Hola Familia!
It was so much fun to get to talk to you guys on Christmas! I really do have the best family and friends. I love you!
This rest of the day was really fun. We played games with a family in our ward. They have 4 young kids and it was fun to see them excited. We had a really good time with them. Later on we went to the Poll's to have a Micronesian Christmas dinner! They had a ton of family over and it was packed but lots of fun. There was soooo much food. We had lumpias and pancit and lots of other good stuff! I think it is all really similar to food from the Philippines.
The last few days have also been great! We saw Gh and he came to church this Sunday! He was really tired because he had stayed up the night before but he's trying! We also saw Ny and had a great lesson and she came to church again and loved it too.
Brother K is doing awesome. He couldn't come to church this week because he was working but earlier this week we had a great lesson about the 10 commandments. Actually we only made it through the first 5 because he had so many questions but they were all really good. He likes to understands things really clearly but then has so much faith to act even if he doesn't get answers to everything. It's the perfect formula to find truth. We have to understand doctrine and also have the faith to act. We are seeing him tomorrow; should be great!
There is a recent convert mom and daughter who are awesome. Their names are Ajulu and Odonga. I've probably mentioned them before. Anyways, Ajulu's son and step-son are here right now and came to church and loved it! They are here for a few weeks and are going to be moving here soon. They are really interested in the church and the one son participated a ton in our Sunday School lesson. It was awesome!
This week should be another great one! I hope it is great for all of you and that you have a very happy new year! :)
Love,
Hermana Pierce
Bonus material:
Good morning,
I am going through a couple of your emails from the last month or so and wanted to follow up on a few things.
First of all, why do you sometimes call Ma, Brother K? And you mentioned he’d set Jan 24 as his baptismal date. Is that still the date?
So have you had any follow up with the gal who works at Walmart that you took the pie too on Thanksgiving?
Also, I wanted to ask you when we were talking on the phone if you had had much opportunity to use music on your mission, play the piano, sing or anything like that.
How is D doing? Have you had any follow up with him?
Thanks! Love you!
Dad
Hermana Pierce's response
Ok so we started out calling him Ma because that's how he introduced himself but we asked if it would be okay if we just called him brother k because that's how we refer to each other in the church... and its weird calling him his first name since he is a doctor. and he probably won't be ready by the 24th because of some things that have come up with his brother living with him and also he needs to come to church more... but soon! No, we haven't had any follow up with her... we saw her one time when we were at walmart and she came and gave us a hug!
Haha D.. So we had a lesson with him a few weeks ago but we didn't even teach him because he was super drunk. It was ridiculous. But then last week he came to our lesson with his friend Evans who is a member and he was sober and it went well. He had good questions. Maybe something will happen in the future with him but he's got a lot of problems and isn't willing to do enough to fix them at this point.
Haha, so that's the update! Sorry, I always forget what I tell you guys so I'm sure I forget to follow up on lots of things!
Love you!
Monday, December 29, 2014
Feliz Navidad ♥ (Dec 22)
Merry Christmas!
The days are going by so fast; I can't believe it is already almost Christmas! Being a missionary at this time of year is an amazing experience because every day is truly focused on Jesus Christ. As fun as the other traditions are, when you aren't thinking about them it gives you a lot more time to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. I'm very grateful to be here this year.
This week got off onto a great start with exchanges. I went to Rochester with Hermana Jones, who came out when I did. She is an awesome missionary and we had a lot of fun. She taught me a lot and the Lord answered several of my prayers through her. I always love exchanges for that reason!
We had a great lesson with Se at a member's home again. I really have come to love this girl. She is doing awesome! The whole ward is excited for her baptism, especially the young women.
The highlight for me this week was teaching Brother K the Word of Wisdom. We read from it in D&C 89 and he was amazed that Joseph Smith could have known that tobacco is bad for the body in the 1800s. He, being a doctor, really could appreciate that. We went on to read about hot drinks and explained that it meant coffee and tea. He told us that he drinks 3-4 cups of coffee every single morning. Without asking why it wasn't allowed and without us giving any reason or blessing or anything he told us that he was going to have to stop drinking it. What faith! He said he thinks it might be hard but he is going to stop and get rid of his coffee maker at work and everything. We didn't even have to ask. It was so cool! What really made the week great though was that he came to church to the Christmas program yesterday!! I'm so happy things are going so well with him and excited for our lesson on Tuesday! :)
I'm excited to talk to you guys on Christmas day! Have a great couple days until then. Talk to you soon!
Love,
Hermana Pierce
The days are going by so fast; I can't believe it is already almost Christmas! Being a missionary at this time of year is an amazing experience because every day is truly focused on Jesus Christ. As fun as the other traditions are, when you aren't thinking about them it gives you a lot more time to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. I'm very grateful to be here this year.
This week got off onto a great start with exchanges. I went to Rochester with Hermana Jones, who came out when I did. She is an awesome missionary and we had a lot of fun. She taught me a lot and the Lord answered several of my prayers through her. I always love exchanges for that reason!
We had a great lesson with Se at a member's home again. I really have come to love this girl. She is doing awesome! The whole ward is excited for her baptism, especially the young women.
The highlight for me this week was teaching Brother K the Word of Wisdom. We read from it in D&C 89 and he was amazed that Joseph Smith could have known that tobacco is bad for the body in the 1800s. He, being a doctor, really could appreciate that. We went on to read about hot drinks and explained that it meant coffee and tea. He told us that he drinks 3-4 cups of coffee every single morning. Without asking why it wasn't allowed and without us giving any reason or blessing or anything he told us that he was going to have to stop drinking it. What faith! He said he thinks it might be hard but he is going to stop and get rid of his coffee maker at work and everything. We didn't even have to ask. It was so cool! What really made the week great though was that he came to church to the Christmas program yesterday!! I'm so happy things are going so well with him and excited for our lesson on Tuesday! :)
I'm excited to talk to you guys on Christmas day! Have a great couple days until then. Talk to you soon!
Love,
Hermana Pierce
Merry Spring? (Dec 15)
Buenos Dias!
It really is like Spring here.. Its about 50 degrees and rainy! It's fine with me though!
As always, I was able to enjoy another wonderful, miracle-filled week and learned a lot! Last Monday we had a family home evening with some ward members and Gh. He loved it! He has met several members now and is making a lot of friends which is great.
We were able to see just about everyone this week and had some really cool things happen. Ca, Ju's sister opened up to us about her fears of coming to church and basically acting on the gospel. She really wants and needs it in her life, but she is nervous because so much is going on right now and she can't quite see how much the gospel really will help her! She committed to come to church on Sunday but then there was a weird situation with Ju's husband being stranded and out of gas Sunday morning when we stopped by to help them come. Satan is relentless with finding things to keep people from church.
We did have some people come though yesterday and it was awesome. Se came again and she is set for baptism on January 17! We had a really good lesson with her in the home of one of her young women leaders. She shared her testimony with us and the Spirit confirmed to Hermana Ficklin and I that she is ready! :)
We also had one of our new investigators, N come to church. We met her last week and she is amazing. She has one of the saddest life stories I have ever heard, but she is still somehow so happy and kind and she absolutely loved church! She felt so loved by the members who were awesome and reached out to her. She told us she will be coming every Sunday and she is going to bring her kids too who are teenagers! One of the members already knows her and her kids so that was cool too.
We finally saw Brother K and had a great lesson! He has been sooo busy because one of the doctors is having a baby and he has had to help out a lot and be on call a ton. Because of that, he couldn't come to church :( Next week! He told us some ways that he has changed his perspective since first meeting with us. He used to not believe that God really communicates with us individually. He now knows for sure that He does and has begun to see it in his life. His testimony of the Book of Mormon is growing and he always reads more than we assign him. :)
I think I told you all last week that I was struggling with being patient when people didn't keep their commitments and didn't come to church. Yesterday I decided to fast that Ju's family and Ma especially could come to church as well as our other investigators, but that if they didn't that Heavenly Father would help me to be patient. Well, they didn't come, but others did! (C came too!) And I definitely have felt an added amount of patience. I wasn't upset, but already looking forward to next Sunday and planning everything that we can do to get them there then. The Lord is in charge. This is His work, and I don't have to worry because He cares about them coming to church even more than I do, yet He knows what they need and when they need it.
I love you all! Have a great week!
♥Hermana Pierce
It really is like Spring here.. Its about 50 degrees and rainy! It's fine with me though!
As always, I was able to enjoy another wonderful, miracle-filled week and learned a lot! Last Monday we had a family home evening with some ward members and Gh. He loved it! He has met several members now and is making a lot of friends which is great.
We were able to see just about everyone this week and had some really cool things happen. Ca, Ju's sister opened up to us about her fears of coming to church and basically acting on the gospel. She really wants and needs it in her life, but she is nervous because so much is going on right now and she can't quite see how much the gospel really will help her! She committed to come to church on Sunday but then there was a weird situation with Ju's husband being stranded and out of gas Sunday morning when we stopped by to help them come. Satan is relentless with finding things to keep people from church.
We did have some people come though yesterday and it was awesome. Se came again and she is set for baptism on January 17! We had a really good lesson with her in the home of one of her young women leaders. She shared her testimony with us and the Spirit confirmed to Hermana Ficklin and I that she is ready! :)
We also had one of our new investigators, N come to church. We met her last week and she is amazing. She has one of the saddest life stories I have ever heard, but she is still somehow so happy and kind and she absolutely loved church! She felt so loved by the members who were awesome and reached out to her. She told us she will be coming every Sunday and she is going to bring her kids too who are teenagers! One of the members already knows her and her kids so that was cool too.
We finally saw Brother K and had a great lesson! He has been sooo busy because one of the doctors is having a baby and he has had to help out a lot and be on call a ton. Because of that, he couldn't come to church :( Next week! He told us some ways that he has changed his perspective since first meeting with us. He used to not believe that God really communicates with us individually. He now knows for sure that He does and has begun to see it in his life. His testimony of the Book of Mormon is growing and he always reads more than we assign him. :)
I think I told you all last week that I was struggling with being patient when people didn't keep their commitments and didn't come to church. Yesterday I decided to fast that Ju's family and Ma especially could come to church as well as our other investigators, but that if they didn't that Heavenly Father would help me to be patient. Well, they didn't come, but others did! (C came too!) And I definitely have felt an added amount of patience. I wasn't upset, but already looking forward to next Sunday and planning everything that we can do to get them there then. The Lord is in charge. This is His work, and I don't have to worry because He cares about them coming to church even more than I do, yet He knows what they need and when they need it.
I love you all! Have a great week!
♥Hermana Pierce
Tis the Season (Dec 8)
Feliz Navidad!
We haven't gotten much snow lately, but it definitely feels like Christmas time around here! We had our Christmas Zone Conference, a nativity activity in Rochester, and the First Presidency Devotional last night!
We weren't able to see Brother K because he was in Rochester the whole week. His brother has cancer and it has been progressing quickly. He almost came to the devotional last night but got called in last minute for a four hour surgery. We will definitely be seeing him this week though!
Gh came with us to the nativity activity and loved it! They had tons of Nativity scenes from all over the world set up and different groups performed Christmas music. We taught him this week about some more commandments and the thing that is great is he is completely honest. He tells us when he thinks a commandment is too hard to live. He has a lot of changes he needs to make, but little by little. We were teaching about the word of wisdom and he asked us if we ever drink alcohol. We told him no and he said, 'wow, I want to be like that! I want to be able to say I never drink!'
We taught Ju and her whole family about the Plan of Salvation. The kids all listened intently and asked tons of awesome questions. They really got thinking about it. Unfortunately they were out of town this weekend and didn't come to church. If my mission is teaching me anything it is definitely to be patient. It can get so frustrating when week after week awesome investigators don't come to church. I just have to remember that the Lord is so patient with me when I don't do what He wants me to. That helps a little but I'm still working on it! Haha
Last week we were teaching one of our recent converts and several friends were there also. One of them, D, was really interested. He told us he is trying to figure out what church is true and he has lots of doubts and questions. We told him that God was answering his prayer and that we knew how he could find the truth. We taught about the restored gospel and the Book of Mormon. Just this week he called and asked us if we could bring him a copy of the Book of Mormon to read for himself. He told us he knows he won't find out if its true if he doesn't read it! So true! haha. We brought him a copy and he has already been reading from it!
I hope that you all have a great week! Love you!
Love,
Hermana Pierce
We haven't gotten much snow lately, but it definitely feels like Christmas time around here! We had our Christmas Zone Conference, a nativity activity in Rochester, and the First Presidency Devotional last night!
We weren't able to see Brother K because he was in Rochester the whole week. His brother has cancer and it has been progressing quickly. He almost came to the devotional last night but got called in last minute for a four hour surgery. We will definitely be seeing him this week though!
Gh came with us to the nativity activity and loved it! They had tons of Nativity scenes from all over the world set up and different groups performed Christmas music. We taught him this week about some more commandments and the thing that is great is he is completely honest. He tells us when he thinks a commandment is too hard to live. He has a lot of changes he needs to make, but little by little. We were teaching about the word of wisdom and he asked us if we ever drink alcohol. We told him no and he said, 'wow, I want to be like that! I want to be able to say I never drink!'
We taught Ju and her whole family about the Plan of Salvation. The kids all listened intently and asked tons of awesome questions. They really got thinking about it. Unfortunately they were out of town this weekend and didn't come to church. If my mission is teaching me anything it is definitely to be patient. It can get so frustrating when week after week awesome investigators don't come to church. I just have to remember that the Lord is so patient with me when I don't do what He wants me to. That helps a little but I'm still working on it! Haha
Last week we were teaching one of our recent converts and several friends were there also. One of them, D, was really interested. He told us he is trying to figure out what church is true and he has lots of doubts and questions. We told him that God was answering his prayer and that we knew how he could find the truth. We taught about the restored gospel and the Book of Mormon. Just this week he called and asked us if we could bring him a copy of the Book of Mormon to read for himself. He told us he knows he won't find out if its true if he doesn't read it! So true! haha. We brought him a copy and he has already been reading from it!
I hope that you all have a great week! Love you!
Love,
Hermana Pierce
Hola!! (Dec 1)
Hola hola!
Yet again, I have had another great, crazy week! This morning I actually was in jail for a few hours... And by that I mean I was at the court building where the jail is helping translate for a former investigator who had to go because of this really long story that I'll explain after my mission.. haha. She speaks no English and this past week we have helped her a lot with talking to different people. I still don't know what I want to do as far as a career goes, but I think if I can find a way to combine using Spanish and something to do with law that would be awesome. We'll see!
Anyways, our investigators are still doing great! Brother K is doing more than great actually. We saw him Monday night and taught about the gift of the Holy Ghost. We asked Him to be baptized and he said, "yes, I think I should be." We set a date for him for January 24th, and although he seemed a little nervous he said if he is ready by that day he will be baptized!! We taught him again the other day about prophets and he loves the idea that our church continue to receives guidance through living prophets. Unfortunately he was on call this Sunday and couldn't come to church, but soon! He loves reading in the Book of Mormon and he even shares things that he likes from it with his friends or the people at work. :)
We had a good lesson with Gh and our lesson with Ge yesterday went really well! He seems to be a lot happier. Hopefully we can help him!
I can't remember if I've mentioned Ju and her family. She has two brothers that are less active members and the whole family has connections to members of the church in Missouri. We are teaching Ju, and her two sisters and all their children. There's about ten kids all together. We have had some fun family home evening lessons with them and they are all doing really well. On Friday, Bishop met with one of the sisters who is going through a divorce and some other hard things. There are a lot of problems in the family but slowly they seem to be realizing that the gospel of Jesus Christ can help!
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Mine was really good. It was our preparation day. A family in our ward had a bunch of other families from the ward over for Thanksgiving and they invited us as well. It was delicious! We played games for a little while with another member afterwards. We even did some Black Friday shopping! Haha, just kidding. We had made some pie earlier and did go to walmart to give some pie to a girl who was working there. We had met her on Monday when we got our groceries and she told us that she had to work Thanksgiving and has no family or friends here. She just moved here recently. So, we decided to give her some pie :)
I just wanted to share one thing that I really liked from church yesterday. The brother speaking asked us 'what is the one thing that makes you the most happy?' He said that for him it is his family and he then shared about his life and how he came to meet his wife. He is a convert from England and had different plans in life that didn't work out. Because of certain things not working out he was able to meet his wife at BYU and now has his family. His point was that sometimes we think we know what will make us most happy, but as humans we are very bad at actually knowing what will bring happiness. The Lord does indeed know though exactly what will make us most happy, and so sometimes he lets us miss opportunities so that other things can fall into place. I really liked that and am just so grateful that I have something that will always bring the most happiness and that is the gospel! Live it and love it! :)
Love,
Hermana Pierce
P.S.
This morning when we were helping the lady with translation she had to go to meet with someone who deals with people involved in alcohol/drugs (she wasn't into drugs/alcohol but its a long story)... while we were they we saw many, many people going in to get tested... they have weekly appointments. We talked to the guy and he sees so many people every week. I was honestly shocked. And these are just the people who have been charged with something/been in jail... not everyone who does drugs. It just made me so grateful that for one, I don't do drugs, drink etc, but I was especially grateful that I have such amazing parents who never had any of those things in our home or anywhere else. Thank you so much!!!! Love you!!
Yet again, I have had another great, crazy week! This morning I actually was in jail for a few hours... And by that I mean I was at the court building where the jail is helping translate for a former investigator who had to go because of this really long story that I'll explain after my mission.. haha. She speaks no English and this past week we have helped her a lot with talking to different people. I still don't know what I want to do as far as a career goes, but I think if I can find a way to combine using Spanish and something to do with law that would be awesome. We'll see!
Anyways, our investigators are still doing great! Brother K is doing more than great actually. We saw him Monday night and taught about the gift of the Holy Ghost. We asked Him to be baptized and he said, "yes, I think I should be." We set a date for him for January 24th, and although he seemed a little nervous he said if he is ready by that day he will be baptized!! We taught him again the other day about prophets and he loves the idea that our church continue to receives guidance through living prophets. Unfortunately he was on call this Sunday and couldn't come to church, but soon! He loves reading in the Book of Mormon and he even shares things that he likes from it with his friends or the people at work. :)
We had a good lesson with Gh and our lesson with Ge yesterday went really well! He seems to be a lot happier. Hopefully we can help him!
I can't remember if I've mentioned Ju and her family. She has two brothers that are less active members and the whole family has connections to members of the church in Missouri. We are teaching Ju, and her two sisters and all their children. There's about ten kids all together. We have had some fun family home evening lessons with them and they are all doing really well. On Friday, Bishop met with one of the sisters who is going through a divorce and some other hard things. There are a lot of problems in the family but slowly they seem to be realizing that the gospel of Jesus Christ can help!
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Mine was really good. It was our preparation day. A family in our ward had a bunch of other families from the ward over for Thanksgiving and they invited us as well. It was delicious! We played games for a little while with another member afterwards. We even did some Black Friday shopping! Haha, just kidding. We had made some pie earlier and did go to walmart to give some pie to a girl who was working there. We had met her on Monday when we got our groceries and she told us that she had to work Thanksgiving and has no family or friends here. She just moved here recently. So, we decided to give her some pie :)
I just wanted to share one thing that I really liked from church yesterday. The brother speaking asked us 'what is the one thing that makes you the most happy?' He said that for him it is his family and he then shared about his life and how he came to meet his wife. He is a convert from England and had different plans in life that didn't work out. Because of certain things not working out he was able to meet his wife at BYU and now has his family. His point was that sometimes we think we know what will make us most happy, but as humans we are very bad at actually knowing what will bring happiness. The Lord does indeed know though exactly what will make us most happy, and so sometimes he lets us miss opportunities so that other things can fall into place. I really liked that and am just so grateful that I have something that will always bring the most happiness and that is the gospel! Live it and love it! :)
Love,
Hermana Pierce
P.S.
This morning when we were helping the lady with translation she had to go to meet with someone who deals with people involved in alcohol/drugs (she wasn't into drugs/alcohol but its a long story)... while we were they we saw many, many people going in to get tested... they have weekly appointments. We talked to the guy and he sees so many people every week. I was honestly shocked. And these are just the people who have been charged with something/been in jail... not everyone who does drugs. It just made me so grateful that for one, I don't do drugs, drink etc, but I was especially grateful that I have such amazing parents who never had any of those things in our home or anywhere else. Thank you so much!!!! Love you!!
Feliz Dia de Pavo! (Nov 24)
Buenas Tardes!
I'm not really sure how it is even possible that this transfer is over. The good news is that Hermana Ficklin and I are both staying in Austin!! We are super happy!
This past week was awesome. We had lots of great lessons and saw many miracles like always. I have been adding to my list of things I'm grateful for every day and I have just been so happy as I have realized how blessed I am. It's amazing that such a little thing as writing down a few things every day could make such a huge impact in my life. We've also continued to work on 'staying on the line' and I really wish I would have learned this lesson at the beginning of my mission because things just go so much better! Even when they don't go how we plan, they work out!
One night this week we had dinner with Gh and two members, one who is a recent convert. She was baptized a few weeks before I came. It went really well and it was a good opportunity for Gh and also our recent convert who was able to share her testimony and how she has developed it so far. Slowly but surely things are changing with him!
Brother K is also doing amazing. We were able to teach him with a few different members this week and he is liking things more and more! He is in Rochester every other weekend so it has been difficult getting him to church, but hopefully this Sunday he can come so that he will really be able to progress!
I think I had mentioned that C has a friend living with her. Gi has been learning about the gospel for several weeks, but this week something amazing happened. We had taught them about prayer and she did what we committed her to do. She prayed every day the way we had described- we had talked about not trying to change God's will, but to find out what He wants us to do- and she saw dramatic differences in her life. She felt God's love, got a job, and several other things worked out for her too. She decided she really wants to quit her addictions and her and Cindy even came to church yesterday! I honestly didn't think that Gi would change so quickly, but the Lord prepares His children and we do not know who He is preparing!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I'm so grateful for my family, my friends, my mission and the amazing people here, the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, the chance I have to repent every day because of the atonement, and so many more things the Lord continues to bless me with!! Love you all!
Hermana Pierce
I'm not really sure how it is even possible that this transfer is over. The good news is that Hermana Ficklin and I are both staying in Austin!! We are super happy!
This past week was awesome. We had lots of great lessons and saw many miracles like always. I have been adding to my list of things I'm grateful for every day and I have just been so happy as I have realized how blessed I am. It's amazing that such a little thing as writing down a few things every day could make such a huge impact in my life. We've also continued to work on 'staying on the line' and I really wish I would have learned this lesson at the beginning of my mission because things just go so much better! Even when they don't go how we plan, they work out!
One night this week we had dinner with Gh and two members, one who is a recent convert. She was baptized a few weeks before I came. It went really well and it was a good opportunity for Gh and also our recent convert who was able to share her testimony and how she has developed it so far. Slowly but surely things are changing with him!
Brother K is also doing amazing. We were able to teach him with a few different members this week and he is liking things more and more! He is in Rochester every other weekend so it has been difficult getting him to church, but hopefully this Sunday he can come so that he will really be able to progress!
I think I had mentioned that C has a friend living with her. Gi has been learning about the gospel for several weeks, but this week something amazing happened. We had taught them about prayer and she did what we committed her to do. She prayed every day the way we had described- we had talked about not trying to change God's will, but to find out what He wants us to do- and she saw dramatic differences in her life. She felt God's love, got a job, and several other things worked out for her too. She decided she really wants to quit her addictions and her and Cindy even came to church yesterday! I honestly didn't think that Gi would change so quickly, but the Lord prepares His children and we do not know who He is preparing!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I'm so grateful for my family, my friends, my mission and the amazing people here, the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, the chance I have to repent every day because of the atonement, and so many more things the Lord continues to bless me with!! Love you all!
Hermana Pierce
Monday, November 17, 2014
El invierno ha llegado!! (Bonus info on Austin, MN)
Hi Family!
Winter has arrived!! I'm loving it right now because the snow is super pretty, and even though it has been kind of cold (in the teens) there hasn't been too much wind and I know its only going to get a lot worse!
Just like every week, this was another great one! All of a sudden it seems like we are teaching a lot of sweet families! We found two sisters that live next door to each other with their own kids and they are awesome! Their names are Mia and Ma and they speak English/Spanish. We taught the moms about the restoration and then yesterday we taught Ma and her kids about the Plan of Salvation! We also taught Ju and her sister plus their kids a few days ago and it was so fun! It is so much fun teaching families with young children. They were all really good too and paid attention and had a great time. We have some good activities coming up to invite them to and hopefully we will get them to church this week!
Things with Ge are about the same. He doesn't have a job right now because he hurt his back and couldn't do the job he was doing, and he has a lot of other challenges going on right now too! I can't imagine what it would be like to come to a new country where you barely speak the language and without any family or friends. Then add that he doesn't have a job and the other problems. Some people really do have such hard trials. We met with him last night and I don't know if he really learned anything, but I just hope and pray that he could feel the love Heavenly Father has for him and the love that we and the members have for him as well!
Our lesson with Brother K (Ma) was so great this week. We taught about faith in Jesus Christ. It's something he struggles with a little because he doesn't understand why Jesus is different than other good people like Mohammed or even just other prophets. It went well though and by the end he was beginning to see the difference. He has studied many world religions and told us that what he thinks is amazing is that there seems to be little pieces of truth in all religions, but the LDS faith seems to have it all as far as he has seen so far. Yes! Because it is the true church of Jesus Christ! :) We are teaching him again tonight! It's amazing... this man is a doctor and a lawyer, he is the head of the pain clinic at the Austin branch of the Mayo and also works in Rochester a few days a week, he has strong associations with many influential people and he himself is very influential, yet he is interested in what a couple of twenty year old girls have to say and he makes time for us. Of course, it really isn't anything to do with us, and everything to do with Jesus Christ and the Spirit that he can feel, but still! I have felt the Spirit tell me what to say to him and its incredible how well he receives it. Keep him in your prayers!
When I first got to Austin we started teaching S, a 17 year old girl who the other sisters had been teaching for a long time. She wanted to be baptized but had to wait until she turns 18 because her step-dad won't give her permission. Her sister Jackie is a member and she has a few other siblings that are members as well who live in the cities. We decided to give her a break for a while because she wasn't really doing much as far as progression goes. The two girls still come to mutual every week and sometimes to church. We recently talked with one of the young women leaders about teaching them in her home. She agreed and tomorrow we will be teaching them. We have seen them at their own house a few times in the couple weeks and S actually set a date for herself for baptism! She told us she prayed about it and wants to be baptized January 18th! :) Hopefully things will go well as we teach her the lessons again and help her prepare for that date!
I can't believe this is the last week of the transfer. Hermana Ficklin and I are having a great time and loving being missionaries! Hopefully we will stay together for another one, but we will find out next Monday! Have a great week :)
Love,
Hermana Pierce
Austin has about 25,000 people, so it is way smaller than Lakeville area. There are little tiny towns around it that we also cover but hardly ever go to. We are about 45 minutes away from Rochester. One thing I really like about the town itself is the houses. Most are really old and have cool architecture... same with some of the really old churches. The thing I dislike about it is the horrible smell that often reaches my nose. This is where they make Spam and they have a huge pork production plant... similar to Falls brand but way bigger. Lots of people work there. Depending on the day it can smell super bad no matter where you are in town. I think now that is winter it might be a little better though. There is one ward, it is relatively pretty small compared to the Lakeville ward or really any other ward I've ever seen. I would guess there is about 80-90 people on any given Sunday. I could be off, not sure. Its really great though, lots of good people! It is part of the Rochester Stake... There are 5 wards in Rochester which is huge compared to other parts of Minnesota (lots of lds doctors) and a few other wards/branches are a part of it as well from around SE Minnesota and some of Wisconsin/Iowa.
Winter has arrived!! I'm loving it right now because the snow is super pretty, and even though it has been kind of cold (in the teens) there hasn't been too much wind and I know its only going to get a lot worse!
Just like every week, this was another great one! All of a sudden it seems like we are teaching a lot of sweet families! We found two sisters that live next door to each other with their own kids and they are awesome! Their names are Mia and Ma and they speak English/Spanish. We taught the moms about the restoration and then yesterday we taught Ma and her kids about the Plan of Salvation! We also taught Ju and her sister plus their kids a few days ago and it was so fun! It is so much fun teaching families with young children. They were all really good too and paid attention and had a great time. We have some good activities coming up to invite them to and hopefully we will get them to church this week!
Things with Ge are about the same. He doesn't have a job right now because he hurt his back and couldn't do the job he was doing, and he has a lot of other challenges going on right now too! I can't imagine what it would be like to come to a new country where you barely speak the language and without any family or friends. Then add that he doesn't have a job and the other problems. Some people really do have such hard trials. We met with him last night and I don't know if he really learned anything, but I just hope and pray that he could feel the love Heavenly Father has for him and the love that we and the members have for him as well!
Our lesson with Brother K (Ma) was so great this week. We taught about faith in Jesus Christ. It's something he struggles with a little because he doesn't understand why Jesus is different than other good people like Mohammed or even just other prophets. It went well though and by the end he was beginning to see the difference. He has studied many world religions and told us that what he thinks is amazing is that there seems to be little pieces of truth in all religions, but the LDS faith seems to have it all as far as he has seen so far. Yes! Because it is the true church of Jesus Christ! :) We are teaching him again tonight! It's amazing... this man is a doctor and a lawyer, he is the head of the pain clinic at the Austin branch of the Mayo and also works in Rochester a few days a week, he has strong associations with many influential people and he himself is very influential, yet he is interested in what a couple of twenty year old girls have to say and he makes time for us. Of course, it really isn't anything to do with us, and everything to do with Jesus Christ and the Spirit that he can feel, but still! I have felt the Spirit tell me what to say to him and its incredible how well he receives it. Keep him in your prayers!
When I first got to Austin we started teaching S, a 17 year old girl who the other sisters had been teaching for a long time. She wanted to be baptized but had to wait until she turns 18 because her step-dad won't give her permission. Her sister Jackie is a member and she has a few other siblings that are members as well who live in the cities. We decided to give her a break for a while because she wasn't really doing much as far as progression goes. The two girls still come to mutual every week and sometimes to church. We recently talked with one of the young women leaders about teaching them in her home. She agreed and tomorrow we will be teaching them. We have seen them at their own house a few times in the couple weeks and S actually set a date for herself for baptism! She told us she prayed about it and wants to be baptized January 18th! :) Hopefully things will go well as we teach her the lessons again and help her prepare for that date!
I can't believe this is the last week of the transfer. Hermana Ficklin and I are having a great time and loving being missionaries! Hopefully we will stay together for another one, but we will find out next Monday! Have a great week :)
Love,
Hermana Pierce
Austin has about 25,000 people, so it is way smaller than Lakeville area. There are little tiny towns around it that we also cover but hardly ever go to. We are about 45 minutes away from Rochester. One thing I really like about the town itself is the houses. Most are really old and have cool architecture... same with some of the really old churches. The thing I dislike about it is the horrible smell that often reaches my nose. This is where they make Spam and they have a huge pork production plant... similar to Falls brand but way bigger. Lots of people work there. Depending on the day it can smell super bad no matter where you are in town. I think now that is winter it might be a little better though. There is one ward, it is relatively pretty small compared to the Lakeville ward or really any other ward I've ever seen. I would guess there is about 80-90 people on any given Sunday. I could be off, not sure. Its really great though, lots of good people! It is part of the Rochester Stake... There are 5 wards in Rochester which is huge compared to other parts of Minnesota (lots of lds doctors) and a few other wards/branches are a part of it as well from around SE Minnesota and some of Wisconsin/Iowa.
Keeping the streets of Austin a little safer
Hola Familia!
I had a dream last night that Hermana Ficklin and I were riding around on skateboards at night in the sketchiest part of town trying to keep the streets of Austin a little safer. I guess we are trying to keep the people of Austin a little closer to God, so it's kind of similar, haha :)
This week was definitely one of the most memorable of my mission so far! It was an awesome week full of tons of miracles as we worked hard again to 'stay on the line.'
One thing super crazy happened though. On Tuesday we did exchanges. I stayed here and Sister Shurtz came with me. Things started out good until C called us asking if we could come make her dinner because she had just gotten out of the hospital. We went over right away and she had a lady there with her. As soon as we showed up the lady said, "oh good, you're here, I'm going home." She left us with C who was anything but stable. She apparently had been falling down a lot and couldn't keep her balance. As time went on we tried to talk to C and she just got more and more incoherent to the point where we got super scared. She wasn't responding correctly to anything we said so we called our Relief Society President who advised us to call an ambulance. Long story short, the ambulance came and got her and then the next day she came home and didn't remember us even being there! She didn't have a stroke, but they don't know what's wrong with her either and she has to go to Mayo to do tests. Hopefully she'll be okay!
After that little incident everything else this week was fantastic. The BEST thing ever was when we went and knocked Ma's door. He was the doctor we were teaching who got a lot of negative reactions from his family and friends when they found out he was pursuing the LDS religion. It had been weeks and he hadn't returned any of our calls, but he let us in and basically just giggled for the first five minutes. He kept saying, "you didn't give up on me!?" It was almost as if the whole ordeal with the family didn't even happen. He brought it up and said it was a concern, but that if this really is the truth he wants to know!! We went over the Book of Mormon and we will be seeing him this week again too! I basically smiled for the next 24 hours after that. I couldn't even sleep very well I was so happy. The lessons we had with Ma were some of my favorite I have had in my whole mission. And now we are teaching him again and he will be stronger and more prepared! It's amazing how the Lord turns bad things into good things!
We had interviews with President this week and also got to see Meet the Mormons! It was good!
Gh is doing well also. He has so many questions so we can never teach him all that we plan which is fine, but we are trying to find a way to teach him more so that he can progress! It's kind of tricky, but he is still great! We got him to come to a volleyball activity and he loved it and met some new people.
There's a girl named Nicole who was baptized not too long ago, but has struggled with staying active. We were able to get her to church this Sunday and she brought a friend too! We also got in contact with another recent convert named Evans who has been MIA for several weeks! There were so many other miracles this week, I wish I could share all of them.
I did have one other experience I want to share though. The other day I was praying and asking Heavenly Father how I can improve/what I need to repent of. I didn't get an answer immediately, but got one yesterday during Sacrament Meeting. One of the speakers talked about gratitude. He shared how writing down a few things we are grateful for every day will make a huge difference in the happiness in our lives. It's impossible to be grateful and unhappy at the same time. I already gained a testimony of that several years ago when I kept a journal of things I was grateful for. Somewhere along the way I quit doing that though so now I'm starting again! Remember to be grateful! :)
Love you all!
♥Hermana Pierce
I had a dream last night that Hermana Ficklin and I were riding around on skateboards at night in the sketchiest part of town trying to keep the streets of Austin a little safer. I guess we are trying to keep the people of Austin a little closer to God, so it's kind of similar, haha :)
This week was definitely one of the most memorable of my mission so far! It was an awesome week full of tons of miracles as we worked hard again to 'stay on the line.'
One thing super crazy happened though. On Tuesday we did exchanges. I stayed here and Sister Shurtz came with me. Things started out good until C called us asking if we could come make her dinner because she had just gotten out of the hospital. We went over right away and she had a lady there with her. As soon as we showed up the lady said, "oh good, you're here, I'm going home." She left us with C who was anything but stable. She apparently had been falling down a lot and couldn't keep her balance. As time went on we tried to talk to C and she just got more and more incoherent to the point where we got super scared. She wasn't responding correctly to anything we said so we called our Relief Society President who advised us to call an ambulance. Long story short, the ambulance came and got her and then the next day she came home and didn't remember us even being there! She didn't have a stroke, but they don't know what's wrong with her either and she has to go to Mayo to do tests. Hopefully she'll be okay!
After that little incident everything else this week was fantastic. The BEST thing ever was when we went and knocked Ma's door. He was the doctor we were teaching who got a lot of negative reactions from his family and friends when they found out he was pursuing the LDS religion. It had been weeks and he hadn't returned any of our calls, but he let us in and basically just giggled for the first five minutes. He kept saying, "you didn't give up on me!?" It was almost as if the whole ordeal with the family didn't even happen. He brought it up and said it was a concern, but that if this really is the truth he wants to know!! We went over the Book of Mormon and we will be seeing him this week again too! I basically smiled for the next 24 hours after that. I couldn't even sleep very well I was so happy. The lessons we had with Ma were some of my favorite I have had in my whole mission. And now we are teaching him again and he will be stronger and more prepared! It's amazing how the Lord turns bad things into good things!
We had interviews with President this week and also got to see Meet the Mormons! It was good!
Gh is doing well also. He has so many questions so we can never teach him all that we plan which is fine, but we are trying to find a way to teach him more so that he can progress! It's kind of tricky, but he is still great! We got him to come to a volleyball activity and he loved it and met some new people.
There's a girl named Nicole who was baptized not too long ago, but has struggled with staying active. We were able to get her to church this Sunday and she brought a friend too! We also got in contact with another recent convert named Evans who has been MIA for several weeks! There were so many other miracles this week, I wish I could share all of them.
I did have one other experience I want to share though. The other day I was praying and asking Heavenly Father how I can improve/what I need to repent of. I didn't get an answer immediately, but got one yesterday during Sacrament Meeting. One of the speakers talked about gratitude. He shared how writing down a few things we are grateful for every day will make a huge difference in the happiness in our lives. It's impossible to be grateful and unhappy at the same time. I already gained a testimony of that several years ago when I kept a journal of things I was grateful for. Somewhere along the way I quit doing that though so now I'm starting again! Remember to be grateful! :)
Love you all!
♥Hermana Pierce
Stay on the line
Buenos dias!
We had a great start to the week when we got to go to Bloomington to hear from Elder Carlson of the 70. He had some amazing things to share and I could probably write a whole email just about what he said. One thing he talked about was "staying on the line." He was referring to when we make specific plans and then following through with them. Heavenly Father is anxious to bless us; we just have to make a plan, with His help, and then stick with it. Hermana Ficklin and I have been working hard to do that this week and we have seen a lot of miracles! Sometimes it is easy to get off our plan because we think it would make more sense to go be in this area or whatever the reason. I realized for the first time this week that even though we aren't necessarily doing anything wrong, we are still being diligent and trying to work smart and hard, sometimes that is Satan trying to distract us! Of course, there are times when we have to change plans, but we found that as we stuck as close to the "line" or plan as possible, we were blessed!
I also was able to catch up with Hermana Rawlins and Hermana White! Hermana Rawlins is doing great with training and is an awesome missionary. She has already been out 9 months!! I found out how everyone is doing in Lakeville :) I was especially grateful for the good news I received that Al is doing absolutely amazing and that Mi is also doing well and working to prepare for baptism. It turned out that he had some problems with the word of wisdom and he is now working through those. They are such a great family!! I also found out that Ma and Eg are doing great; Ma really wants to be baptized! Probably the best thing I heard was that Hermana Carrillo, a less-active that I absolutely love, is doing better, her heart is being softened, and the sisters are teaching her son who before hadn't shown any interest. Heavenly Father blessed me to know that the efforts that I spent in that wonderful place that forever changed my life were in no way wasted and that the work is continuing to be amazing there. As much as I really do love Austin, it has been hard being away from those people and having no idea what is going on with them! I'm so glad they are doing well!
Anyways, back to what is happening here! We had an awesome miracle with Gh this week. He didn't come to church because he goes to another one and said he can only visit occasionally. We taught him the Word of Wisdom and the only problem he had is that he drinks a beer every Thursday. We committed him to stop doing that. We saw him again a few days later and he said, "you know how I know that your church is true?... I told you that I couldn't come to church every Sunday and you still are trying to help me to follow God and make my life better." Of course, he doesn't totally have a solid testimony of the restored church, but we are sure that as he lives the commandments and makes changes he will gain that testimony!
We also had an interesting lesson with Ge yesterday. We brought a French-speaker with us which was super helpful, but we found out that something really bad happened in Ge's past. We aren't sure what it is, but the Spirit testified strongly to all of us that he had been hurt in some way and suddenly it made sense to why he says what he says or why he doesn't want to commit to baptism right now. I'm not sure how to explain it, but we got a new perspective on him. We are praying that we will know how to help him!
We recently started teaching this awesome lady named Ju! Her brothers are less-active members, but we haven't met them yet. She is very interested! We are teaching her tonight so hopefully it goes well!
I love being here and am so grateful for this experience! Have a wonderful week!
♥Hermana Pierce
We had a great start to the week when we got to go to Bloomington to hear from Elder Carlson of the 70. He had some amazing things to share and I could probably write a whole email just about what he said. One thing he talked about was "staying on the line." He was referring to when we make specific plans and then following through with them. Heavenly Father is anxious to bless us; we just have to make a plan, with His help, and then stick with it. Hermana Ficklin and I have been working hard to do that this week and we have seen a lot of miracles! Sometimes it is easy to get off our plan because we think it would make more sense to go be in this area or whatever the reason. I realized for the first time this week that even though we aren't necessarily doing anything wrong, we are still being diligent and trying to work smart and hard, sometimes that is Satan trying to distract us! Of course, there are times when we have to change plans, but we found that as we stuck as close to the "line" or plan as possible, we were blessed!
I also was able to catch up with Hermana Rawlins and Hermana White! Hermana Rawlins is doing great with training and is an awesome missionary. She has already been out 9 months!! I found out how everyone is doing in Lakeville :) I was especially grateful for the good news I received that Al is doing absolutely amazing and that Mi is also doing well and working to prepare for baptism. It turned out that he had some problems with the word of wisdom and he is now working through those. They are such a great family!! I also found out that Ma and Eg are doing great; Ma really wants to be baptized! Probably the best thing I heard was that Hermana Carrillo, a less-active that I absolutely love, is doing better, her heart is being softened, and the sisters are teaching her son who before hadn't shown any interest. Heavenly Father blessed me to know that the efforts that I spent in that wonderful place that forever changed my life were in no way wasted and that the work is continuing to be amazing there. As much as I really do love Austin, it has been hard being away from those people and having no idea what is going on with them! I'm so glad they are doing well!
Anyways, back to what is happening here! We had an awesome miracle with Gh this week. He didn't come to church because he goes to another one and said he can only visit occasionally. We taught him the Word of Wisdom and the only problem he had is that he drinks a beer every Thursday. We committed him to stop doing that. We saw him again a few days later and he said, "you know how I know that your church is true?... I told you that I couldn't come to church every Sunday and you still are trying to help me to follow God and make my life better." Of course, he doesn't totally have a solid testimony of the restored church, but we are sure that as he lives the commandments and makes changes he will gain that testimony!
We also had an interesting lesson with Ge yesterday. We brought a French-speaker with us which was super helpful, but we found out that something really bad happened in Ge's past. We aren't sure what it is, but the Spirit testified strongly to all of us that he had been hurt in some way and suddenly it made sense to why he says what he says or why he doesn't want to commit to baptism right now. I'm not sure how to explain it, but we got a new perspective on him. We are praying that we will know how to help him!
We recently started teaching this awesome lady named Ju! Her brothers are less-active members, but we haven't met them yet. She is very interested! We are teaching her tonight so hopefully it goes well!
I love being here and am so grateful for this experience! Have a wonderful week!
♥Hermana Pierce
Monday, October 27, 2014
Happy Halloween!!
Hola familia mia!
Hermana Ficklin and I are having a fantastic time here in Austin! This week flew by, like usual, and was full of great things. We were able to find some new people and also get in contact with some less-active members we haven't seen for awhile.
My favorite part of this week was teaching Gh and his brother. We brought a sister in the ward who speaks a little French and it was very helpful! The Spirit was strong as we went over the basics of the Restoration again. We have been working on establishing a common ground when teaching so that we don't immediately highlight all the differences between our church and others, but rather look at the good things we both believe in and work from there. Sometimes that's hard for me because the gospel is so great and I want everyone to be able to understand all of it right away! Our lessons this week were good though and surely but slowly Gh is progressing. His brother has shown some interest in sitting in on lessons, so maybe we can help him to progress too. Yesterday was wonderful because for the first time Gh came to church!! He seemed to like it so we're looking forward to following up with him this week.
We are doing a lot of work trying to implement things to help get the members involved with both finding/teaching new investigators and also helping less actives. It is the focus that President Forbes is trying to get us to take, and so we are trying to do that. It's so different than what I'm used to, and it is hard because it takes a lot of time, but we are getting there!
Yesterday I had a very unique experience of going to a Pentecostal church with some of our Hispanic investigators. It was so interesting. It really helped me to be in the shoes of someone who comes to a new church for the first time. It was way different than the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS- lots of loud music, the pastor screaming his message at the top of his lungs, and lots of "hallelujahs" and other praises randomly came from the congregation. It was good though... good people showing their love for God. It reinforced in me the importance of Priesthood Authority and correct teachings. It really was a cool experience though and I think it really helped strengthen the trust with our investigators too. They have a cool story. V was Catholic until she met her husband. He had been involved with the Cartel and spent 6 years in prison where he changed and decided to join the Pentecostal church. We haven't had the chance to teach him yet, because he works all week long, but hopefully this week!
I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a missionary and learn and help others. I wish I could tell you all the experiences and little things that happen because it really is amazing!
Tomorrow we are having Zone Conference in Bloomington and Elder Carlson of the 70 will be there. Should be great!
Love you all!
♥Hermana Pierce
Hermana Ficklin and I are having a fantastic time here in Austin! This week flew by, like usual, and was full of great things. We were able to find some new people and also get in contact with some less-active members we haven't seen for awhile.
My favorite part of this week was teaching Gh and his brother. We brought a sister in the ward who speaks a little French and it was very helpful! The Spirit was strong as we went over the basics of the Restoration again. We have been working on establishing a common ground when teaching so that we don't immediately highlight all the differences between our church and others, but rather look at the good things we both believe in and work from there. Sometimes that's hard for me because the gospel is so great and I want everyone to be able to understand all of it right away! Our lessons this week were good though and surely but slowly Gh is progressing. His brother has shown some interest in sitting in on lessons, so maybe we can help him to progress too. Yesterday was wonderful because for the first time Gh came to church!! He seemed to like it so we're looking forward to following up with him this week.
We are doing a lot of work trying to implement things to help get the members involved with both finding/teaching new investigators and also helping less actives. It is the focus that President Forbes is trying to get us to take, and so we are trying to do that. It's so different than what I'm used to, and it is hard because it takes a lot of time, but we are getting there!
Yesterday I had a very unique experience of going to a Pentecostal church with some of our Hispanic investigators. It was so interesting. It really helped me to be in the shoes of someone who comes to a new church for the first time. It was way different than the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS- lots of loud music, the pastor screaming his message at the top of his lungs, and lots of "hallelujahs" and other praises randomly came from the congregation. It was good though... good people showing their love for God. It reinforced in me the importance of Priesthood Authority and correct teachings. It really was a cool experience though and I think it really helped strengthen the trust with our investigators too. They have a cool story. V was Catholic until she met her husband. He had been involved with the Cartel and spent 6 years in prison where he changed and decided to join the Pentecostal church. We haven't had the chance to teach him yet, because he works all week long, but hopefully this week!
I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a missionary and learn and help others. I wish I could tell you all the experiences and little things that happen because it really is amazing!
Tomorrow we are having Zone Conference in Bloomington and Elder Carlson of the 70 will be there. Should be great!
Love you all!
♥Hermana Pierce
The Why of the Gospel
Buenos Dias!
This past week has been kind of weird, but really good! Weird because a member threw a live, pet chicken at me and also because of transfers! Good, because being a missionary is always good and I learned lots of things! The chicken thing was actually really funny. Anyways, Tuesday Hermana Maravilla and I drove to Bloomington and said goodbye! I miss her already! I got to work with the Bloomington sisters for the day and we had a great time. I learned a lot from them and we taught some really cool people! Wednesday morning we had our transfer meeting and Hermana Ficklin and I hit the road!
Also, Hermana Rawlins is training this transfer so I'm a grandma in missionary terms! Haha
Hermana Ficklin was actually in Austin with Hermana Maravilla 4 transfers ago so she already knows the members and many of the people that live here. It's been awesome because we both know different things about the area and have been able to set right to work! President Forbes has been emphasizing working with part-member families, prospective elders, and children of record a lot lately. Actually, I think that's all I've heard him talk about in the last little while. We are trying to change our focus and work with these families! It's kind of a slow process, but hopefully we will be able to help a lot of people!
We had probably the best lesson we have had with Ge yesterday. We were really careful to make sure he understood what we were saying and our communication with him was good! He committed to pray specifically about the Book of Mormon, which is something he hasn't done before.
Saturday night and Sunday morning we had Stake Conference. Elder Golden of the 70 was there and said some things that I will never forget. He said that as members, we are really good about the what, how, where, and when of the gospel. We know what to do and how to do it etc. But one thing we need to work on is the 'why.' Joseph Smith said that the most important difference between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other religions is that we have the gift of the Holy Ghost. Elder Golden discussed how the Holy Ghost is the purifier and the sanctifier that changes us to become people that God can save. That is why we must pray and read in our scriptures daily. It allows us to feel the Spirit that we received after baptism. When we have the Spirit, we receive a continual remission of our sins and are made better. No unclean thing can enter into the kingdom of God and no one can be clean without the power and the gift of the Holy Ghost. I wish I could explain this as well as he had, but hopefully this makes sense! We need the Holy Ghost in our lives because it is what makes us clean. Every time we feel the Spirit we are changed.
I love you all and hope everyone has an excellent week! Do something great! :)
♥Hermana Pierce
This past week has been kind of weird, but really good! Weird because a member threw a live, pet chicken at me and also because of transfers! Good, because being a missionary is always good and I learned lots of things! The chicken thing was actually really funny. Anyways, Tuesday Hermana Maravilla and I drove to Bloomington and said goodbye! I miss her already! I got to work with the Bloomington sisters for the day and we had a great time. I learned a lot from them and we taught some really cool people! Wednesday morning we had our transfer meeting and Hermana Ficklin and I hit the road!
Also, Hermana Rawlins is training this transfer so I'm a grandma in missionary terms! Haha
Hermana Ficklin was actually in Austin with Hermana Maravilla 4 transfers ago so she already knows the members and many of the people that live here. It's been awesome because we both know different things about the area and have been able to set right to work! President Forbes has been emphasizing working with part-member families, prospective elders, and children of record a lot lately. Actually, I think that's all I've heard him talk about in the last little while. We are trying to change our focus and work with these families! It's kind of a slow process, but hopefully we will be able to help a lot of people!
We had probably the best lesson we have had with Ge yesterday. We were really careful to make sure he understood what we were saying and our communication with him was good! He committed to pray specifically about the Book of Mormon, which is something he hasn't done before.
Saturday night and Sunday morning we had Stake Conference. Elder Golden of the 70 was there and said some things that I will never forget. He said that as members, we are really good about the what, how, where, and when of the gospel. We know what to do and how to do it etc. But one thing we need to work on is the 'why.' Joseph Smith said that the most important difference between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other religions is that we have the gift of the Holy Ghost. Elder Golden discussed how the Holy Ghost is the purifier and the sanctifier that changes us to become people that God can save. That is why we must pray and read in our scriptures daily. It allows us to feel the Spirit that we received after baptism. When we have the Spirit, we receive a continual remission of our sins and are made better. No unclean thing can enter into the kingdom of God and no one can be clean without the power and the gift of the Holy Ghost. I wish I could explain this as well as he had, but hopefully this makes sense! We need the Holy Ghost in our lives because it is what makes us clean. Every time we feel the Spirit we are changed.
I love you all and hope everyone has an excellent week! Do something great! :)
♥Hermana Pierce
Monday, October 13, 2014
Adieu Hermana Maravilla
Nidi!
The work continues to be great every single day here in Austin. This was Hermana Maravilla's last week in her mission. I'm going to miss her so much! She is an amazing missionary and we had so much fun together. Along with working hard at missionary work, we have laughed so much, especially the last few days! I have learned so many things from her and I really am sad to say goodbye. I wish we could have had another transfer! She's my first companion that I've only gotten one with! I'm assuming I'm staying here, but transfers haven't been sent out yet so I don't know who is coming here or anything.
Austin District and Hermana Maravilla
I realized that I don't think I've mentioned anything about C, a lady we are teaching. She is a hilarious person that has been taught my missionaries for over 20 years. Yes, 20. Or maybe 30. She can't even remember anymore. The sisters were teaching her when I came here and Hermana Maravilla and I saw her a few times and decided that we aren't going to keep teaching her because she is not in any way progressing. We talked to President Forbes about her at conferences a few weeks ago, and he counseled us to continue teaching her. So, we have been, and its been good. It was a little humbling because Hermana Maravilla and I decided that if after 20+ years she hadn't been baptized, it probably isn't too likely that something is going to change now. I have thought and prayed about it and I realized that the Lord doesn't care how long things take. Hours and hours and hours have been spent in this one lady's home. But that's because He loves her that much. And He loves each of us that much. He doesn't give up! Of course, there are some times when people really aren't ready at the moment and they need time, but the Lord will tell us who needs us and when. We still aren't sure what to do exactly to help her, but please keep her in your prayers!
The rest of our investigators are doing well. G is ever faithful in coming to church. We are just trying to help him understand some fundamental things that he struggles with. He will take some time, but things are good!
G
Gh had a busy week, but we did start teaching him the Plan of Salvation. It's pretty slow with him like usual, but still good! He loves learning the things we teach and wants to come to church, but hasn't yet. It's a tricky situation with his family, but we are working on it!
I had exchanges this week with one of my favorite people, Sister Hyland!! She came to Austin and we had so much fun! We met an awesome girl named Ch. She is really interested and we are seeing her this Thursday. Sister Hyland taught me a ton during exchanges and I'm so grateful for her!
Last week I was thinking about the principle of fasting and I decided I needed to get a testimony of it. I have fasted before, but always kind of dreaded it and looked forward to it ending. I studied about the purpose of fasting and began my fast on Saturday with a new outlook. I really wanted to make it meaningful and test out the principle to gain a testimony of it. I had a really good experience! I actually enjoyed fasting, felt the Spirit very strongly, and saw almost immediate answers from Heavenly Father!
Well, this week is still a mystery as far as what is going to happen. If I get anything while I'm still on here I will send it, but it's probably safe to assume I am staying in Austin and getting a new companion! Haha
Love you all!
Oh yeah, nidi means hi in the African language Anyuak :)
I'll send pics!
♥Hermana Pierce
Trip to Iowa with Megan
King, who joined the Church in Seattle
The work continues to be great every single day here in Austin. This was Hermana Maravilla's last week in her mission. I'm going to miss her so much! She is an amazing missionary and we had so much fun together. Along with working hard at missionary work, we have laughed so much, especially the last few days! I have learned so many things from her and I really am sad to say goodbye. I wish we could have had another transfer! She's my first companion that I've only gotten one with! I'm assuming I'm staying here, but transfers haven't been sent out yet so I don't know who is coming here or anything.
Austin District and Hermana Maravilla
I realized that I don't think I've mentioned anything about C, a lady we are teaching. She is a hilarious person that has been taught my missionaries for over 20 years. Yes, 20. Or maybe 30. She can't even remember anymore. The sisters were teaching her when I came here and Hermana Maravilla and I saw her a few times and decided that we aren't going to keep teaching her because she is not in any way progressing. We talked to President Forbes about her at conferences a few weeks ago, and he counseled us to continue teaching her. So, we have been, and its been good. It was a little humbling because Hermana Maravilla and I decided that if after 20+ years she hadn't been baptized, it probably isn't too likely that something is going to change now. I have thought and prayed about it and I realized that the Lord doesn't care how long things take. Hours and hours and hours have been spent in this one lady's home. But that's because He loves her that much. And He loves each of us that much. He doesn't give up! Of course, there are some times when people really aren't ready at the moment and they need time, but the Lord will tell us who needs us and when. We still aren't sure what to do exactly to help her, but please keep her in your prayers!
The rest of our investigators are doing well. G is ever faithful in coming to church. We are just trying to help him understand some fundamental things that he struggles with. He will take some time, but things are good!
G
Gh had a busy week, but we did start teaching him the Plan of Salvation. It's pretty slow with him like usual, but still good! He loves learning the things we teach and wants to come to church, but hasn't yet. It's a tricky situation with his family, but we are working on it!
I had exchanges this week with one of my favorite people, Sister Hyland!! She came to Austin and we had so much fun! We met an awesome girl named Ch. She is really interested and we are seeing her this Thursday. Sister Hyland taught me a ton during exchanges and I'm so grateful for her!
Last week I was thinking about the principle of fasting and I decided I needed to get a testimony of it. I have fasted before, but always kind of dreaded it and looked forward to it ending. I studied about the purpose of fasting and began my fast on Saturday with a new outlook. I really wanted to make it meaningful and test out the principle to gain a testimony of it. I had a really good experience! I actually enjoyed fasting, felt the Spirit very strongly, and saw almost immediate answers from Heavenly Father!
Well, this week is still a mystery as far as what is going to happen. If I get anything while I'm still on here I will send it, but it's probably safe to assume I am staying in Austin and getting a new companion! Haha
Love you all!
Oh yeah, nidi means hi in the African language Anyuak :)
I'll send pics!
♥Hermana Pierce
Trip to Iowa with Megan
King, who joined the Church in Seattle
Follow the Prophet
Hola, como estan?
This week did not start out great, but finished awesome! I ended up having to go to the doctor on Tuesday morning and it turns out I had strep throat. I got some antibiotics and steroids that helped almost immediately which was a huge blessing. Our mission medical advisor who is also Bishop's wife, told me I had to stay in all day Tuesday and Wednesday. Those were a few painfully boring days for both me and Hermana Maravilla, but wow was I ever grateful to be out working again on Thursday!
We were able to see Gh again this week and things are going well! He is reading and keeping his commitments. He just needs to come to church! We saw G a few times as well this week. I think I told you about him. He has been coming faithfully to church for about a year and has been taught on and off by missionaries. He wants to be baptized but feels like he has a lot to learn still before he can make that commitment. We have been getting to know him more and he is making good progress!
Gh
One fun adventure we had this week was teaching and eating dinner with a less-active family from Micronesia. There is a young mom and dad who are members and they live with other cousins/family members that aren't members. Just this week the father of the young mom came from Micronesia and he is very active so he will be a great influence on their family. The Spirit was strong as we taught them about the restored gospel and Luann, the mom, bore a powerful testimony! They came to conference yesterday too which was awesome!
A few days ago we found a man named Gi. He is very nice and lives with his wife and four children. We set up an appointment with him, but he called us later to reschedule. He then called us yesterday to cancel again, but told us he would like to meet and would also like to come to church. We invited him to the 2nd session of General Conference and he and his son both came! We will be meeting with them this week!
I hope you all watched and loved conference! I am so grateful for modern day prophets! I had too many favorites to even name. :) Let me know what your favorite parts were!
Love you!
Hermana Pierce
This week did not start out great, but finished awesome! I ended up having to go to the doctor on Tuesday morning and it turns out I had strep throat. I got some antibiotics and steroids that helped almost immediately which was a huge blessing. Our mission medical advisor who is also Bishop's wife, told me I had to stay in all day Tuesday and Wednesday. Those were a few painfully boring days for both me and Hermana Maravilla, but wow was I ever grateful to be out working again on Thursday!
We were able to see Gh again this week and things are going well! He is reading and keeping his commitments. He just needs to come to church! We saw G a few times as well this week. I think I told you about him. He has been coming faithfully to church for about a year and has been taught on and off by missionaries. He wants to be baptized but feels like he has a lot to learn still before he can make that commitment. We have been getting to know him more and he is making good progress!
Gh
One fun adventure we had this week was teaching and eating dinner with a less-active family from Micronesia. There is a young mom and dad who are members and they live with other cousins/family members that aren't members. Just this week the father of the young mom came from Micronesia and he is very active so he will be a great influence on their family. The Spirit was strong as we taught them about the restored gospel and Luann, the mom, bore a powerful testimony! They came to conference yesterday too which was awesome!
A few days ago we found a man named Gi. He is very nice and lives with his wife and four children. We set up an appointment with him, but he called us later to reschedule. He then called us yesterday to cancel again, but told us he would like to meet and would also like to come to church. We invited him to the 2nd session of General Conference and he and his son both came! We will be meeting with them this week!
I hope you all watched and loved conference! I am so grateful for modern day prophets! I had too many favorites to even name. :) Let me know what your favorite parts were!
Love you!
Hermana Pierce
Hello
Hello!
Good things did happen this week, although I can't say it was that fun. I have been so sick all week. Obviously, it isn't fun being sick, but it's especially not fun having to stay inside a lot and not be able to do what missionaries do. I still have a slight sore throat, but I'm getting better so hopefully this week will be much more productive.
We had Zone Training this week with President and Sister Forbes. They are so awesome. President Forbes has a lot more confidence in being a mission president now and is doing great things to help shape this mission into what the Lord wants at this time. Sister Forbes is hilarious and so nice. After the training was over I asked President to give me a Priesthood blessing. He did so and although I did not suddenly get better, I received revelation and left feeling more happiness and gratitude. I'm so grateful for the Priesthood!
I have probably given thousands of people pass along cards with our number on it. Unless it is to a current investigator or member, no one ever calls. Except... Gh! We met him a few weeks ago and he was busy so we only had time to exchange numbers and briefly explain who we are and what we do. He told us he would call and amazingly within a few days he actually did! He is from Benin, speaks French, and is trying to learn English. We taught him for the 2nd time this week and although it is hard because of the language barrier, it is a lot of fun and the Spirit has been powerful! He is determined to understand and he will not let us move on if he doesn't understand exactly what we are saying. Despite the language barrier his understanding is better than probably 90% of the people I have ever taught. He gets it and loves it.
Sorry, there isn't much more to say this week. I loved the Women's conference! I'm really excited for General Conference and can't believe its already here again. Love you!
Hermana Pierce
Good things did happen this week, although I can't say it was that fun. I have been so sick all week. Obviously, it isn't fun being sick, but it's especially not fun having to stay inside a lot and not be able to do what missionaries do. I still have a slight sore throat, but I'm getting better so hopefully this week will be much more productive.
We had Zone Training this week with President and Sister Forbes. They are so awesome. President Forbes has a lot more confidence in being a mission president now and is doing great things to help shape this mission into what the Lord wants at this time. Sister Forbes is hilarious and so nice. After the training was over I asked President to give me a Priesthood blessing. He did so and although I did not suddenly get better, I received revelation and left feeling more happiness and gratitude. I'm so grateful for the Priesthood!
I have probably given thousands of people pass along cards with our number on it. Unless it is to a current investigator or member, no one ever calls. Except... Gh! We met him a few weeks ago and he was busy so we only had time to exchange numbers and briefly explain who we are and what we do. He told us he would call and amazingly within a few days he actually did! He is from Benin, speaks French, and is trying to learn English. We taught him for the 2nd time this week and although it is hard because of the language barrier, it is a lot of fun and the Spirit has been powerful! He is determined to understand and he will not let us move on if he doesn't understand exactly what we are saying. Despite the language barrier his understanding is better than probably 90% of the people I have ever taught. He gets it and loves it.
Sorry, there isn't much more to say this week. I loved the Women's conference! I'm really excited for General Conference and can't believe its already here again. Love you!
Hermana Pierce
Happy Fall
Buenos Dias!
Things are starting to get more normal around here! We have met all of the other sister's investigators and they are now feeling like our investigators. We are working with some awesome people and there are, of course, many challenges, but that doesn't stop the work from going on!
Austin is a smallish town, but then there are little tiny towns/farming communities around it. We had dinner with a member who lived out in one of these places and we found out that there was a less active man who lived out there as well. We stopped by before dinner, but he wasn't there. We decided to try again after dinner too in case he had gotten home. We found him outside and he was just about to leave again so it was perfect timing! His name is Michael and he's very nice. He invited us to come back again and teach him and his wife and son who aren't members! We're really excited to see what happens!
We are working with an investigator named G from Benin. He comes to church just about every single Sunday and has been for about a year. His teaching record doesn't make much sense so we just decided to teach him from the beginning and see where he is at with everything. We brought a member on Saturday who had taught him in the past and she said that it was a lot different this time. We aren't sure why or what changed, but we are really excited to be teaching him. He understands English pretty well, although it is difficult to teach him certain concepts. He has really good questions though and is doing well!
My little heart did kind of break in half the other day when we called Ma and he told us that he couldn't meet any more. He told his family that he was pursuing the LDS faith and a war of screaming and crying began. They didn't necessarily have a problem with the religion, just that it was something different. He told us he still is interested but doesn't want to cause problems in his family. He did agree to meet one more time with us though in a few weeks after things blow over a little so we are hoping and praying he can overcome their opposition! Hermana Maravilla and I were talking afterwards and we felt peace because if it is the right time for him, all will work out. She shared some stories with me about how some crazy things happened to some of her investigators before baptism and it ended up making them stronger, more faithful members once they overcame. Hopefully the same happens with Matthew!
I have been working a lot this week on developing charity. It's funny, this life is full of learning the same lessons over and over because sometimes we just don't get it! I let myself get a little frustrated with some situations and people this week. There were a few people we met that said some of the most ridiculous things about the church and our beliefs without knowing anything. I also was getting sick of hearing every excuse in the book and more from less active members about why they don't go to church. I finally realized that being annoyed with these things was not helping anything, and really just hurting myself. I have been praying for more charity and I've already seen a big difference in just a few days. Sister Clements had an analogy that we have to be like a cork. No matter how hard you throw a cork into a bowl of water, it won't go down; It's resilient. I'm learning all over again to be a cork and its a great thing because I am more happy and more effective!
I know that this is the Lord's work. No matter what we do, it will go on. But we are the ones who are blessed with joy and growth when we diligently serve Him. He does His work through us. He knows we aren't perfect and that is why He let's us serve. Take every opportunity to choose the right and every opportunity to help others to do the same!
I love you!
-Hermana/Soeurs Pierce
Things are starting to get more normal around here! We have met all of the other sister's investigators and they are now feeling like our investigators. We are working with some awesome people and there are, of course, many challenges, but that doesn't stop the work from going on!
Austin is a smallish town, but then there are little tiny towns/farming communities around it. We had dinner with a member who lived out in one of these places and we found out that there was a less active man who lived out there as well. We stopped by before dinner, but he wasn't there. We decided to try again after dinner too in case he had gotten home. We found him outside and he was just about to leave again so it was perfect timing! His name is Michael and he's very nice. He invited us to come back again and teach him and his wife and son who aren't members! We're really excited to see what happens!
We are working with an investigator named G from Benin. He comes to church just about every single Sunday and has been for about a year. His teaching record doesn't make much sense so we just decided to teach him from the beginning and see where he is at with everything. We brought a member on Saturday who had taught him in the past and she said that it was a lot different this time. We aren't sure why or what changed, but we are really excited to be teaching him. He understands English pretty well, although it is difficult to teach him certain concepts. He has really good questions though and is doing well!
My little heart did kind of break in half the other day when we called Ma and he told us that he couldn't meet any more. He told his family that he was pursuing the LDS faith and a war of screaming and crying began. They didn't necessarily have a problem with the religion, just that it was something different. He told us he still is interested but doesn't want to cause problems in his family. He did agree to meet one more time with us though in a few weeks after things blow over a little so we are hoping and praying he can overcome their opposition! Hermana Maravilla and I were talking afterwards and we felt peace because if it is the right time for him, all will work out. She shared some stories with me about how some crazy things happened to some of her investigators before baptism and it ended up making them stronger, more faithful members once they overcame. Hopefully the same happens with Matthew!
I have been working a lot this week on developing charity. It's funny, this life is full of learning the same lessons over and over because sometimes we just don't get it! I let myself get a little frustrated with some situations and people this week. There were a few people we met that said some of the most ridiculous things about the church and our beliefs without knowing anything. I also was getting sick of hearing every excuse in the book and more from less active members about why they don't go to church. I finally realized that being annoyed with these things was not helping anything, and really just hurting myself. I have been praying for more charity and I've already seen a big difference in just a few days. Sister Clements had an analogy that we have to be like a cork. No matter how hard you throw a cork into a bowl of water, it won't go down; It's resilient. I'm learning all over again to be a cork and its a great thing because I am more happy and more effective!
I know that this is the Lord's work. No matter what we do, it will go on. But we are the ones who are blessed with joy and growth when we diligently serve Him. He does His work through us. He knows we aren't perfect and that is why He let's us serve. Take every opportunity to choose the right and every opportunity to help others to do the same!
I love you!
-Hermana/Soeurs Pierce
Monday, September 15, 2014
Bonjour!
Bonjour!
Haha, we haven't made too much progress on the French this week. We actually have been able to teach a lot in Spanish which makes me very happy :) We do have one investigator named Ge who is really close to baptism. He speaks a little English so if we can say a little more in French to help him that would be really great! Haha
We stopped by and taught an awesome lady named F (her name means flower). She makes piñatas and is very interesting. We taught her the Restoration and then came back for our return appointment and she had read the assignment we gave her and more! She is very interested and has a lot of potential! We're excited to work with her.
Ma is still doing awesome as well. We finished teaching him about the Plan of Salvation and he was shocked about the Spirit world and what happens after death. He is so smart and just understands so well. The Spirit is always so strong and he basically teaches himself every time. :) He was out of town this weekend but hopefully he will be able to come to church this Sunday!
On Wednesday the Bishop called us and told us there was a man who had come to the church and was looking for us. We got his number and called. It turns out he is a member who came here to work for a few months from Texas. He wanted to meet with us basically just to tell us that he wants to help us out as much as he can. :) His English is good but he is from Mexico and speaks Spanish. He was an alcoholic for years and then decided he needed to change and now he is very active in the church! It was a nice miracle especially because we can definitely use the help with the Spanish work here.
I have been thinking a lot this past week about why I am here in Austin. The other sisters who were here before were teaching a lot in English and then one of them even spoke some French so she could communicate with a lot of the Africans. Yet, the Lord wanted Spanish-speaking missionaries here. In the meantime we want to help those who speak other languages too, but there must be some reason that Hermana Maravilla and I needed to be here. I'm still trying to figure it out, but I have learned a ton in this past week and I believe that the Lord wanted me to have the experiences I am having here so that I could learn, as well as help others.
The gospel is true!
Love you!
♥Hermana Pierce
Haha, we haven't made too much progress on the French this week. We actually have been able to teach a lot in Spanish which makes me very happy :) We do have one investigator named Ge who is really close to baptism. He speaks a little English so if we can say a little more in French to help him that would be really great! Haha
We stopped by and taught an awesome lady named F (her name means flower). She makes piñatas and is very interesting. We taught her the Restoration and then came back for our return appointment and she had read the assignment we gave her and more! She is very interested and has a lot of potential! We're excited to work with her.
Ma is still doing awesome as well. We finished teaching him about the Plan of Salvation and he was shocked about the Spirit world and what happens after death. He is so smart and just understands so well. The Spirit is always so strong and he basically teaches himself every time. :) He was out of town this weekend but hopefully he will be able to come to church this Sunday!
On Wednesday the Bishop called us and told us there was a man who had come to the church and was looking for us. We got his number and called. It turns out he is a member who came here to work for a few months from Texas. He wanted to meet with us basically just to tell us that he wants to help us out as much as he can. :) His English is good but he is from Mexico and speaks Spanish. He was an alcoholic for years and then decided he needed to change and now he is very active in the church! It was a nice miracle especially because we can definitely use the help with the Spanish work here.
I have been thinking a lot this past week about why I am here in Austin. The other sisters who were here before were teaching a lot in English and then one of them even spoke some French so she could communicate with a lot of the Africans. Yet, the Lord wanted Spanish-speaking missionaries here. In the meantime we want to help those who speak other languages too, but there must be some reason that Hermana Maravilla and I needed to be here. I'm still trying to figure it out, but I have learned a ton in this past week and I believe that the Lord wanted me to have the experiences I am having here so that I could learn, as well as help others.
The gospel is true!
Love you!
♥Hermana Pierce
Monday, September 8, 2014
New adventure!
Hello!
This has been an absolutely insane week. Last Monday after I found out about transfers Hermana White and I went with Sister Jensen and Charlotte to have a picnic at Lake Harriet. It was lots of fun! I love the Jensen's and it was hard saying goodbye to them. It was also very sad saying goodbye to Mi and Alma and their family. I have come to love them so much!
Lake Harriet
Goodbye Hermana White
I love this family!
The day of transfers came quickly and it was probably the longest day of my mission. One thing that made the day super great though was that I got to see Sister Hyland who is in my same zone now!! We get to do exchanges too and we are very happy. Sister Hyland and I were in the same district up until this past transfer.
Reunited with Sister Hyland!
I feel like a brand new missionary. I am meeting tons of new people, getting used to a new area.. oh and I'm also learning a new language! There was another set of sisters here, but they got transferred to so we are taking over their area, but also keeping the area the Spanish sisters had before. But, half the people the sisters were teaching speak French or another African tribal language, so Hermana Maravilla and I are trying to learn French. I can already understand most of it when I read it, but the pronunciation and understanding it when it is spoken is the hard part. We are going to try and have one of the less active French speakers teach us.
Thank goodness that Hermana Maravilla has been here for a while and at least kind of knows who some of these people are! She is awesome. I already love her so much. She is very patient and nice but a bold missionary as well. We have set some goals for this area and I'm really excited to work with her on them! This is her last transfer before she goes home. :/ Which means for me that I will most likely be staying for at least the next one.
The first night I got to Austin we taught this awesome man named Ma. He is from India, but speaks English perfectly and is a doctor for a branch of the Mayo Clinic here. He is SO smart. He has awesome questions and has done a lot of research into religion. He loves the Book of Mormon so far and has already found a lot of answers to his questions! We taught him again on Friday and it also went really well. Teaching him again tomorrow!
One of the greatest cultural moments so far in Austin was going to the house of some recent converts, Ajulu and Odonga. Ajulu is the mom and speaks absolutely 0 English. She speaks some Arabic and Anyuak. Odonga is 16 and speaks English but how they were both able to learn the gospel still is the biggest question I have. We went over Thursday night and unfortunately Odonga wasn't home. Ajulu had us come in and sit down and then she brought us bottles of water on a plate and put it on the ground by our feet. She is a very spiritual person but we had no way of communicating. She comes to church every single Sunday, but doesn't understand a thing!
We had a great miracle the other day. We were out tracting when we found a man from South Sudan named King. He asked us what church we were from and when we told him his eyes lit up and he said, "I'm a member!" He had been baptized in Seattle about a year and a half ago, but then had moved around a lot and kind of lost track of where the church was. We told him there was one here and he was excited to come! Unfortunately, we had a mix up with his address so the person who was going to pick him up couldn't. But, afterwards we found his place and talked to him. He had been all ready to go! He will be there next week for sure!
Sorry this is super long. There are tons more things to say, but I'll tell you more next week! Love you all! Have a great week :)
♥Hermana Pierce
This has been an absolutely insane week. Last Monday after I found out about transfers Hermana White and I went with Sister Jensen and Charlotte to have a picnic at Lake Harriet. It was lots of fun! I love the Jensen's and it was hard saying goodbye to them. It was also very sad saying goodbye to Mi and Alma and their family. I have come to love them so much!
The day of transfers came quickly and it was probably the longest day of my mission. One thing that made the day super great though was that I got to see Sister Hyland who is in my same zone now!! We get to do exchanges too and we are very happy. Sister Hyland and I were in the same district up until this past transfer.
I feel like a brand new missionary. I am meeting tons of new people, getting used to a new area.. oh and I'm also learning a new language! There was another set of sisters here, but they got transferred to so we are taking over their area, but also keeping the area the Spanish sisters had before. But, half the people the sisters were teaching speak French or another African tribal language, so Hermana Maravilla and I are trying to learn French. I can already understand most of it when I read it, but the pronunciation and understanding it when it is spoken is the hard part. We are going to try and have one of the less active French speakers teach us.
Thank goodness that Hermana Maravilla has been here for a while and at least kind of knows who some of these people are! She is awesome. I already love her so much. She is very patient and nice but a bold missionary as well. We have set some goals for this area and I'm really excited to work with her on them! This is her last transfer before she goes home. :/ Which means for me that I will most likely be staying for at least the next one.
The first night I got to Austin we taught this awesome man named Ma. He is from India, but speaks English perfectly and is a doctor for a branch of the Mayo Clinic here. He is SO smart. He has awesome questions and has done a lot of research into religion. He loves the Book of Mormon so far and has already found a lot of answers to his questions! We taught him again on Friday and it also went really well. Teaching him again tomorrow!
One of the greatest cultural moments so far in Austin was going to the house of some recent converts, Ajulu and Odonga. Ajulu is the mom and speaks absolutely 0 English. She speaks some Arabic and Anyuak. Odonga is 16 and speaks English but how they were both able to learn the gospel still is the biggest question I have. We went over Thursday night and unfortunately Odonga wasn't home. Ajulu had us come in and sit down and then she brought us bottles of water on a plate and put it on the ground by our feet. She is a very spiritual person but we had no way of communicating. She comes to church every single Sunday, but doesn't understand a thing!
We had a great miracle the other day. We were out tracting when we found a man from South Sudan named King. He asked us what church we were from and when we told him his eyes lit up and he said, "I'm a member!" He had been baptized in Seattle about a year and a half ago, but then had moved around a lot and kind of lost track of where the church was. We told him there was one here and he was excited to come! Unfortunately, we had a mix up with his address so the person who was going to pick him up couldn't. But, afterwards we found his place and talked to him. He had been all ready to go! He will be there next week for sure!
Sorry this is super long. There are tons more things to say, but I'll tell you more next week! Love you all! Have a great week :)
♥Hermana Pierce
Monday, September 1, 2014
Adios Lakeville
Hola familia!
The time has come that I have to say goodbye to Lakeville and all the incredible, wonderful people in it. My heart hurts a little bit, but I have felt the Spirit testify to me that this is what the Lord wants. It was only a matter of time anyway and I am looking forward to the new adventures I will have in a new area with a new companion. I am going down south to almost the bottom of Minnesota to a place called Austin. It is one of the only Spanish areas that is not in the Cities. Hermana Wiggins served there before she came to Lakeville and she loved it, so hopefully I will too! I will be with Hermana Maravilla who is a native Spanish speaker! My dream came true in that aspect! She speaks Spanish/English perfectly :)
This was a great last week to end on and I can't even begin to thank Heavenly Father for giving me these past 11 months here. It seems like a long time, but somehow it has already gone by. I have met so many people who really have changed my life. There are so many people that we are teaching right now that I know will continue to progress and receive this gospel. I look forward to seeing this branch a few years down the road. I have complete confidence it will continue to grow and I know it will be in good hands. :) It's unbelievable that Hermana White is already done with training- the time has gone by so fast. She has grown so much, especially in the past few weeks and she is prepared and will do a great job here.
Honestly, I am having a hard time even remembering what happened this past week because my head is so full of memories of Lakeville. I know it was a great week though! Haha... We did have a great lesson with Richard and Mayra. The Montecillos came too and it was very cool. They told us when they opened the door they weren't at all expecting to change their religion. They still didn't specifically say that they would, but they are open and willing to read/pray to find out if its what they should do. The Spirit was very strong!!
A lot of other things happened too... Alma spoke in Sacrament meeting yesterday and the whole family was there. Miguel is doing great! Our other investigators are doing well too. There were tons of parties this weekend since its Labor Day and the last weekend before school starts here. We didn't have dinner a few nights in a row, so we stopped by and had some delicious Mexican food! :)
Love you all! Have a great week! :)
-Hermana Pierce
The time has come that I have to say goodbye to Lakeville and all the incredible, wonderful people in it. My heart hurts a little bit, but I have felt the Spirit testify to me that this is what the Lord wants. It was only a matter of time anyway and I am looking forward to the new adventures I will have in a new area with a new companion. I am going down south to almost the bottom of Minnesota to a place called Austin. It is one of the only Spanish areas that is not in the Cities. Hermana Wiggins served there before she came to Lakeville and she loved it, so hopefully I will too! I will be with Hermana Maravilla who is a native Spanish speaker! My dream came true in that aspect! She speaks Spanish/English perfectly :)
This was a great last week to end on and I can't even begin to thank Heavenly Father for giving me these past 11 months here. It seems like a long time, but somehow it has already gone by. I have met so many people who really have changed my life. There are so many people that we are teaching right now that I know will continue to progress and receive this gospel. I look forward to seeing this branch a few years down the road. I have complete confidence it will continue to grow and I know it will be in good hands. :) It's unbelievable that Hermana White is already done with training- the time has gone by so fast. She has grown so much, especially in the past few weeks and she is prepared and will do a great job here.
Honestly, I am having a hard time even remembering what happened this past week because my head is so full of memories of Lakeville. I know it was a great week though! Haha... We did have a great lesson with Richard and Mayra. The Montecillos came too and it was very cool. They told us when they opened the door they weren't at all expecting to change their religion. They still didn't specifically say that they would, but they are open and willing to read/pray to find out if its what they should do. The Spirit was very strong!!
A lot of other things happened too... Alma spoke in Sacrament meeting yesterday and the whole family was there. Miguel is doing great! Our other investigators are doing well too. There were tons of parties this weekend since its Labor Day and the last weekend before school starts here. We didn't have dinner a few nights in a row, so we stopped by and had some delicious Mexican food! :)
Love you all! Have a great week! :)
-Hermana Pierce
Monday, August 25, 2014
Finally!! More pictures!
Hermana Pierce's 20th Bday 
Sweet Mexican Soda Pop
Sister Hylands last day in Lakeville
Lakeville District @ the Temple with Cupkie's
A happy place!
Cathedral in St Paul
Sweet Mexican Soda Pop
Sister Hylands last day in Lakeville
Lakeville District @ the Temple with Cupkie's
A happy place!
Cathedral in St Paul
No hablo ingles!
Hello!
Well its official; I can't speak English. This week we went on exchanges and Hermana White took over here in Spanish and I did English work with Sister Toone. We had a lot of fun and some really cool miracles, but wow, I am so bad at speaking English. It really is just when we are teaching people, since I am so used to teaching in Spanish. I would try to say words like "Priesthood" or "Baptism" and I the Spanish words just kept coming to mind!
We did have some awesome things happen though. We met a lady named D and asked her if she believes in God. She said, "somedays." She told us that she doesn't understand why God would let so many awful things happen especially in the Middle East and places where things are really bad. We testified of God's love for us and started teaching her about the Restoration and tried to answer her questions the best we could. She kept asking us, "how do you know that?" and we just tried to respond as sincerely as we could. As we continued to talk the Spirit was so strong and she told us that she believed everything we had told her. She asked us if she could come to church before we even invited her and she was so excited to have a copy of the Book of Mormon! She told us she believes that someone sent us to her and that she is excited for us to come back! Of course, I won't get to come back, but I'm excited for the sisters too! Also, a little over a month ago Hermana White and I met a mom and daughter who speak English and gave the referral to the Sisters. They have been teaching them and the mom is getting baptized in a few weeks! :)
This week was seriously great. Hermana White did a great job in taking over the area and definitely has more confidence now and has been doing better with teaching/planning and everything. We got to teach pretty much all of the investigators that we weren't able to see last week which was great too. We taught Ri and Ma about the Plan of Salvation. The only problem right now is that Ma works on Sundays and there is no way she can get work off with this job.. :/ We have faith that if it is meant to be that Heavenly Father will provide a way!!
We taught J again too. So many great questions from that girl. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation as well and ended up focusing a lot on the Atonement. She didn't understand why Jesus had to come to earth and die for us. We explained and testified and the Spirit was there to help her understand. Her faith is definitely growing already.
Sundays are the best days. Yesterday we had a few people to church. Lucky for me, the Branch President asked me to speak approximately one minute before Sacrament started. A high councilor was supposed to come and speak but he didn't show up. I talked about prayer and I think it went okay, haha.
Yesterday we were able to visit Ma and E. They haven't come to church for a few weeks because they have been super busy fixing things up before the cold comes, but they said they will be there this coming Sunday. Our branch president told us he thinks there is something different about them and he was really worried for them because a few weeks ago when Ma was there the lesson was about eternal marriage and it got into some deep, confusing doctrine and Ma apparently seemed a little uncomfortable. Everything seems to be fine though!
We had a great end to the day yesterday when we visited Mi and A with Hermano Lopez. We retaught the Restoration since that was something Mi didn't understand and it honestly could not have gone any better. Hermano Lopez explained things so clearly that I even learned things I didn't know about the Restoration before. It helped so much and both of them expressed that they understood a lot better. It was great!
It's crazy that this is already the last week of the transfer! This summer has gone by so fast. Good luck with starting school and all the fall things coming up! Love you all!! :)
♥Hermana Pierce
Well its official; I can't speak English. This week we went on exchanges and Hermana White took over here in Spanish and I did English work with Sister Toone. We had a lot of fun and some really cool miracles, but wow, I am so bad at speaking English. It really is just when we are teaching people, since I am so used to teaching in Spanish. I would try to say words like "Priesthood" or "Baptism" and I the Spanish words just kept coming to mind!
We did have some awesome things happen though. We met a lady named D and asked her if she believes in God. She said, "somedays." She told us that she doesn't understand why God would let so many awful things happen especially in the Middle East and places where things are really bad. We testified of God's love for us and started teaching her about the Restoration and tried to answer her questions the best we could. She kept asking us, "how do you know that?" and we just tried to respond as sincerely as we could. As we continued to talk the Spirit was so strong and she told us that she believed everything we had told her. She asked us if she could come to church before we even invited her and she was so excited to have a copy of the Book of Mormon! She told us she believes that someone sent us to her and that she is excited for us to come back! Of course, I won't get to come back, but I'm excited for the sisters too! Also, a little over a month ago Hermana White and I met a mom and daughter who speak English and gave the referral to the Sisters. They have been teaching them and the mom is getting baptized in a few weeks! :)
This week was seriously great. Hermana White did a great job in taking over the area and definitely has more confidence now and has been doing better with teaching/planning and everything. We got to teach pretty much all of the investigators that we weren't able to see last week which was great too. We taught Ri and Ma about the Plan of Salvation. The only problem right now is that Ma works on Sundays and there is no way she can get work off with this job.. :/ We have faith that if it is meant to be that Heavenly Father will provide a way!!
We taught J again too. So many great questions from that girl. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation as well and ended up focusing a lot on the Atonement. She didn't understand why Jesus had to come to earth and die for us. We explained and testified and the Spirit was there to help her understand. Her faith is definitely growing already.
Sundays are the best days. Yesterday we had a few people to church. Lucky for me, the Branch President asked me to speak approximately one minute before Sacrament started. A high councilor was supposed to come and speak but he didn't show up. I talked about prayer and I think it went okay, haha.
Yesterday we were able to visit Ma and E. They haven't come to church for a few weeks because they have been super busy fixing things up before the cold comes, but they said they will be there this coming Sunday. Our branch president told us he thinks there is something different about them and he was really worried for them because a few weeks ago when Ma was there the lesson was about eternal marriage and it got into some deep, confusing doctrine and Ma apparently seemed a little uncomfortable. Everything seems to be fine though!
We had a great end to the day yesterday when we visited Mi and A with Hermano Lopez. We retaught the Restoration since that was something Mi didn't understand and it honestly could not have gone any better. Hermano Lopez explained things so clearly that I even learned things I didn't know about the Restoration before. It helped so much and both of them expressed that they understood a lot better. It was great!
It's crazy that this is already the last week of the transfer! This summer has gone by so fast. Good luck with starting school and all the fall things coming up! Love you all!! :)
♥Hermana Pierce
Monday, August 18, 2014
1 year and NOT counting
Hola familia! como estan?
This week was a little tricky with getting in to seeing all of our investigators. Hopefully this week will be better with return appointments and getting people to really progress! We have a lot of good people, sometimes the progress is just a little slow though.
One thing that at first was a disappointment is that Mi isn't going to be baptized this Sunday. He still has some doubts and questions about some of the fundamentals and he can't really be baptized if he doesn't have a testimony of those things. Their family is struggling with finances and other things and so there is a lot of stress on Mi right now. I have no doubt that he will be baptized, just not right now. One thing that I really had to learn this week is that the Lord's timing is not my timing. He knows exactly what Mi needs and when he should be baptized. As a missionary my purpose is to help people come unto Christ through the principles of the gospel, of course including baptism. It is hard when there are a lot of people that I want with all my heart to accept the gospel and right now. I keep learning again and again I just have to have faith, do my best, and trust in the Lord. :)
Last night we taught an awesome mom named Ja the restoration. She has had so many questions all her life about religion and never has really been able to find the answers. She is Catholic, but doesn't like everything about the Catholic church. We taught her about when Jesus Christ was on the earth and set up His church, and she was one step ahead of us and asking about why there are so many churches now. Then we taught about the great apostasy and Joseph Smith and she thought it was cool, but still wondered how anyone could know if it was really true. That lead perfectly into the Book of Mormon and praying to know the truth for ourselves. The Spirit was so strong as we were able to teach the lesson to meet her questions and needs. We are seeing her again this Thursday! I can't wait! :)
This week I will have been out on my mission for 1 year. There is a elder leaving from the branch this week and yesterday was his open house. We didn't have a dinner appointment but we were invited so we went and had tamales. :) It made me think back to the time right before I left and all those feelings of being nervous and excited. It is amazing to think of how much I have changed during this year. This is the first year in probably 15 that I didn't go to school, but I have learned more in this year about things far more valuable than what I learned from text books, not that that stuff isn't important ;). I have learned about my purpose in life, the gospel of Jesus Christ and what it means to be His disciple. I've learned that it is possible to love everyone no matter who they are or where they come from and despite any and all weaknesses. I have learned so much about the Atonement and the blessings of repentance. All of that, plus Spanish, and yet there is so much more still to learn. I am so grateful for these next 6 months I have ahead of me as a full time missionary and then for the rest of my life after that to forever be a follower of Jesus Christ and a witness of Him. :)
Love you!!
♥Hermana Pierce
This week was a little tricky with getting in to seeing all of our investigators. Hopefully this week will be better with return appointments and getting people to really progress! We have a lot of good people, sometimes the progress is just a little slow though.
One thing that at first was a disappointment is that Mi isn't going to be baptized this Sunday. He still has some doubts and questions about some of the fundamentals and he can't really be baptized if he doesn't have a testimony of those things. Their family is struggling with finances and other things and so there is a lot of stress on Mi right now. I have no doubt that he will be baptized, just not right now. One thing that I really had to learn this week is that the Lord's timing is not my timing. He knows exactly what Mi needs and when he should be baptized. As a missionary my purpose is to help people come unto Christ through the principles of the gospel, of course including baptism. It is hard when there are a lot of people that I want with all my heart to accept the gospel and right now. I keep learning again and again I just have to have faith, do my best, and trust in the Lord. :)
Last night we taught an awesome mom named Ja the restoration. She has had so many questions all her life about religion and never has really been able to find the answers. She is Catholic, but doesn't like everything about the Catholic church. We taught her about when Jesus Christ was on the earth and set up His church, and she was one step ahead of us and asking about why there are so many churches now. Then we taught about the great apostasy and Joseph Smith and she thought it was cool, but still wondered how anyone could know if it was really true. That lead perfectly into the Book of Mormon and praying to know the truth for ourselves. The Spirit was so strong as we were able to teach the lesson to meet her questions and needs. We are seeing her again this Thursday! I can't wait! :)
This week I will have been out on my mission for 1 year. There is a elder leaving from the branch this week and yesterday was his open house. We didn't have a dinner appointment but we were invited so we went and had tamales. :) It made me think back to the time right before I left and all those feelings of being nervous and excited. It is amazing to think of how much I have changed during this year. This is the first year in probably 15 that I didn't go to school, but I have learned more in this year about things far more valuable than what I learned from text books, not that that stuff isn't important ;). I have learned about my purpose in life, the gospel of Jesus Christ and what it means to be His disciple. I've learned that it is possible to love everyone no matter who they are or where they come from and despite any and all weaknesses. I have learned so much about the Atonement and the blessings of repentance. All of that, plus Spanish, and yet there is so much more still to learn. I am so grateful for these next 6 months I have ahead of me as a full time missionary and then for the rest of my life after that to forever be a follower of Jesus Christ and a witness of Him. :)
Love you!!
♥Hermana Pierce
Monday, August 11, 2014
I♥Lakeville
Hi Family!!!
This week went by so fast and tons happened! It was great.
We saw V on Monday. She is pregnant and has been in the doctors a lot/sick so she hasn't been doing great about coming to church. Hopefully we will be able to keep her progressing, but we will have to move her baptismal date. She has such a strong desire to be baptized and she is doing well with keeping the commandments and everything else! Her little boy came to church though with his grandma, Hermana Perez and his aunt. Hermana Perez and Arlett (her daughter) have been actively coming the past few months! :):):) It always makes me so happy to see them!
Mi is doing well also. He has his interview this Thursday so hopefully all goes well!! They came to church and seemed to enjoy it. The hardest thing for Mi is not getting bored in church because it is kind of long. Hopefully he will continue to enjoy it more and apply it better in his life. We taught them this past week about things to do to have a better church experience. Alma is still doing amazing. She loves the gospel and shares it with everyone. She has such a strong testimony and even though it is new to her so there are plenty of questions and things she doesn't fully understand, she has so much faith!
Ma also came to church with the kids, but had to leave before Sacrament. We aren't sure yet why E didn't come, but we had a great lesson with them Saturday! We keep going back and forth with them trying to decide if we should keep teaching them, but lately they have been doing a lot more to come to church and everything, so Heavenly Father is definitely answering our prayers!
Last week I told you about how we met an awesome couple named R and May. This week we taught them about the Book of Mormon and it was an amazing lesson. They gave us their full attention and expressed sincere interest to know if it is true. The Spirit was powerful again with them and we are teaching them this week too with the Montecillos! R told us that usually May doesn't like to listen to anybody from churches other than the Catholic, but that she felt different with us and so he thinks that means something. I'm so grateful that we found them and I know that they are prepared! :)
We had Zone Conference this week with President Forbes. It went very well! We are going to try to focus on working more with less actives and active members to do finding. It's obviously a challenge for us to do that since we don't have tons of people, but we have some new ideas that we are going to try!
I'm excited for another great week of missionary work and I hope that you all have a great week too! We are going to St. Paul today to do a little sight seeing! I'll send pics next week.
Love you!!
Hermana Pierce
This week went by so fast and tons happened! It was great.
We saw V on Monday. She is pregnant and has been in the doctors a lot/sick so she hasn't been doing great about coming to church. Hopefully we will be able to keep her progressing, but we will have to move her baptismal date. She has such a strong desire to be baptized and she is doing well with keeping the commandments and everything else! Her little boy came to church though with his grandma, Hermana Perez and his aunt. Hermana Perez and Arlett (her daughter) have been actively coming the past few months! :):):) It always makes me so happy to see them!
Mi is doing well also. He has his interview this Thursday so hopefully all goes well!! They came to church and seemed to enjoy it. The hardest thing for Mi is not getting bored in church because it is kind of long. Hopefully he will continue to enjoy it more and apply it better in his life. We taught them this past week about things to do to have a better church experience. Alma is still doing amazing. She loves the gospel and shares it with everyone. She has such a strong testimony and even though it is new to her so there are plenty of questions and things she doesn't fully understand, she has so much faith!
Ma also came to church with the kids, but had to leave before Sacrament. We aren't sure yet why E didn't come, but we had a great lesson with them Saturday! We keep going back and forth with them trying to decide if we should keep teaching them, but lately they have been doing a lot more to come to church and everything, so Heavenly Father is definitely answering our prayers!
Last week I told you about how we met an awesome couple named R and May. This week we taught them about the Book of Mormon and it was an amazing lesson. They gave us their full attention and expressed sincere interest to know if it is true. The Spirit was powerful again with them and we are teaching them this week too with the Montecillos! R told us that usually May doesn't like to listen to anybody from churches other than the Catholic, but that she felt different with us and so he thinks that means something. I'm so grateful that we found them and I know that they are prepared! :)
We had Zone Conference this week with President Forbes. It went very well! We are going to try to focus on working more with less actives and active members to do finding. It's obviously a challenge for us to do that since we don't have tons of people, but we have some new ideas that we are going to try!
I'm excited for another great week of missionary work and I hope that you all have a great week too! We are going to St. Paul today to do a little sight seeing! I'll send pics next week.
Love you!!
Hermana Pierce
Monday, August 4, 2014
Happy August!
Happy August!
I try not to really think about the time, but when I realized that this is the month I left for my mission a year ago I kind of freaked out!
This week was a great one! M is doing great. I love their family so much and am so happy that I have been able to teach them. They went to Duluth this weekend for A's birthday, so they weren't at church, but they have been doing great about reading in the Book of Mormon and praying both individually and as a family. :)
We had a great lesson with V this past week too. We taught her the Word of Wisdom and had her read the scripture in D&C 89:18-21 which is the promise if we obey. She got this surprised look on her face and said, "That's kind of scary! So, if you keep it you will be protected, but if you don't an angel will slay you!?" The way she said it was so funny! She committed to living it and said the sweetest pray afterwards too! She really wants this in her life, but there are a lot of distractions too so we are hoping she will be able to come to church this week and keep doing well!
We had a great miracle yesterday when M and E, a family we have been teaching, showed up to church out of the blue. They have been taught on and off before by missionaries and recently we picked them back up and have been trying to help them progress. M especially is going through a lot and he said that he would like to be baptized. They aren't married though and don't really understand why they need to be even though we have taught it several times. We have confidence the Spirit will help them understand and they will have the desire to change!
One night we were out finding and it was just about time to go home. We decided to knock one more door and ended up finding an awesome family! Their names are R and M. We taught them and their kids the Restoration and have a return appointment this week. They were the sweetest people and the Spirit was very strong. When they heard about Joseph Smith they both had these looks of amazement on their face and we could tell they could feel it!
I think that one of the hardest things about being a missionary is hearing the same excuses over and over and having to be patient. There are times when I just want people to accept the gospel and understand the message so bad, but they don't. I have to take a step back and trust in the Lord. He knows who is prepared and who isn't. Of course everyone won't accept this message right now at this time, but there are people that will, because it is the truth! We just have to have faith, love, obedience, and diligence!! I love being a missionary and am so grateful for the huge blessing it is to share the gospel!!
Love you all and hope you have a wonderful week! :)
♥Hermana Pierce
I try not to really think about the time, but when I realized that this is the month I left for my mission a year ago I kind of freaked out!
This week was a great one! M is doing great. I love their family so much and am so happy that I have been able to teach them. They went to Duluth this weekend for A's birthday, so they weren't at church, but they have been doing great about reading in the Book of Mormon and praying both individually and as a family. :)
We had a great lesson with V this past week too. We taught her the Word of Wisdom and had her read the scripture in D&C 89:18-21 which is the promise if we obey. She got this surprised look on her face and said, "That's kind of scary! So, if you keep it you will be protected, but if you don't an angel will slay you!?" The way she said it was so funny! She committed to living it and said the sweetest pray afterwards too! She really wants this in her life, but there are a lot of distractions too so we are hoping she will be able to come to church this week and keep doing well!
We had a great miracle yesterday when M and E, a family we have been teaching, showed up to church out of the blue. They have been taught on and off before by missionaries and recently we picked them back up and have been trying to help them progress. M especially is going through a lot and he said that he would like to be baptized. They aren't married though and don't really understand why they need to be even though we have taught it several times. We have confidence the Spirit will help them understand and they will have the desire to change!
One night we were out finding and it was just about time to go home. We decided to knock one more door and ended up finding an awesome family! Their names are R and M. We taught them and their kids the Restoration and have a return appointment this week. They were the sweetest people and the Spirit was very strong. When they heard about Joseph Smith they both had these looks of amazement on their face and we could tell they could feel it!
I think that one of the hardest things about being a missionary is hearing the same excuses over and over and having to be patient. There are times when I just want people to accept the gospel and understand the message so bad, but they don't. I have to take a step back and trust in the Lord. He knows who is prepared and who isn't. Of course everyone won't accept this message right now at this time, but there are people that will, because it is the truth! We just have to have faith, love, obedience, and diligence!! I love being a missionary and am so grateful for the huge blessing it is to share the gospel!!
Love you all and hope you have a wonderful week! :)
♥Hermana Pierce
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Buenos Dias!
This past week was kind of weird, but good! We didn't get to see most of our progressing investigators because everyone was either really busy or sick :/ But, a lot of great things are happening here like normal!
V was one that we didn't get to see, but we are seeing her tonight! We met briefly with M and he told us he feels ready to be baptized and he was good to go for this coming Sunday, the 3rd. We talked with our District Leader and prayed about it and felt that he actually needs a little more time. He has made a lot of progress and is SO close, but not quite. We set a date with him yesterday for August 24th. It will give him enough time to come to church consistently every week. We are really excited for him!!! Sometimes you hear of people who get baptized and their spouses not getting baptized for years and years, so we are really happy that he will be baptized soon and they will be able to work together and prepare for the temple :)
Yesterday the Branch had a record high of people! I tried to count and from what I could see there was at least 62 people there!!! There are a few less active people who have been coming back consistently and are returning to full activity. So many miracles have resulted from this branch being created!! After the meetings we did a "family home evening" as a branch and had a potluck and played Jeopardy- we had gospel themes and questions- It was so fun.
Several months back we found a name and address of someone who was baptized about 7 years ago. We had never met her, so we went to the house, but couldn't find her. We tried several times without luck. A few weeks ago one sister in our branch told us we should stop by her neighbors. They were in Mexico for a while but just yesterday we were able to find them at home. We talked to the girl and she told us she had been baptized in the LDS church but that her husband wasn't a member and they were going to another Christian church. They had tried going to the church in Lakeville when it was in English, but he speaks mostly just Spanish. We told her that the branch had just started and that it was all Spanish. She got so excited and said she would love to come and would talk to her husband about it! It wasn't until a few minutes after we left that I realized that she is the girl we had been looking for before at the other house!!! She had moved and we hadn't made the connection! We really hope they will come!!
We met with M and D this past week. M we only talked to for a few minutes because he had to be somewhere, but we talked to Diana and it went pretty well. They are both confused about what they should be doing, and really want to follow God. They just don't know how they feel about the Book of Mormon and honestly haven't done a good job of reading it. We are going to try to meet with them again this week and hopefully be able to help them. Please keep praying for them that they can soften their hearts and realize that this really is the truth!! It has been pretty hard, but I have felt a lot of peace that it will all be okay. It has also helped me to realize how important it is to have a testimony of the Book of Mormon. It's the keystone of our religion. Read it, ponder it, pray about it!!!
Thanks for all the emails, prayers and love! Have a wonderful week and remember the gospel is true! :)
♥Hermana Pierce
This past week was kind of weird, but good! We didn't get to see most of our progressing investigators because everyone was either really busy or sick :/ But, a lot of great things are happening here like normal!
V was one that we didn't get to see, but we are seeing her tonight! We met briefly with M and he told us he feels ready to be baptized and he was good to go for this coming Sunday, the 3rd. We talked with our District Leader and prayed about it and felt that he actually needs a little more time. He has made a lot of progress and is SO close, but not quite. We set a date with him yesterday for August 24th. It will give him enough time to come to church consistently every week. We are really excited for him!!! Sometimes you hear of people who get baptized and their spouses not getting baptized for years and years, so we are really happy that he will be baptized soon and they will be able to work together and prepare for the temple :)
Yesterday the Branch had a record high of people! I tried to count and from what I could see there was at least 62 people there!!! There are a few less active people who have been coming back consistently and are returning to full activity. So many miracles have resulted from this branch being created!! After the meetings we did a "family home evening" as a branch and had a potluck and played Jeopardy- we had gospel themes and questions- It was so fun.
Several months back we found a name and address of someone who was baptized about 7 years ago. We had never met her, so we went to the house, but couldn't find her. We tried several times without luck. A few weeks ago one sister in our branch told us we should stop by her neighbors. They were in Mexico for a while but just yesterday we were able to find them at home. We talked to the girl and she told us she had been baptized in the LDS church but that her husband wasn't a member and they were going to another Christian church. They had tried going to the church in Lakeville when it was in English, but he speaks mostly just Spanish. We told her that the branch had just started and that it was all Spanish. She got so excited and said she would love to come and would talk to her husband about it! It wasn't until a few minutes after we left that I realized that she is the girl we had been looking for before at the other house!!! She had moved and we hadn't made the connection! We really hope they will come!!
We met with M and D this past week. M we only talked to for a few minutes because he had to be somewhere, but we talked to Diana and it went pretty well. They are both confused about what they should be doing, and really want to follow God. They just don't know how they feel about the Book of Mormon and honestly haven't done a good job of reading it. We are going to try to meet with them again this week and hopefully be able to help them. Please keep praying for them that they can soften their hearts and realize that this really is the truth!! It has been pretty hard, but I have felt a lot of peace that it will all be okay. It has also helped me to realize how important it is to have a testimony of the Book of Mormon. It's the keystone of our religion. Read it, ponder it, pray about it!!!
Thanks for all the emails, prayers and love! Have a wonderful week and remember the gospel is true! :)
♥Hermana Pierce
Monday, July 21, 2014
The gospel is true!
Buenos Dias Familia Mia :)
I am starting my 8th transfer on Wednesday. And... I'm still in Lakeville! Not a surprise since I am training, but you never know! I'm thinking this is probably going to be the last one, so gotta make it count! This place as changed my life so much and I am so grateful I have been able to be here for so much time... although it really only feels like a couple months!
This week was awesome. M received an answer that he needs to be baptized. He had a dream that he saved his brother and that his brother forgave him and that everything was okay. He felt like it was God's way of telling him he needed to take action and be baptized. We are still a little concerned that he needs to have a stronger testimony, but it's huge step! He will probably be baptized in the next few weeks, but we are not exactly sure when! The whole family came to church yesterday and seemed to enjoy it and then last night we did a Family Home Evening with the Saldana family and them. It went really well!
We set a baptismal date this week with V. She came to church yesterday with her husband who hasn't been for a long time. Hermana Perez came too. :) It made me so happy to see all of them there! She is doing really well though and has changed a ton! She really wants to be baptized. She is working towards August 30th!
Do you remember when we were teaching C? We hadn't seen her in months, but yesterday Sister Hafen (who she works for) told us that she wants to come back to church again. We stopped by to see her and she told us she got married. She still has a lot of problems, but the Lord is definitely preparing her! It was great to see her and we are going to try to start teaching her and see if she is willing to act.
My birthday was a great day! Thanks so much for the birthday wishes :) We had weekly planning so we were home for a good part of the afternoon but did go see several different people and overall it was a great day! Haha, so I actually did get soda pop cake on my birthday! Sister Jensen asked me about a week ago what my birthday traditions are and I told her and she was so sweet and made me a soda pop cake! :)
I'm excited for another great week ahead of me! Hope you all have a great one too!
Remember the gospel is true and that Jesus Christ is the one and only way to true happiness! :)
Love,
Hermana Pierce
I am starting my 8th transfer on Wednesday. And... I'm still in Lakeville! Not a surprise since I am training, but you never know! I'm thinking this is probably going to be the last one, so gotta make it count! This place as changed my life so much and I am so grateful I have been able to be here for so much time... although it really only feels like a couple months!
This week was awesome. M received an answer that he needs to be baptized. He had a dream that he saved his brother and that his brother forgave him and that everything was okay. He felt like it was God's way of telling him he needed to take action and be baptized. We are still a little concerned that he needs to have a stronger testimony, but it's huge step! He will probably be baptized in the next few weeks, but we are not exactly sure when! The whole family came to church yesterday and seemed to enjoy it and then last night we did a Family Home Evening with the Saldana family and them. It went really well!
We set a baptismal date this week with V. She came to church yesterday with her husband who hasn't been for a long time. Hermana Perez came too. :) It made me so happy to see all of them there! She is doing really well though and has changed a ton! She really wants to be baptized. She is working towards August 30th!
Do you remember when we were teaching C? We hadn't seen her in months, but yesterday Sister Hafen (who she works for) told us that she wants to come back to church again. We stopped by to see her and she told us she got married. She still has a lot of problems, but the Lord is definitely preparing her! It was great to see her and we are going to try to start teaching her and see if she is willing to act.
My birthday was a great day! Thanks so much for the birthday wishes :) We had weekly planning so we were home for a good part of the afternoon but did go see several different people and overall it was a great day! Haha, so I actually did get soda pop cake on my birthday! Sister Jensen asked me about a week ago what my birthday traditions are and I told her and she was so sweet and made me a soda pop cake! :)
I'm excited for another great week ahead of me! Hope you all have a great one too!
Remember the gospel is true and that Jesus Christ is the one and only way to true happiness! :)
Love,
Hermana Pierce
Monday, July 7, 2014
How is it July??
Buenas tardes!!
This past week is all kind of a blur. It went by so fast! We were able to meet President and Sister Forbes on Wednesday at New Missionary Training. It was a lot of fun, but really weird! They are not anything like the Clements. They are awesome though and I'm excited to get to know them more. Sister Forbes is hilarious. Yesterday they came to Lakeville to church and then stayed for our Spanish gospel principles class. I thought that was pretty cool since even though they don't speak Spanish they were willing to come and support us :)
We started teaching this guy named E a few weeks ago and he is really awesome! He's from El Salvador and has a huge desire to follow Christ. He came to the United States last year to escape the violence down there and just wants to turn his life around. We are meeting with him again this week; should be great!
A came to YW again last week, but they didn't come to church. Apparently they were in Wisconsin for the weekends. We are supposed to be seeing them tonight so hopefully we can get them to really commit to coming! A is set on coming to Girl's Camp though!
M and A: What can I even say. They are the best and I love them so much. Every time we go over there the Spirit is so strong. I can feel it the moment we walk in. A is such an awesome example. We met with them this morning actually too and she shared with us how a few people recently had asked her what church she goes to. She told them and they had all responded negatively. She told them confidently that even though she might not know very much about the church or the bible or anything, she knows that this is the truth. She knows by how she feels that this is exactly where God wants her. She's the best! We invited her to come teaching with us tomorrow and she was so excited! We are going to visit someone named J who is pretty much like an aunt to A. We found her on our own and then a few days later Alma mentioned her name and we figured out it was the same person!
M is doing so great too. He is participating more in lessons and loving reading the Book of Mormon. He is getting close. He also is now praying specifically if he should be baptized. The way he said it was hilarious though... He told us in his prayer he said: Help me to know if I should get baptized and become a member of your team. Haha, not church, but team. :)
Last night we had a really cool miracle. We went to visit a family that is less-active. The kids are teenagers and pretty active but the parents only come once in a while. Anyways, we went over and it turns out they are having a friend named F living with them right now. We ended up teaching him the restoration with them and found out he is very confused about religion and really is looking for it in his life right now! Coincidence? I don't think so! :)
The 4th of July was pretty fun here! We played tennis with the English sisters in the morning. I actually got caught up a little with my journal, and we had a fun time with the Jensen's! We ate dinner, went on a walk around a lake, and played games! We did get to watch some fireworks from the Jensen's too! Fun day! :)
Thanks for the emails! Love you and hope you have a week!
-Hermana Pierce
This past week is all kind of a blur. It went by so fast! We were able to meet President and Sister Forbes on Wednesday at New Missionary Training. It was a lot of fun, but really weird! They are not anything like the Clements. They are awesome though and I'm excited to get to know them more. Sister Forbes is hilarious. Yesterday they came to Lakeville to church and then stayed for our Spanish gospel principles class. I thought that was pretty cool since even though they don't speak Spanish they were willing to come and support us :)
We started teaching this guy named E a few weeks ago and he is really awesome! He's from El Salvador and has a huge desire to follow Christ. He came to the United States last year to escape the violence down there and just wants to turn his life around. We are meeting with him again this week; should be great!
A came to YW again last week, but they didn't come to church. Apparently they were in Wisconsin for the weekends. We are supposed to be seeing them tonight so hopefully we can get them to really commit to coming! A is set on coming to Girl's Camp though!
M and A: What can I even say. They are the best and I love them so much. Every time we go over there the Spirit is so strong. I can feel it the moment we walk in. A is such an awesome example. We met with them this morning actually too and she shared with us how a few people recently had asked her what church she goes to. She told them and they had all responded negatively. She told them confidently that even though she might not know very much about the church or the bible or anything, she knows that this is the truth. She knows by how she feels that this is exactly where God wants her. She's the best! We invited her to come teaching with us tomorrow and she was so excited! We are going to visit someone named J who is pretty much like an aunt to A. We found her on our own and then a few days later Alma mentioned her name and we figured out it was the same person!
M is doing so great too. He is participating more in lessons and loving reading the Book of Mormon. He is getting close. He also is now praying specifically if he should be baptized. The way he said it was hilarious though... He told us in his prayer he said: Help me to know if I should get baptized and become a member of your team. Haha, not church, but team. :)
Last night we had a really cool miracle. We went to visit a family that is less-active. The kids are teenagers and pretty active but the parents only come once in a while. Anyways, we went over and it turns out they are having a friend named F living with them right now. We ended up teaching him the restoration with them and found out he is very confused about religion and really is looking for it in his life right now! Coincidence? I don't think so! :)
The 4th of July was pretty fun here! We played tennis with the English sisters in the morning. I actually got caught up a little with my journal, and we had a fun time with the Jensen's! We ate dinner, went on a walk around a lake, and played games! We did get to watch some fireworks from the Jensen's too! Fun day! :)
Thanks for the emails! Love you and hope you have a week!
-Hermana Pierce
Monday, June 30, 2014
Happy Birthday Brooke!!! Happy 4th of July
Hola!
I have to give a shout out to Brooke! Happy 14th Birthday! :)
This week was awesome. My time on my knees praying has become the most important time I have. I have felt so much gratitude for the gospel and especially for Jesus Christ and His atonement. There are moments that are not easy, and sometimes there are dissapointments but every time I feel down at all I just pray and somehow, I really don't understand how it is even possible, my burden is made light and I am filled with a joy that I can physcially feel. I'm so grateful and know that each of us can feel this joy in our lives!
Tuesday we had our last Zone Conference with the Clements. It was really good. President Clements role played with me. I pretended to be M and He taught me about the Atonement and how baptism is what allows us to acces that and be healed. I don't think I mentioned this, but we found out that M feels guilt and pain because his brother was killed in an accident a long time ago and even though it wasn't his fault, he feels like if they hadn't been doing what they were doing, it wouldn't have happened. The Spirit was so strong when we were role playing and I learned a lot. The Clements are so amazing and I already miss them so much. President and Sister Forbes came on Thursday and we will meet them this Wednesday. We had a call with them last night and they seem great! I'm excited to learn from them.
We had M and A teach us this week about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. It was so good. A tells everyone she is so so happy and she shares the gospel with everyone too. :) She has become a new person. This is why I am here. :)
M is also doing well. We applied what we learned with President Clements and taught them about the atonement although I am sure not nearly as well, haha. Either way, he expressed a desire to be baptized, but like Dad said, he still needs to repent. It became clear when we were teaching him that the problem really is that he doesn't fully understand what repentance is. We will be teaching them this Thursday so hopefully it will go well!
I believe I told you about the people that we met on a Friday and came to church Sunday, H, S, and A. This week were able to meet with A, who is 12, and she was so excited to read the Book of Mormon. She really wants to be baptized too. They didn't come to church though this past week so we will be trying to find out what happened on Wednesday.
We met some people that I am positive the Lord has prepared this week. I just have to be patient as I work as hard as I can! I want everyone to come to church and get baptized right now! :) It will help when the World Cup is over. I lost count of how many times people said they weren't coming to church because Mexico was playing.
This is going to be a crazy week! We have New Missionary Training on Wednesday and then another P-day on Friday for the 4th. We don't have P-day next Monday but will have a little time to write then so I will talk to you next week! :) Love you and hope you have a happy week and fun 4th of July!
Love,
Hermana Pierce
I have to give a shout out to Brooke! Happy 14th Birthday! :)
This week was awesome. My time on my knees praying has become the most important time I have. I have felt so much gratitude for the gospel and especially for Jesus Christ and His atonement. There are moments that are not easy, and sometimes there are dissapointments but every time I feel down at all I just pray and somehow, I really don't understand how it is even possible, my burden is made light and I am filled with a joy that I can physcially feel. I'm so grateful and know that each of us can feel this joy in our lives!
Tuesday we had our last Zone Conference with the Clements. It was really good. President Clements role played with me. I pretended to be M and He taught me about the Atonement and how baptism is what allows us to acces that and be healed. I don't think I mentioned this, but we found out that M feels guilt and pain because his brother was killed in an accident a long time ago and even though it wasn't his fault, he feels like if they hadn't been doing what they were doing, it wouldn't have happened. The Spirit was so strong when we were role playing and I learned a lot. The Clements are so amazing and I already miss them so much. President and Sister Forbes came on Thursday and we will meet them this Wednesday. We had a call with them last night and they seem great! I'm excited to learn from them.
We had M and A teach us this week about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. It was so good. A tells everyone she is so so happy and she shares the gospel with everyone too. :) She has become a new person. This is why I am here. :)
M is also doing well. We applied what we learned with President Clements and taught them about the atonement although I am sure not nearly as well, haha. Either way, he expressed a desire to be baptized, but like Dad said, he still needs to repent. It became clear when we were teaching him that the problem really is that he doesn't fully understand what repentance is. We will be teaching them this Thursday so hopefully it will go well!
I believe I told you about the people that we met on a Friday and came to church Sunday, H, S, and A. This week were able to meet with A, who is 12, and she was so excited to read the Book of Mormon. She really wants to be baptized too. They didn't come to church though this past week so we will be trying to find out what happened on Wednesday.
We met some people that I am positive the Lord has prepared this week. I just have to be patient as I work as hard as I can! I want everyone to come to church and get baptized right now! :) It will help when the World Cup is over. I lost count of how many times people said they weren't coming to church because Mexico was playing.
This is going to be a crazy week! We have New Missionary Training on Wednesday and then another P-day on Friday for the 4th. We don't have P-day next Monday but will have a little time to write then so I will talk to you next week! :) Love you and hope you have a happy week and fun 4th of July!
Love,
Hermana Pierce
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