Kerri Stark*

I was approached by two LDS missionaries as I was doing a table for a cancer hospital in 2007. They offered me a pass-along card and invited me to come to the institute. The next time I was doing the same thing and I saw them again. After a few of these times, they asked me to take a Book of Mormon, which I did, but with the intention to put it aside and forget about it, and got my phone number, because I would always come up and talk with them whenever I would see them on campus. They called me to ask if they could teach me the lessons and if I would be interested in coming to church. It took about 4 months of lessons and missionary visits before I was baptized in February of 2008. I know this is the true church, because I have felt the Holy Spirit testify that to me over and over again. I know that Heavenly Father has a prophet on Earth, Thomas S. Monson, and I know that the Book of Mormon is a true testament of Jesus Christ. I am so glad that I met the missionaries, otherwise I wouldn't have the knowledge of any of this.
-Kerri

Mom's Christmas Letter...

Hi Jelli,

Its amazing how fast time has gone by... well at least this year, for me that is.  When you first left on your mission it was as if someone just turned the time to make it slower and I felt as if a big part of me was missing. Like my family was incomplete and my heart ached every moment but I knew in my heart that Heavenly Father had you wrapped in His loving arms caring and watching over you, but still as a mother its was just hard to know that you were away from home :)

I truely am greatful to my Heavenly Father for all that he has blessed me and our family with. You are such a blessing to my life and to our family. I know that the Lord has given you to dad and I to help us through this life and to help & humble me...well I'm not sure about me but LOL and to help me see life in a whole different way... I guess through your eyes.

These past 18 months we have truely been blessed and we have seen the Lords loving hands in all that we have been blessed with physically, mentally and spiritually.

There were times that I felt I was unworthy of His love and blessings but yet He has never forsaken me in those times when I felt that way. I know as an individual I have neglected some of my responsibilities and convenents that I have made with Him.. but yet He still loves me and continues to bless me in ways I cannot even begin to say.

I believe you have also helped with those blessings with your valiant service to our Heavenly Father and your strong testimony and love for the gospel and for our Savior Jesus Christ that we as family has been blessed and that I will be forever greatful.
Really excited to have you back home and to have another female in the house... lol... the guys may out number me but I still run the house lol you know what Im talking about.

Well I am greatful for those who helped take care and feed you while you were away from home.  As well as those who have touched and impacted your life for the better and helped you feed and nourished you spiritually.....

I will be forever greatful to them. Well we are looking forward to talking to you christmas day......everyone sends thier love and is so excited to see you!!!

Have a great day and continue to serve faithfully to the end...... much love and aloha!!!!!

Love you, MOM

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

I have been pondering how God is our Loving Heavenly Father & I often wondered what its like to be in that position. Daddy, I was going through the letters I got from you & all the memories starts to pour through my minds. The letters didnt say anything about the past but you mentioned something more of the future. You gave me counsels to stay on the right path. For some reasons, I start to ponder on the past. People may tell me stories about you & me. People say I have a spitting image of you but I may not see it that way. People often say that I act just like you but I cant really tell. But all that, I know I got something from you. I may not remember every details that had happened in my life but I remember you were there.

I remember the day I got baptized, we were sitting side by side wearing white. Smiling faces everywhere. You confirmed me on my head to recieve the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I may not remember everything that had happened during that special day but I do remember you were there.

I remember all those roadtrips for volleyball tournaments. I love volleyball as much as you do. I wore your number on my jersey because I wanted to play good as you. I may not remember if we lose or win. I know it was tireless games but I do remember you were there.

I remember stepping into High School, you warned me of temptations & challenges ahead. It was hard. I may not remember the choices I made. I know the disappointment by scratching behind your ears or proud by the smile on your face & that is how I do remember you were there.

I remember my Graduation day, finally made it! Sigh. I know the relief but I don't remember what exactly happened. All those Volleyball games, S.A.T.s, homeworks, & many more I have faced... what a relief! ha. I may not remember everything that had happened but I do remember that you were there.

I remember turning in my papers, the challenges of making the right choices to whether this is what I want or what the Lord wants. The moment I opened my calling, I do remember you were there. The spirit was so strong. Something I can never express but I knew it was something much more than I cant comprehend. This is something greater than I can ever imagine. Daddy, you were there the whole entire time of my life.

Now, whenever I think of how God is our loving Heavenly Father, you're the first to come into my mind, daddy. I look up to you for protection, for love, for guidance, for advice, for laughter, or simply a hug. I never thought of a position of a man stand where you are as a father, a husband, & a friend until now. A role that you played could relate to where Heavenly Father stands but only that He is more perfected & glorified. Daddy, you're my perfect imperfection. I dont count the perfections but I love you for your imperfections. You play a role as a father that no one can replace. As a mortal daughter, I consider myself that I was a "Prodigal Daughter" & that you still love me as I am, even though I made many mistakes. There are times you let me make mistakes & let me learn my lessons but you still love me. There are times I let you down where I didn't mean to but still you love me. I come to you with open arms but you ran to me with your whole heart. Daddy, I know what Heavenly Father is like because of that "LOVE" you have for me.

Daddy, you gave me hope to my vision. A vision where eternal life is because of that love. You're amazing. I love you, Daddy!!!!

-All my love, Sister Tonumaipe'a

Mom's Thanksgiving Letter*

 Hi Jelli,                                                                                                                    Nov. 22, 2011

Wow I cant believe this year is coming towards an end and I cant help but think of my life and review it...I know the Lord has constantly and continued to bless me in so many ways that I feel so unworthy of His UNCONDITIONAL love. But I know that he does not forsake me especially at times when I am questioning my worth and my ability to do what I am capable of :) This thanksgiving week I reflect on my life as well as those that are a part of it, past and present and I am truely greatful for each individual wether it was for a positive or negative effect.  My heart still aches for those that have passed on especially for my dad but I am so greatful for he was such a great influence in my life and the person I have become and espeically because of who he was I was able to find someone with similar qualities in my eternal companion **your dad :)**

I am eternally greatful to my savior Jesus Christ, for His atonement for the sacrifices He had made for each of us...for my testimony because no matter what my choices are in life my testimony remains true and I always believe that He is the Christ and this gospel is true no matter what....I am greatful for the Plan of Happiness and I hope that I am worthy to see my eternal companion and my eternal family in the next lifes :)
Greatful and blessed :)

I am greatful for my family, my mom who has helped raise me, for her examples for her health and love for me and my family, for my brothers and sisters because they are so much a part of me and who am I..each of them has a piece of my heart for all eternity and I cannot picture my life complete without them :) for my children for I sometimes see myself in them some of thier abilities, some of thier likes and dislikes sometimes thier reaction to different situations, for love for people and ability to adapt and sometimes thier weaknesses are from me lol and especially for my eternal companion and best friend my husand and father of my children, he is my rock and the glue that holds this family together :)he is truely my soul mate and my everything. He accepts for who I am and truely tries to make me a better person if not help me become who I should and can be lol I know I take him for granted and should treat him so much better than he deserves!!!
Great and blessed!!I hope this thanksgiving week will bring you blessings and that as you continue to serve the Lord you may continue to be strenghtened, physically, mentally and espeically spiritually...

We miss you and love you always.....
Happy Thanksgiving!!

With all my love,

MOM

P.S...we get to spend thanksgiving with the missionary sisters from our ward....it will be nice and we will be thinking of you :)

By Small and Simple Things...

 

"Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise."

  "And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls."

Alma 37:6-7 

Anthony James Alvarez's Conversion Story

My name is Anthony Alvarez and I am a new member of the Church. I am a 34 year old re-entry student at UC Davis in the History Department in my final year of study. I was born and raised in San Francisco, California. Three weeks ago, Brother Nye invited me to share the story of my conversion with you. To say that I feel honored to be able to share my experience with you is an understatement. It’s difficult to describe exactly what it is that I feel these days except to say that whatever it is, it often becomes so overwhelming that I frequently find the need to shut my eyes just to hold back the tears.

I’d be lying if I told you that my initial attraction to the Church was anything more than lukewarm. When the missionaries approached me in mid-May, there was not some compelling force driving me toward the Book of Mormon. Nor was there some dire calamity pushing me into a spiritual awakening. My attitude towards the missionaries’ proposals was something along the lines of “Why not? What could it hurt?” Fortunately for me, the missionaries were much more persistent in cultivating my happiness than I was. To be sure, my attraction towards anything good in my life for me has always been tepid whereas my attraction towards all things toxic always seemed to triumph. In personal relationships, for example, I’ve often found myself bored with normalcy and fascinated with dysfunction. So for me, an initial lack of enthusiasm for the Church was actually a very good sign.

So on one cloudy afternoon in May, Sister Wang and Sister Tanumaipea knocked on my door and asked me what I thought about God. It was a concept that I had been struggling with for at least an entire year prior. The answer I gave the Sisters was this: God is something that I could never and should never truly understand. Sister Tanumaipea’s rebuttal was simple: Our Heavenly Father loves us and all He wants is for us to be happy. I didn’t realize it on that day, but in the subsequent weeks I came to understand that the Sisters’ message what I had been waiting to hear my entire life.

During those first lessons with the missionaries, my agenda was to rationalize whatever I found either far-fetched or esoteric. At some point we discovered that I was just making it much more complicated than it needed to be. It must have been especially entertaining for Sister Wang and Sister T to watch me intellectually tap dance my way toward understanding our Heavenly Father’s Plan of Salvation.

The aspects of the Church that rang most true to me were those that many people seem to have the biggest issues with. The Law of Chastity. The Word of Wisdom. Tithing. Service. In my experience, these are universal truths; common sense approaches to life’s problems that just seem to work. I had lived in opposition to these truths for a very long time and I assure you—that type of lifestyle does not work.

One of the biggest leaps of faith for me was coming to believe in Joseph Smith and President Thomas S. Munson. That answer came to me when one of our visiting members from Utah, Trent Simmons, discussed the beauty of personal revelation during a quorum meeting. What I learned from Trent was that God speaks to each and every one of us every day. The more sincerely and diligently we follow his commandments, the better we can hear Him. I truly believe that through their extraordinary piety, in obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith and our Church president have established the clearest channel of communication with our Heavenly Father and that their words must be heeded by all of us.

The following is paraphrased from what I can best remember. It was added during my testimony:

[Someone once asked me how my life has changed since my baptism. Last week an old friend from back home sent me a text. He said he was having an “existential crisis”. One of his close friends was killed in Afghanistan the previous week. My friend told me “There is no God.” Usually, I am at a loss whenever people close to me are going through crises. I’ve never known what to say. But at that moment, I instantly knew two things. First, I knew I had to say something. Secondly, without hesitation, I knew exactly what I wanted to him to know. I sent him a text back, “There is a God and He loves you. The fact that you loved your brother so much to feel this emptiness when he’s gone is proof that there is a God and he’s given us these feelings to understand what’s really important.”]

Before I close I’d like to share a few things. First, a reading from Ether that the sister missionaries had me read aloud during one of our first lessons together. It was the first verse that I knew to be true as I read it: Ether 12: 27 “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” If you’d like to know what that verse actually means to me, and you have a few hours to spare, please see me after the meeting.

Lastly, I’d like to leave you with a short parable from the opening chapter of a popular self-help book by Eckhart Tolle. A begger had been sitting on the side of the road for over 30 years. One day a stranger walks by and the beggar asks him for some change. The stranger replies “I’m sorry, I have nothing to give you. But what’s that you’re sitting on?” The beggar replies. “Oh, it’s nothing, just an old box. I have been sitting on it for as long as I can remember.” “Have you ever looked inside?” asks the stranger. “No, what’s the point? There’s nothing inside,” replies the beggar. The stranger insists and challenges the beggar to open the box and when the beggar finally pries it open, he discovers to his amazement and disbelief that the box is filled with gold.

The Church is true. I have been sitting on this box for as long as I can remember, never aware that it would be the one thing that would end up saving my life. I say these things in the name of our savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Story of God's Love in the lives two LDS Missionaries*