Baptism at Hartney Bay

So, this past week has been pretty good other than it has been raining since last Sunday. Someone said it rained over 2 feet here this past week. There is one of those 3 gallon buckets outside the church and it was completely full. Every time we walked outside we got drenched. I forgot to tell you when I talked to you (Mother's Day) that we have 2 new investigators. One of them is named Cody, he is 18 and just graduated from high school on Saturday. The other one is named Jasmen, she is 16 and is living with some members here, so that's good news. We also had a run in with a wolf the other day...it was pretty sweet. And, no there are no bear safety classes, Mom, you either get killed or not, when you run into a bear, that's it. (I had asked him in an earlier letter if they went to bear education classes...I think they should....hello, they live in Alaska. I guess I will have to stop watching all the Alaska shows on tv).

On Saturday, May 15, 2010, Sean participated, along with Elder Giles, in his first baptism. Harrison (Harry) Cain was baptized by his uncle in the ocean at Hartney Bay. He is a senior at Cordova High School. He has been attending church for over a year, but had been waiting to receive missionary lessons, which Sean and Elder Giles taught. This was the report that Sean gave us:

So on Saturday, we were pretty much doing nothing all day, waiting for the baptism. We were suppose to umpire baseball games, but they got cancelled because the weather was so bad. Harry's Uncle was flying into Cordova from Anchorage and his plane was late and didn't arrive until 4:45. (We had to wait at the church until he arrived to give them their baptism clothes). At 5:00 Elder Giles and I left the church to drive to Hartney Bay (Elder Giles was driving). It was already raining, but began hailing and the wind was blowing at least 60 mph...it was intense. When we arrived at the Bay, the entire branch of about 70 people, including some family from Anchorage, were there for the baptism. Out of nowhere, the weather just stopped....it was pretty cool. We had to make the baptism fast because Harry had to get back for graduation by 6:00. So for 15 minutes or so during the baptism, the rained stopped and the weather calmed down. As everyone was getting into their cars to leave, the rain started pouring again. It was really cool to see a baptism in the ocean. I was able to get some cool pictures of it.

Sean also told us that Harry's immediate family also attended, although they are not members and don't want anything to do with the church. It was Harry's choice to be baptized by his uncle and to be baptized in the ocean. I asked him if he thought they were cold. His response was that their lips were purple when they got out....so I take that as yes.

Sean and Elder Giles also attended Harry and Cody's graduation. It was very small and short...only 20 kids graduating and lasted about an hour.

Mother's Day

I was so excited to receive the long awaited phone call. He had told us he would be calling at 3:30 Utah time. So we went to church...it seemed to last forever. I heard different stories from missionary mom's. Some said their son called 3 times during that day...another told me she had talked to her son for hours. So needless to say I didn't think there was not going to be a time limit on the call.


Before church, I had made sure that the phone had been put on the charger and double checked it when I got home. At 3:25 the phone rang and I ran right to it, or where it should have been, but it wasn't there. Robert was sitting in the recliner and held it up to show me that he had it...laughing. He said "hello" and I hovered over him for the longest 1 minute and then he told Sean he had better give me the phone. It was so good to hear his voice. It sounded the same, but so different. He seemed very happy. We talked about living in the church...he sleeps in the top bunk (Lexie and I really wanted to know), Elder Giles...he is very regimented (that is good) and he told me about the beautiful wildlife and scenery. He didn't think he had gained any weight, but didn't have a scale to weigh himself. I reminded him that he could gain as much as he wanted, but couldn't grow out of his suits. I couldn't afford to buy new ones. They drive a Chevy Malibu....I forgot to ask him what year. Although he had gotten his Alaskan driver's license, Elder Giles is the designated driver for now. We talked about the Thomas Family coming to visit. We talked about Harry and the upcoming baptism.


Sometime during our conversation, Lexie took her turn to talk. There there ended up being a "he said, she said" conversation with Jake mixed in, so he tried to take the phone from Lexie so he could talk and they ended up hanging up on Sean. He called back within a few seconds and Jake had his turn. I reminded him that nothing had changed as far as the brother/sister bickering.


After we had all talked for about 35 - 40 minutes. He informed me that he only had 5 more minutes to talk. I went from being so happy to absolutely devastated. I wish he had told me when he first called....maybe. He talked to Robert for a minute more and then we all told him good-bye. When he calls for Christmas, I will be sure to ask how long he has to talk.

Primary Letters

Our primary children had written Sean letters, along with drawing pictures, which were mailed to him. I was able to have a peak at them before they were mailed and they were absolutely precious.

Sean mailed the following letters to Jamie Bayles, our good friend and the Primary President. She was kind enough to share them with me. Thank you Jamie...any info I can get, helps keep me sane. (Many others have shared too. Thank you, also). The 1st letter is written to the whole primary and the 2nd one was written specifically to his class of 11 and 12 year old boys that he taught in primary.

April 21, 2010
Dear Primary,
Thank you so much for the letters that you sent me. That was very thoughtful of you and I really appreciated it. Some of your pictures made me laugh, so thank you for that. Alright...so the question that most of you asked was “is it cold?” I will tell you that it is a little chilly, but I am on the coast so it’s not as cold as some of the other areas in Alaska. However, it has been raining or snowing every single day, except 2, since I have been here. So you guys better enjoy the sunshine.

I have seen and eaten almost every type of wildlife you can think of that lives in Alaska. The moose meat is definitely the best. I am in a very small town and there aren't too many places that we could live, so we are living at the church. It looks just like the church back home, but just a miniature version. It has been a pretty cool experience so far.

My companion and I are the first missionaries that have been in this town for 3 or 4 years, so it has been a little harder to meet people, but we are doing a ton better now. We currently are teaching two people and just today, received commitment from one of them to be baptized on May 15th. His name is Harrison and he decided he wants to be baptized in the ocean. So we are going to do it in a place called Hartney Bay.

Being a missionary has really opened my eyes to see how blessed we are to know about the gospel. There are kids here that are living with no supervision really and they grow up not having the same privileges that you all have.

Well thanks again for the letters. I hope you all are having a great time in primary. I miss you all and look forward to keeping in touch. Take care and I hope to hear from you soon.

Love, Elder Sean Stoker

April 21, 2010

Hello everyone,
Thank you so much for the letters that you guys wrote. That was nice of you. I hope everything is going good in that class of yours. Last Sunday, I was actually teaching a primary class here and the entire time I kept thinking about you guys. But one thing for sure, I realized how much I enjoyed teaching you guys. They never would talk and you guys never stopped talking. So thank you for always talking and at least participating in the boring lessons I taught.

I was glad to hear that Tanner is teaching you guys now. You will learn a lot from him and Brother Holm. You guys are a lucky bunch.

Since I have been in Alaska, I have been in a blizzard, a huge rainstorm, earthquake, and the other day, there was an avalanche not to far from the church. So basically I have seen it all in the 2 weeks that I have been in Alaska. I have also eaten tons of moose, bear, and fish. This one lady fed us some weird type of food that I have no idea what it was, but it was not good at all.

Being a missionary has been hard at times, but good. I know my life will be blessed because of me serving. I hope that you all prepare yourselves to be able to serve a mission. It is a great opportunity and I know you will be blessed.

If you have any questions for me let me know and feel free to write too. I would love to hear from you guys. Well thanks again. I love you guys and I hope you enjoy class. Talk to you soon.

Love, Elder Sean Stoker

Earthquake shakes southern Alaska

Robert found this in the newspaper today.

Earthquake shakes southern Alaska: ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The U.S. Geological Survey says a preliminary magnitude 4.8 earthquake has shaken Anchorage and other communities in southern Alaska, but no damage has been reported.

The earthquake was recorded at 1:48 a.m.local time Saturday. The USGS National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo., says it was most strongly felt n the Valdez area.

The quake was centered about 100 miles east-north-east of Anchorage and 25 miles south of Nelchina. It was about 20 miles deep.
-BY ASSOCIATED PRESS"

Valdez is about 45 miles away from Cordova. I assume no news is good news. I will ask him about it tomorrow when we receive our email.

Beautiful Cordova!

Wow...how grateful Sean is to have begun serving his mission in such a beautiful place!