THANKS EVERYONE(:

 Thanks Mandy!!

 she tried to help me out of the chair.. 

but then the chair tipped.. haha

 Cuddles on Christmas love sacs!!

 Skype!!!

 My View :)

 The Hippo :)

 getting my chair massage!! <3 kinda weird as a missionary..

 texas roadhouse

Hey everybody!!

How was everyone's Christmas?!? Mine was great!! It was so good to see my family on skype Christmas night! It was really good, but man! Saying goodbye felt like the goodbye I had at the MTC all over again! Its like breaking up old wounds.. I am good now, the missionary bubble is encompassing me again. But that next few hours was really rough. I was just balling! Yup, its embarrassing. I am just glad I had Sister Chismar! She is just great!  But man oh man I am truly, enormously blessed to be a part of my family! If you don't feel blessed to be a part of your family, go serve a mission. Nuff said. 

This week has been pretty slow.. Sister Chismar and I have been really sick ALL week! And almost every single morning we woke up to different symptoms.. So this might sound strange, but we have been just laughing through our sickness together! Haha. I think its HILARIOUS to laugh at our struggles. Its the only way I know how to get through it on a positive note. So instead of crying, I laugh. However we really were able to pick up the pace again on Saturday and Sunday. I think if anything, being sick just helped me to get a little jump start. Now its just keeping that pace up, because those were definitely miracle days. I am so excited for this week though, because I am feeling a little bit better. I still have a stuffy/runny nose, sore throat, and headache.. but no more fever! So the sun is coming out from behind the clouds! I had actually received a blessing from the elders to help with it too. In it I was told that I will learn patience and long-suffering from this.. but I don't know how to tell if I did learn anything from it. haha. If anything, being sick just reminds you to be grateful for your health. (:  It was really good, but man! Saying goodbye felt like the goodbye I had at the MTC all over again! Its like breaking up old wounds.. I am good now, the missionary bubble is encompassing me again. But that next few hours was really rough. I was just balling! Yup, its embarrassing. I am just glad I had Sister Chismar! She is just great! 

So I don't know if you noticed at all or not.. but I am writing a little bit later in the day today. We decided to write last today. So we can tell you about our awesome P-day today! So since we have been pretty miserable all week from being sick, we decided that we need to have a fun relaxing P-day. So we start off by getting permission, of course, to do a couple things. We start off going to the mall(out of our area), then in the mall we got massages!!! I have never had a massage before, it was great! We were just told from the assistance that we couldn't have a lie-down massage. So we had a chair massage and got a foot massage! I was so relaxed! So even though we are still sick, I dont even care, because my body is relaxed!(: Then we went out to eat at a place I have never been before, Texas Roadhouse. It was so good! I was just throwing peanuts on the ground.. well that part felt a little weird, but I guess that is what you're supposed to do.. haha. But it has been a good day, and will be a great week full of miracles and hard work!!

 Love you all,

Sister Steffani Stokes<3

Skype on Christmas with Steffani :)

Christmas with the Mission Family :)

 at christmas conference with sister neilson,

 camera died right after 1 pic.. :(

 sticky noted sister pratt with allison because 

she was sick #GetBetter

 the door

 drove thru a drive-thru light show!!

 eaving drive-thru light show

Indiana sunset! <3

Hey everybody!

This week has been just Grand! I seriously just love love love the Christmas Season so much! It feels like a freebie on feeling the spirit, because the spirit naturally comes with the season. Maybe that is why they always have our New Years resolutions right after Christmas!? Because we are a little more sensitive to the spirit to guide us on things we can accomplish the next year! I want to invite all of you to start contemplating what your new years resolutions will be as we have the spirit of Christ in our homes this Christmas.

So Allison, our investigator, didn't end up getting baptized this weekend.. :( But her reason is understandable. If she was to get baptized in our church, her husband said she would be dead to him. They have been married for 16 years, and have a couple kids. So she doesn't want to ruin that. She feels just like a member already to me though. She helps serve people in the church, offers to pray in the meetings on Sunday, participates more than the other members in lessons, etc.. she is seriously so AWESOME! She is still coming to church every single Sunday, and when she prayed about the baptism with her new situation, the spirit told her that she would be able to be baptized soon. Just not quite yet. So we have been working on serving her husband a little bit this week, to show him that we are nice people, and normal for that matter. Haha. So his birthday was on the 20th this month, so we decked his whole front door out in sticky notes and left some goodies at the front door. Allison saw it first, and just loved it! We haven't heard what Allen thought of them yet though, because he wasn't home when we did it. 

We also had a Christmas Zone Conference this past week on wednesday! It was so much fun! WE GOT TO SEE MEET THE MORMONS!!!!!! It was so good! I guess our president had to "fight" to get the approval of us to watch that! Lol. So glad he did though, because it was awesome! We had hot chocolate, popcorn, candy canes, and cookies while we watched it. I felt like I was in Uncle Corys and Katherines Garage theater room! It was so much fun! We also got a couple packages while we were there! I may have tried to cheat and open them before Christmas this Thursday.. but when I opened them everything was wrapped up individually.. hahaha, my parents know me too well! So i decided I could wait.

I AM SO EXCITED TO CALL HOME THIS CHRISTMAS!!!! I just can't believe its Christmas already! I remember when I called home for mothers day when I was going to see you guys 2 days later.. Too bad its not exactly the same situation.. haha. But its going to be so great! I love and miss you all, and LITERALLY, I will talk to you soon!

Love Always,

Sister Steffani Stokes<3

Muncie Indiana Photos

 silly selfies

 mae and sister Baker

 Allisons family on the right and the Pratts family on the left. We are at the ward Christmas Party!

 the smiley face house!!!!

 me and the giraffe

 smiley face hydrant

 rudolph! :D

 just for you dad(: haha

 wearing skirts we made on a p-day with sister Baker

 Allison our investigator getting baptized 20th drove us there

 in chick-fil-a after 6hr car trip!!

 helping decorate sister Paynes tree

 got a package from the ward!!! :D 

I was sooooo happy that day!

all the subway cards in the package!!

 teaching them how to play the piano(:

 the pratt kids(:

 our cute house(: