Glad to see the Virgin Valley kids could all be united in the MTC for a minute anyways💚 Sister Sadea Reidhead, Sister Kallie Graves, Elder Jazon Kazek, Elder Cade Haviland, Elder Keith Rushton and Elder Nathen Abbott

On Saturday, November 16th, Youth Temple & Family History Consultants were invited to come together and discover the excitement of learning about their ancestors and how to help others learn about their ancestors. Each consultant received a toolkit with resources and ideas to help them and others in this adventure of discovery. Workshops included Indexing and the Family Tree App. Experiences were shared on how Indexing has helped people all over the world learn more about their ancestors and the places their families came from and how their service indexing continues to provide more and more of these experiences. As they participated exploring the features o the Family Tree App, the youth were able to not only have fun discovering which of their ancestors they look most like, but also expand the skills of their leaders using this technology. The morning of training and discovery ended with a feast of pizza and root beer.

My wife and I were born and raised in Washington, Utah. We both had typical small town life’s. Darcee’s dad passed away when she was 12. He was a school teacher at Washington Elementary. His wife Liz Barney raised their 6 kids on her own the rest of the way and never remarried. Darcee and I met in high school through friends of fiends. She wrote occasionally while I served a full time mission In Orlando, Florida. I was serving in a little town called Okeechobee. oddly during my time serving there I was receiving promptings that I would live there some day. I quickly brushed aside the feelings and figured some day with my future wife, would serve a mission there in that area possibly. Also in that area I met my oldest son Markies’s. He was 3 years old at the time. His grandmother was raising his older brother and 2 older sisters. When I got home from my mission my future wife and mother in law met me at the air port to welcome me back home. After a week or so we began dating and have been inseparable ever since! We were married in the St George temple Feb 7 2003. That same year 9 months later November 7th Jaeden was born. 2 years later our beautiful daughter Avery was born. 4 years after that our son Treyson was born. Life was amazing living the gospel life in southern Utah and it could not get much better than that (so we thought) Little did we know things were about to get turned up side down. My wife and I in 2010 went to Orlando for a business meeting. While in Orlando my wife and I attended church in the little branch from my mission in Okeechobee. It was a great reunion. We saw people that were taught and baptized while I served in the small branch. The spirit felt was strong and refreshing. While there we asked Markies’s grandma if he did well in school that year if we could bring him to Utah for the summer. She agreed. On the plane ride home my wife with tears in her eyes told me she had had promptings to move to the Okeechobee branch and help out. The feelings from my mission days rushed back and I knew then she was right and that was where we needed to be. Then I wasn’t not sure. A few weeks after our trip President Alonzo in Conference 2011 gave a talk and urged us to do what was right without delay. This was the answer we were looking for. We immediately put our house up for sale, sold our business and loaded our 3 kids into a RV and headed for Florida. When we got there life was simple and much different than our Utah life. Our kids were the minority as far as religion in there school. Darcee and I held many callings in our time there in the small branch. 1 1/2 years later we were presented with the opportunity to move back home to help family out. Markies had been living with us in Okeechobee so when we decided to move back out west we asked Mary (Markies grandma) if we could get guardianship of him and take him with us. Seeing an amazing opportunity for her grandson as a loving grandmother she agreed. We moved back to Utah for only about a year when the company I worked for back in Florida asked if I would come back and run a department for them in Okeechobee. We prayed about it and felt strongly it was to happen so back to Florida we went. Markies graduated (first one in his family to do so) then got a mission call to Bakersfield California. As proud of him as we were it was so hard to see him go. Jaeden, Avery and Treyson were heart broken to see their oldest brother leave. We never knew that they could grow so close. After he left for his mission in Bakersfield another career opportunity came up in Mesquite to work for the Ken Garff dealership. It was an answer to our prayers again. We packed up the family and moved to Mesquite. While In Mesquite we began to foster little ones through Clark County out of Las Vegas. In January 2019 we adopted our little girl Jizelle that we took placement of when she was 2 weeks old. Then In March of the same year we adopted our little girl Athena that we brought home from the hospital in foster care. All three are now sealed to us for time and all eternity. Markies is married to our lovely daughter in law Hanna and they have a beautiful little girl, Aurora our 1st grandchild. We currently foster 2 more little ones and have not been this happy ever. Life in the valley couldn’t be more amazing!! We love the stake and the surrounding areas here in Mesquite Nevada. We are so blessed to have been led on this amazing journey and can’t wait to see what great things the Lord has in store for us and our little growing family in the future. There are so many blessings and faith promoting situation’s to list on this small abbreviation of the last few years of your lives but we know we have been led here by divine intervention and this is where Heavenly Father wants our little growing family.

During the holiday season we will have several opportunities to share of ourselves and give to those who might have need. 1. Boy Scout Food Drive - Cub Scout will be delivering food bag this week and on Saturday (Nov. 16) Boy Scouts will be gathering those bags (filled with nonperishable foods). 2. Kettle bell ringers. If you haven't had the opportunity to signup yet, you can drop by Salvation Army and volunteer your time at various locations. 3. December 5 - Wards throughout the Stake will be participating the the Light parade in Mesquite and the purpose of this parade is to gather food for local food pantries. We invite all to participate and give as their time and means allow. President David Jay Anderson

Sister Taylor Anne Barnum has returned from her mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.She served in the Seattle Washington Mission. Her parents are Ron and Lisa Barnum of the Mesquite 4th Ward. Sister Taylor Barnum will speak on November 17 in the Bunkerville 1st Ward at 10:30 am. Welcome home!

Sister Savannah Marie Price accepted a call for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her mission will be served in the Paraguay Ascension Mission, Spanish speaking. Savannah will leave on December 3, 2019. Jarrod and Brianna Price of the Mesquite 2nd Ward are her parents. Sister Savannah Price will be speaking in the Littlefield Chapel on November 17 at 11:00 am. It is located at 3260 E. Old Highway 91. November 24 at 9 am Sister Price will speak in the Young Single Adult Branch in the Seminary Building, located 845 Valley View Dr.

November 3 Bishop only training. All the bishops came to be trained by the Stake Presidency.

More than 100 people from 8 to 80 years of age from the Mesquite Nevada Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints showed up to answer the call for help from the Salvation Army Saturday, Oct 21. Their task was to move the entire operation of the local Salvation Army in the Brickyard Plaza to their new location on Pioneer Boulevard. They brought with them seven trucks and trailers, donned the well know yellow “Mormon Helping Hands” vests, and kept busy moving everything in just 90 minutes! Lines of people out the front and back doors passed items such as boxes of canned foods and cases of bottled water from person to person filling the vehicles which then headed to the new location. There the items were received by another human conveyer belt as the selves were stocked and the building was filled to the brim. Stake President David Anderson was happy to organize the efforts and pleased with the response. He was heard to quote the Church’s 13th Article of Faith which includes the sentence “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.” President Anderson appreciates that this project helped the Salvation Army who does a lot of good for our community. Smiling faces and cheerful chatter reinforced the idea that serving others brings happiness.

Elder Layton Woods has served a two year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.He will return on Saturday, October 19th. Layton Woods is the son of John and Jennifer Woods of the Mesquite 4th Ward. Elder Layton Woods will report his mission to the Mesquite 4th Ward on Sunday October 27th at 11:00am at the Stake Center.

Come join in a Stake service project, moving Salvation Army to their new place. Everyone is invited to help! Saturday morning, the 19th 8:30 @ Stake Center to get a helping hands vest or t shirt 9:00 meet at Salvation Army to help with the move

Elder Keith Hare Rushton will serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His 24 month service will be in Minneapolis Minnesota Mission. Keith reports to the Missionary Training Center on October 23rd. Richard and Susan Rushton of the Mesquite 3rd Ward are his parents. Elder Keith Rushton will speak in the Whipple Chapel on October 20, 2019 at 9 am.