always changing.  But this time we have TWO new missionaries.  We love our sister missionaries.  On the left is Sister Webb from Illinois  On the right is sister Garner from Rexburg, Idaho.  They are working hard to help us find new people to teach.