Ward Members Participate In 9-11 Day of Service

September 11 is a day of remembrance and service.  Under the direction of Cathy Leonard (a member of our ward who serves as Stake Communications Director), adults and youth from the Lodi wards and branch gathered together to serve the Lodi Community.  Mokelumne River Ward was highly represented in the project.

   Ninety-eight  bags of groceries, laundry detergent, dish soap and home essentials were prepared for the LOEL Center in Lodi who delivers "Meals on Wheels" to their clients.  Young youth emptied products from delivery boxes and others bagged them, putting the liquids in plastic bags.  

 Another project enjoyed by the youth was making 240 peanut butter sandwiches to be delivered to "Showered with Love," a group who provides showers and food to the homeless.

    Our sister missionaries (left) are always involved in service activities and are shown here giving sandwiches to Connie Anderson and her husband from Showered with Love.  Pictures on the right show adults who delivered the goods to the LOEL Center for their distribution.

 

Youth Enjoy Temple Trip

    On Tuesday, August 23rd, the youth in our ward participated in baptisms at the temple. We had a great turn out with approximately 25 youth participating which was really fantastic considering that everyone was newly back to school. The spirit was felt by all. The service these young people were able to provide will not only strengthen them, but those who have gone before. We are very blessed to have such wonderful young men and women in our ward. 
 

Contagious Musical Goosebumps!

 

     Musical Goosebumps were contagious in Primary as the children sang in preparation for their upcoming sacrament meeting presentation.  The messages of the songs they have learned are helping them develop testimonies of the Savior and the scriptures with songs like "I Will Walk With Jesus" and lyrics such as "Queen Ester story taught me that I can stand for right . . . "

Mokelumne River Ward Celebrates 5th Annivesary

 

    There was a great turnout for the 5th ward anniversary.  An official count wasn't taken, but officials guessed the attendance to be over 200. There was lots of good food, beautiful decorations, and several contests (see below.)  The event was headed up by Sister Andrea Mogler who is a member of the ward activities committee. She did an excellent job.  Bishop Holden said it was the best of all the birthday celebrations since the ward was organized.

   The delicious dinner consisted of  homemade chili, barbecued chicken and tri-tip, salad, cornbread, cookies and pies.

    The children's cookie contest overall winner was Maggie McGhie who made caramel apple oatmeal cookies.  Primary winner was Natalie Broughton and Hazel who made mint triple coco cookies.  The YM/YW winners were Fiti Rosenbush and Katelyn McGhie with their milk cookie bars. Other winners of the evening were Loren Perry for most unique chili, Megan Blackwell for hottest chili, Heather Stewart for overall chili winner.  In the pie section Lisa Holden had best pie crust, most original  Betty McOmber with a chocolate pie, best overall Viola Stringer with a strawberry pie.

    The bishopric had a blast enjoying the pie eating contest.  You can tell by their faces that it was extremely yummy.  The winner of the contest was Cody Nore (center) who is a ward clerk.

   Another good thing about the birthday party is that active members invited friends who had been away from church for a long time. They enjoyed the friendship and love felt at the event.

     Some of the other interesting tidbits from the party are  (above) Leanna Clegg learning how to be a disk jockey.  According to Sister Mogler "She rocked the night and was absolutely amazing!" (Above right) Andrea's oldest daughter  Pamela cane to help her dad, Chene Mogler, with the chicken and tri-tip cooking.  Chene did an excellent job of cooking the delicious meat to perfection.  He says he loves to cook. (Bottom right) is the display made by Dave Gillingwater to encourage us to have food in a 72 hour emergency kit. His pot of chili was made from food storage!  

Francesca Jo Carlston is Baptized

 

     Francesca Jo Carlston was baptized by her father, Ben Carlston, on August 19, 2022. It was a beautiful evening attended by close family and friends. Francesca wore her mother’s baptism dress in the waters of baptism and a cut down version of her mother’s wedding dress for her confirmation. 

Francesca is happy to be an official member of our ward and loves going to primary and reading the scriptures with her family.

Hygiene Kits Delivered to Nonprofit Agencies

    

   The Relief Society assembled most of the items for hygiene kits that were then assembled by the Young Women at Girls Camp.  Then they were delivered to three nonprofit agencies in Lodi with the help of Lisa Clegg, Mokelumne Ward Relief Society President, and her daughter Leanna and her son Logan. Picture on the left is Lisa chatting with Cheryl Francis, director of Grace & Mercy Foundation.

    In the picture on the right, Lisa, Logan, and Lenna with A.J., a volunteer at Grace and Mercy, loaded cases of hygiene kits. One case for Grace & Mercy and one case for the new Lodi Access Center for unhoused people of the area.

   Above: Leanna and Logan at the Showered With Love bus that was converted to three shower units for the less fortunate of Lodi. The inset picture is the Clegg family presenting hygiene kits to Mary Jarrard, Director of Showered With Love while the bus as parked at Gravity Church in Lodi.

Young Men Duty to God Camp

   
      Duty to God camp was a success.  Joseph Stringer was asked to be the camp Medic and also help the Kitchen staff which included, Casey Haynes, Jenny Haynes, Brittany Clark, Hillary Sroufe and a few others from different wards.  Young men ate well but most of all were Spiritually fed as they were taught by our Stake President Means and Local leaders in Bishoprics.  The young men enjoyed Archery, pellet gun, shot-gun, paint ball sling shot, Boating at Bullard’s Bar, and camp games.  The food is always excellent when the Haynes are in the kitchen. Every day the young men had the peaceful opportunity to go to their “Sacred Grove” to study, ponder, and pray.  That was very uplifting !   

 

Young Men and Young Women Venture Out to Find Lost Sheep

    Youth leaders had a unique plan to teach YM and YW about the importance of bringing a lost sheep back to the fold (Luke 15:4-5.)  Several adults were asked to be "lost sheep" roaming in stores.  The youth were to find them, and when found the lost sheep would give them a paper with their name on to turn in at the end of the event.

   In the picture on the left, Ardell Gillingwater has been found shopping in Target.  In the middle picture  Judy Wilcox was shopping for paper goods in Staples when she was discovered by two Young Women.

   Pat Ambrosi is in yellow pants in the picture on the right.  She said she was easy to find because the youth in the past had brought painted rocks and candy to her home.  She was accompanied by Julie Kozak who is standing to Pat's left in the white shirt.  They were shopping n Marshalls where Julie found a pair of slacks she wanted to buy before they were discovered. 

   Before the group began their activity YM leader Kendal Mecham shared a spiritual thought on following the Savior.  At the conclusion the group returned to the chapel to enjoy cookies with Bishop Holden and his wife Lisa,  and listen to a selection from a conference talk by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

   "You ay feel that your life is in ruins.  You may have sinned.  You may be afraid, angry, grieving, or tortured by doubt.  But just as the Good Shepherd finds His lost sheep, if you will only left up; your heart to the Savior of the world, and He will find you.  He will rescue you.  He will lift you and place you on His shoulders.  He will carry you home."

   YM leader Don Daley summed it up by saying, "We are all lost sheep at some point and the Savior is always looking for us, waiting to bring us home."

Another Exciting Girls Camp for Mokelumne River Ward

 

Mokelumne Ward Young Women

   Joseph Stringer taught 2nd year Young Women learn some outdoor survival skills.  He taught them how to do a fireman's carry with 1 person and 2 person carry.   Joseph also taught them how to make a "blanker stretcher" similar to ones used in the military. Cindy Parker did a wonderful job teaching them first aid.  

   Another activity involved the climbing wall and the rappelling wall with a 100 ft. drop.  "That was very exciting," Joseph said. Everyone had a wonderful time.

                                        Some more beautiful pictures.

New Sister Missionaries

 

   The latest sister missionaries to our ward are so delightful and dedicated to the work.  Here is a little bit about them:

     Left is Sister Tolman from Orem, Utah and has eight older brothers!  All of them went on missions and she heard "cool" stories about their experiences. She wanted to have the same experience.  She has been in the Sacramento Mission for almost a year and says she "loves it!"

    Before her mission she studied at UVU in Provo/Orem.

    Sister Black (right) was a student at BYU Provo when she was in a car accident and had some serious injuries which took some time to recover. She has been in this mission for 10 months and says "It is the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Bloom Where You're Planted" is theme of Relief Society Activity

   The Relief Society never has an activity without delicious food to complement it. Activities director Stacy Kadlacsik (right)  introduced the program and invited sisters to choose from the assortment of fresh fruit and vegetables to eat while the program was beginning. 

     Dave Gillingwater was the guest presenter and explained various things about mostly fall gardening, as well as providing some food storage tips.  The picture on the left is one of the pages from a book he keeps of all the things he grows in his garden.  On the right he is explaining how gardening varies depending on where you live in the world.

       One of the fascinating things Dave taught was how to grow wheat sprouts.  He said that for 37 cents you can buy enough wheat to put in a tray with water and grow enough sprouts to last for two weeks for use in sandwiches, salads, and other things.  

     All the sisters had an opportunity to plant seeds in cups to take home. They were told to punch holes in the bottom of the cup to prevent water from staying in the cup, then soak the seeds for 4 or 5 days before planting.  In the top right picture is Andrea Mogler (Relief Society committee member) and Tami Woods (second counselor in Relief Society) overseeing and helping with the project.

   All of the sisters received handouts "Vegetable Garden Basics" with explanations and details about winter gardening.

 

Young Women Love to Serve

 On Tuesday, June 14, 2022, our amazing young women had the opportunity to participate in a "Party in a Box" activity at River Fountains Care Facility.  With a Hawaiian theme as the backdrop the young women assisted the residents in making crafts such as necklaces, drawings and sun catchers.  It was a lovely experience for both the residents and the young women alike.  One of their leaders reported: "One could feel the love of our Savior in the efforts to care for, and get to know, our friends from River Fountains. We hope to return there again soon."