February 24, 2014

Hey guys!! I hope that your weeks were great! Mine was great..but also really challenging! Being in a trio is super different. It's what the Lord wants for me at this time and I am learning soo much! So to catch you up..last Monday we got to go to the temple with the Rosenberg's and 2 of the Elders in our ward. I love going to the temple! The next time I'll be able to go is September! I felt the spirit so strongly and I was so grateful for that opportunity! We came home after that and shopped and then got to work! We were going to do some tracting but the day before we'd gotten some records of people to go check on and so we decided to go check on James. We knocked on the door and an older Asian man answered. We thought we had the wrong house, but when we asked for James, he told us to come in and wait. A few moments later he came back with a younger man covered in tattoos. He looked pretty surprised to see us!! We got him to tell us about his background. he was baptized in Florida about 3 years ago but quit attending church and is currently attending a church in Manassas. We asked him why he stopped attending our church and he said he didn't really have a reason. He's been back and forth between here and Florida for awhile now and he just sort of quit going. We invited him to come back and although he will be in California for the next 2 weeks, he says he'll try to come when he gets back. We shared Romans 38: 38-39 with him and told him how much Heavenly Father loves him and that it doesn't matter where he's been! I'm so grateful we got to meet him! he is so sweet and I think he's just slipped under the radar for awhile and now it's time for him to see that he is remembered!! after that visit we stopped to check on Bethany. she wasn't home but we had a really good visit with her dad. then we checked on Debbie, a former investigator. we set up an appointment with her for next Wednesday! after that we had FHE with La'vonne and Teya. we talked about how God doesn't always give us the answers. we are left in the dark at times. but that those are the times when we need to focus on our faith and not worry about what we don't know! we played a fun game and then went on our way! that night we found out we would be getting a new companion the next day! Tuesday was soo wonderful! we had zone conference from 8 to 4, so it was a very looong day!I learned so much at zone conference! the 2 focuses were revelation through the Book of Mormon, and revelation through church attendance. President Riggs encouraged us to use the scriptures (especially the Book of Mormon) in our teaching and to really get to know the scriptures and Preach My Gospel. He told us that right now we need to be studying for those we teach, not for ourselves. I had the great opportunity to practice teach in front of President Riggs. I was nervous, but at the same time I felt like I sort of knew what I was doing. the advice he gave me was to let my passion for the gospel show as I teach. If someone isn't really "into it", get them to be! help them become passionate about it. that's something I really want to implement into the work! sister Riggs spoke to us about having "good cheer". she shared some amazing stories of her ancestors who suffered so much. she told us how they remained positive through all their trials. she told us "we are missionaries! we get to serve the Lord 24/7 for 18 months to 2 years. we have no reason not to be happy!" she talked about how we need to choose to be happy now and not let our happiness depend on our circumstances.I think I really needed to hear that! I left the conference feeling so inspired! after that we emailed and then came home and started to rearrange our apartment so that our new sister could fit. then we went and picked her up from the mission home! sister Wilcox is from Oren, Utah and is really really sweet! Wednesday was really good! different, but good! Sister Wilcox wasn't feeling well in the morning so we studied until she felt better. we were supposed to have an exchange that day but we cancelled that. she felt a little better in the afternoon so we went and did FB but after that she wasn't feeling good again so we came home. I cleaned the kitchen and read ensigns and watched legacy. after about 6 sister Wilcox felt better so we went and checked on sister a sister we had set up an appointment with, but she was not home! then we tried some other people with no luck! we ended the night seeing sister francisco. we had a really awesome lesson with her. she's got such a wonderful testimony and it's really cool to see how when we teach the members, we see who we should bring to our lessons! Thursday was better than Wednesday, but still not the most fruitful. sister Phelps was sick that morning, so sister Wilcox and i studied together. it was actually really fun getting to know her better. she is an awesome teacher and a very powerful missionary! after sister Phelps got up we ate and then headed out to do a bunch of visa stuff! i had to get fingerprints and a money order and send it all as express mail! hopefully that'll result in a visa!! then we did FB stuff. after FB we went and mailed my visa stuff and then ate. after dinner we had a lesson with Teya! it was a lot of fun! we taught about the after life and there were some really powerful moments where the spirit was so strong! it was good to just have the lesson with Teya and Maddie. i feel like Teya's true feelings came out more. she still dodges the baptism bullet, but it was still a good visit! after the lesson we went home and the office elders brought me a new bed! so now i have a twin! it's definitely comfier than my old bed so I'm happy! :) Friday was actually really awesome! we got to have comp study all together which was awesome and we got to know each other a bit better. we did weekly planning all afternoon and had the most amazing experience during companionship inventory! to be honest it made me feel like a total loser for complaining about my visa. i am grateful that heavenly father showed me that I really have so much to be grateful for! i never fully realized how amazing of a family I grew up in. I'm not sure I recognized how blessed we are! I'm not sure if i fully understand the magnitude of any of the incredible blessings I've received and do receive. it really was an awesome reminder! after weekly planning we did FB, and then we headed to a baptism in Warrenton, sister Wilcox's last area! i want to serve there so bad! their youth are so powerful and it's out in the country! it's really pretty and really far away! sister Thompson drove us. it was fun to see sister Wilcox's old ward and they missed her so much already! we didn't get home until 11:00! very exhausting!! Saturday was a roller coaster for sure! our stake had a mini-MTC and we got to go help with it! oh my gosh it was soo much fun! the youth each got assigned to a different mission and they all \had their own name tags. it was super cute! i was in charge of being the district leader for the Jackson Missouri mission. my group was mainly 12 year olds and they were CRAZY. they were fun though! we got to help with one of the classes and I had the privilege of teaching kids how to iron..lol! i thought that was a pretty obvious skill but apparently not...some of the boys would start ironing and then get distracted and they'd leave the iron on their shirt!!! some of the kids didn't know what a collar was! it was really fun and funny to teach them. after that we got to take 2 laurels out on splits with us! that was a really great experience for me. the 2 girls who came with us were not exactly excited to be there! we took them to see La'vonne. she was definitely the perfect person for us to see. she asked the girls a lot about their faith and testimonies and if they really believed or if they just came because their parents wanted them to. it really helped them see that they have stronger testimonies than they thought! it proved to me to never judge a book by its cover!! it was so fun to work with those sweet girls and it made me want to work more with the youth here. after the mini mtc we went and helped sister Thompson do service. i windexed her huge windows, mopped, dusted, organized cupboards..you name it i did it! then she took us to dinner! when we were eating i looked around the restaurant and i saw so many people trying to find happiness in the wrong ways. some were drinking, some were just caught up in their phones completely ignoring who ever they were with. at first it was really depressing, but then I remembered my calling! i remembered that I am here to help these people change and find happiness! I'm grateful for that knowledge that provides me with such hope. that day was rough though. i had so many amazing experiences, yet i was really struggling. being in a trio is not easy! someone told me about it before, that it's like when you're a little kid and you can only have one best friend. well being in a trio is like that. it's a super weird dynamic because sometimes you're really hitting it off with one comp and another time you're united with the other. and Satan uses that jealous and insecurity like none other!! today my companions were really hitting it off! they have a very natural bond because of their trials. so silly me, i was jealous! i felt left out! i felt so much pressure because I am the "strong one" right now. i felt so overwhelmed. i went into the bathroom and knelt right by the toilet-sister ketch style!-and I prayed probably harder than I've ever prayed before. I poured my soul out! I let Heavenly Father know everything! i asked Him to just show me, just prove to me His love. I waited for a sign and the quote came to my mind "if you want to find an answer to your prayers, read the scriptures." so i did. and i wish i could really describe to you what I felt. all I can say is that I know He loves me. And by reading His words, He showed me His love! Faith is not dormant! we have to act! we must search for the good in the world and do everything we can to be in a position to feel His love. Missions are rough! I get overwhelmed. But day after day I am gaining a firmer testimony that He is with me every step of the way! I never walk alone! Even though it was after a really hard day that I learned this, I'm still so grateful for everything that happened that day. Sunday was another roller coaster... the day started out really well! during sacrament I decided to read in Luke and I read about when Peter denied Christ. that part hit me especially hard for some reason. I just can't imagine having to go through what Christ went through. He knew Peter would betray him. yet he still loved Him so much and treated him so well! and to have someone who is that close to you betray you in that way is almost unfathomable to me! it just made me even more grateful for the savior! there were some incredible talks given in church as well. one was about faith and the other was about missionary work! i may be biased but the missionary work one was my favorite! :) the speaker had so much passion and i think it really inspired the ward to do better! the trouble started in Sunday school. they were talking about the Millennium and the conversation got really heated. it was probably the most uncomfortable Sunday school class I've been in! after church we ate and then took La'vonne and Teya to the visitors center. the whole way there la'vonne was just venting about the class and asking questions none of us could answer! I was hopeful that the vistors center would help, but I really don't know that it did. it felt like it had been more of burden than a blessing for them. it was really disappointing and when i got back i just wanted to burst into tears! after they dropped us off we had correlation. after that we had a big long talk about our level of diligence and thankfully my companions were on my side. i just want the best for this area! after that we all talked about la'vonne and how to help her and teya and it was just so nice to get all of my feelings out! i have never been one to want to talk about stuff I'm struggling with, but it really helps a lot. today i am still really struggling with the whole insecurity stuff, so please keep me in your prayers! I am not doubting that the Lord has made a mistake by putting me in a trio! it is just a little bit hard. but I know that during the hard times I really do learn the most! I love you all tons and am constantly praying for you! you really are the best and I'm grateful that I have a support system like you! love you all so so much! Sister Pehrson