Elder Joe Kazek has returned after serving his mission. Elder Kazek served in Mexico Sonora Mission. He is the son of Mike and Amy Kazek, Heritage Ward, West Stake. Elder Joe Kazek will be speaking Sunday, March 9th, at 9 am in Stake Center. It is located at 100 N. Arrowhead Ln. Welcome Home!

Heritage Days was held with the East and West Stakes Saturday, March 1 at the Heritage Park. The local VFW presented the flag followed by Alana Davis singing the National Anthem.   President Ryan Toone of the East welcomed everyone and told the story of Mary Jane Leavitt whose statue stands in front of city hall. Mary Jane Leavitt is a great example of faith and service in her care for the sick and broken hearts.  She delivered babies and took care of their mothers.  Her door was always open to those who stopped by and she always fed them saying, ‘there is enough such as ‘tis!’ “I hope that same feeling will exist here, and we can use her example to show love and to help one another.” President Jared Hollingshead of the West Stake also spoke of the pioneering spirit.  When they had hardships they soldiered-on. He said,” I see the same grit and determination that was exemplified in the settling of the valley. I have witnessed adversity today in the lives of people in this valley and their strength to overcome adversity and help one another.  Elder Emerson Carnavale at our recent stake conference said, “there is a special spirit here in this valley. “He could feel that spirit of kindness and caring.” Pres. Hollingshead continued, “Let us continue that legacy and help our friends and neighbors. “ Thank you to all those that provided booths, food to taste, crafts, and activities. The kids enjoyed eating cotton candy and kettle corn.  There were numerous pioneer games, stick pulling, horseback rides, or roping “steers”.  The Abbott family had a petting zoo with goats to love, baby rabbits to cuddle, baby chicks, hens and roosters and pigs to feed.  Kids and youth could try milking a cow or making adobe bricks.  The Cox family had their branding irons heating and burned initials in wood for the kids to take home and wear around their neck.   Rag doll making was a favorite activity as well as making small handcarts.  They could also try the ring rolling area.  The Harlachers had small wagon train that took kids around the parking lot to get the feeling of a long journey across the plains.  Leon Gubler brought his team of horses and wooden wagon to give rides.  We appreciate his traveling to Mesquite to help with the Heritage Days celebration and give us the feel of pioneering.   Pioneer stories were related by Elayne Storrs about her great, great, great grandmother, Mary Elizabethe Cox Whiting, and how they lived in dugouts in San Pete County during the winter.  The area was infested with rattle snakes and rattlers would drop down through the ceiling of the dugouts and it terrified the pioneers.  There were rattle snakes in their beds.  The men got torches and weapons and killed over 300 rattlers in a cave or den of the snakes!  This happened night after night.  There was a 2-year-old boy who looked sickly after being in the dugout all winter.  His mother set him out on the stoop to get some sunshine while he ate his morning bread and milk.  But he didn’t seem to get any better, in fact he grew sicklier and had a little blue tint to his skin.  He would dip his spoon in the milk, move his arm to the side for a little and put it to his mouth.   The answer – a rattlesnake was licking the spoon each time he extended his arm and then the boy was getting a little venom with each bite!  When this was discovered, the rattler was killed, and the boy grew and regained his health and color returned to his skin!  Amazingly no one was ever bitten by a ratter! Rosa Zarate and her daughter Isela make authentic fresh tortillas, rolled and cooked them and served them with freshly made salsa.  Rosa is an expert at mixing, rolling the dough and cooking it perfectly on the grill. Terry and Josie of the Summercrest Ward served 3 kinds of lemonade – Raspberry, Strawberry, and just lemonade along with scrumptious homemade cookies.    Homemade ice cream was a favorite as the day grew warmer and it was hard to decide between chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry! Jan & Craig Mitchel and family had their electric ice cream freezer going and it fascinated the kids who wanted to look inside as it turned.   When asked their favorite flavor, Craig said banana and Jan voted for strawberry.  They are carrying on the family tradition of ice cream making.  They remember Sunday afternoons making ice cream and having the neighbors come over to enjoy the sweet treat. History presentations with pictures and slide shows could be viewed inside the building. Aaron Bunker of the Virgin Valley Water District told the history of the water supply from the piping of the springs on the mountains to the water reservoir and new wells and tanks presented through pictures and posters.  The story of the longest running non-union picket line was told with posters, photos and a video slide show, and documents.  It told the story of the Pron Store that was opened in Mesquite in 1993 and the battle to get it finally shut down in 1996. A timeline with pictures showed the chapels built, Camp Helaman and Camp Ruth, three trek enactments for the youth and three recent floods in the valley.  The family history center was open for people to search records of their ancestors.  The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers had a booth to share information about their pioneer ancestors.    Everyone received a punch card and after visiting all 18 stations a drawing was held.  Prizes included Daniell’s popcorn and two quilts which were tied by ladies that morning.   Norman Ray sang and played country music while lunch was served. Dutch Oven chicken and potatoes, salad and rolls, and dessert were enjoyed in the picnic area. Thanks to Wes Carter and his crew who had 40 Dutch Ovens on the fire pit.  Thank you to the chefs -- Jon Meierhoff and sons, Vall Woods and Jos. Thank you! Tietjen for the traditional pioneer food.  Thanks to Krissy and Richard Cook for their committee or organizing the event.   By Cheryl Jensen

Missionary Letters Elder Cameron Spilker Read Letter Elder Cameron Wright Read Letter Sister Jasmine Bundy Read Letter Sister Dantzel Park Read Letter Elder Gunner McOmie Read Letter Elder Drake Wakefield Read Letter Sister Abbie Wilson Read Letter Elder Caiden Jones Read Letter Sister Nayeli Andrade Read Letter Sister Kiera Davis Read Letter Elder Drake Wakefield Read Letter Elder Cameron Wright Read Letter

1df21934-9b9f-428c-b599-cb94acd49625 Sister Dantzel Park Back to Missionary Letters Sunshine Through The Darkness Well I'm not going to lie, this week was rough. For many reasons. But, even through the hardest moments, there were rays of sunshine shining through. I am so grateful to be a missionary! My quote of the week was "Stay positive". *Bulletpoints* +I am learning more and more that pday is almost more stressful than other days. That's all :) +Our day on Tuesday was packed full of good stuff. We invited 2 people to be baptized, found 2 new people to teach, and had 4 lessons with members! That has to be a Ciudad Nueva all time record!! +I had an interesting phone call this week. The whole conversation went like this “(nombre) we are in your house” (hears giggling in the bathroom) then she said “Im in the bathroom” then we all laughed!! +We had divis this week again. I learned so much about missionary work and how I can help others come unto Christ. +I had a really stressful experience yesterday before church. I don't want to get into it but please pray for Alexis… +Zone Conference! I wore Hermana Mortensen's denim skirt and now I want one! But, I learned a ton from the Zone Conference. I can't wait to apply it. + Go friend me on Duolingo :) my name is Hermana Park +I got told by a homeless man that he loved me… that was about 30 mins ago… I'm still a little creeped out :) *Spiritual thought* Today I don't really have something to relate from my email that's super interesting. So I want to talk a little bit about patience. I have recently been really trying to be more patient. But, I have learned when we strive to do this we receive different trials to help us… It doesn’t feel like it's helping. I still don't know much about the things I have been trying to be patient for but, I know the Lord is patient with me. No matter how many times I screw up, He is there to pick me up. Maybe we feel like we are falling and can't pick up the pieces. But with our broken pieces he makes a stained glass window. At the time we only saw the broken pieces, the sharp edges. Maybe we cut ourselves one too many times. The savior is there using his broken pieces to fill in the gaps. He is merciful and our pieces fit perfectly in the end plan he has in mind. Turn to him, find the bigger picture! As it says in Alma 26:16 “Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.” I know that these things are true. I know that you can find out for yourself if these things are true through the power of prayer. There is a promise in Moroni 10:4 (if you're curious go find out). Find out for yourself what crazy Hermana Park is yaping about all the time. This feeling of peace, joy beyond measure, and tranquility we can't find on our own in life. Search in your heart, pray, ponder on your answer, and Act! You can do it!! Love you guys so much! You're the best :) Sorry the email is a bit later today… now you can look at the pictures <3 Hermana Park Previous Letter Next Letter

01e90ff4-a91d-4fd0-a2d8-32eea2ece086 Elder Drake Wakefield Back to Missionary Letters Minecraft -Elder Sayson Hello Good week yall, super busy here definitely zooming by. Cool miracle, we met a woman grab driver, which is rare already, but then we start talking and she says she's Christian too, and we tell her we're here serving for our church. We talk til the end of the drive and I remember my APs telling me if you find out their Christian langsung gas and invite them to church, so I was skeptical but I felt like I should so I did and she said she would love too😦I was surprised to be honest, and then she said we could come over to her house too😱 so we went there last Wednesday and met with them, epic. At the end we were boutta ask them if they wanted to go to church with us, but they asked if they could come before we even asked them, super epic. They actually didn't come, not epic, but it's cause she was sick and she wants to come this Sunday, epic. There's another family by our house that owns a restaurant and they're Christian, so we eat there often. We've talked a bit about the gospel, but we have a plan. We're gonna get two goated members to go eat there or eat with us, become friends and then it will be super epic. The members really are awesome here, please be nice to missionaries🙏🙏go feed your local missionaries, that's the invitation for the week cause you'll make their day Shoutout grandpa Londie cause we got to pick some corn here for one of the members. This week had a cool experience. My comp got up for fast n testimony meeting and bore his testimony. He's new so his Indonesian is actually really good, but just simple right now. But as he bore the simple truths of the gospel I was just filled with the spirit. I reflected how amazing the simple truths of the gospel are. We have a Heavenly Father who knows us personally and loves us. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can live with Heavenly Father and our families again. To help us achieve that Heavenly Father sent prophets to point us to Jesus Christ. Like these simple truths bring so much power when we actually think about them. Really shows how much Heavenly Father truly loves us! So please, never forget the simple truths as "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise." (Alma 37:6) -Elder Wakefield Previous Letter Next Letter