Hasta Ver (Feb. 16)

Hola Familia!

I'm so grateful that I could have my last full week as a full time missionary be so wonderful. Every day was full of good experiences and like always, I learned and grew so much.

Saturday was such a special day! Jenny, Alondra, Emily and Vanessa all were baptized! It was the perfect way to spend Valentine's day, seeing them show their love for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. In the days before the baptism we had some really good lessons with them. The Spirit was so strong and it was a good preparation for this weekend! Even more powerful was yesterday when they were confirmed. They were each given very specific blessings that could not have been more perfect. There is no way that the person confirming them could have known their needs so well. It strengthened my testimony of the power of the Priesthood and also just how much our Heavenly Father knows and loves us. :) These girls will continue on to do great things! Jenny's sister was able to attend the baptism, but unfortunately N was not. :( We haven't been able to see him again yet, but soon!




Yesterday was such a beautiful day. In addition to having the confirmations, the L's came to church! I was beside myself with joy seeing them walk in. They loved it too and we are seeing them tonight! They are another perfect example of how our Heavenly Father knows us and knows what we need. In such a short time they have come to mean so much to me!

I will share more with you about this week later, but I just wanted to share a few thoughts now. I can't even begin to express my gratitude to the Lord for this amazing mission journey. As I reflect on the past 18 months I think about the people that I have become so close to and the sweet experiences that have made up my mission. All the hard times or discouraging times seem to fade away and I am so caught up in gratitude and love for this experience. I can't even imagine my life without my mission. Looking back, everyday was full of exactly what Heavenly Father knew I needed. I know that not because of anything that I did on my own, I could also be what other people needed too and there really is no better feeling than that: To know that what we are doing is what Heavenly Father would have us do.

My mind has expanded and my spirit has been strengthened and I do know with more surety than I've ever had that Jesus is my Savior and that His gospel and church are upon the earth today. This work is true. God is our Father and we are His children who have divine potential to return to Him and become like Him. He listens to our prayers and He sends us guidance. Right now, in this moment, we have a prophet on the earth who has been called by Him to give us the necessary light to make it back home. I love these truths with all my heart. It has taken work and it will for everyone who wants to know. But when those moments of light come it is worth every single sacrifice that we make to find it.

I love you!

Hermana Pierce

Our Father Loves Us! (Feb 9)

Buenos Dias!

This week has been another great one, full of little miracles and lots of growth and learning! It's interesting that sometimes it is easier to see things in retrospect, which is what I have been doing lately with my mission up to this point. The blessings I have received can't be counted or described and I continue to love this work more each day.

We saw the L's and were able to have a wonderful visit and we were able to serve them as well! We really have developed a close friendship so quickly with them. Wade has come with us a lot too and they really get along. It's amazing what has happened in such a short time. When we first came over the wife, B, expressed a lot of doubts about doctrine. Somehow, most of those doubts are resolved and she has a very strong desire to be active and have her husband join her as well. We don't even know what we did, but the Spirit obviously touched her and helped her to change her heart! They haven't come to church yet, the roads have been bad, but we are confident they will soon! Hopefully this Sunday!

This week Hermana Hiatt and I got to go to the temple! Usually are over an hour from St. Paul so usually we wouldn't be able to go, but when I was on exchanges in Lakeville we had dinner with one of my favorite families there and they told us they wanted to take us to the temple. They even asked President Forbes who said yes, so we got to go! It was really good. I love the temple so much! It had been about 7 months since I had been.

Our investigators D and E are so sweet! They committed to giving up coffee this week and both are doing awesome with reading! I will have to tell you more about them later, but they are so interesting and fun! And they are really excited to get baptized at the end of March!

J and her girls are getting baptized this Saturday! There are a few things we have to go over with them this week, but as long as everything goes well it should all work out! They are really excited and doing great! We weren't able to meet with N this week, but we will this coming week and he should be at the baptism too! :)

Some of our investigators and less active families have some really big concerns that we honestly just didn't know how to deal with. Hermana Hiatt and I decided to fast this Sunday for them and it was one of the most uplifting fasts I've ever had. We received a lot of revelation and so much peace that Heavenly Father loves these individuals and knows exactly what they need. I have come to realize that He truly does know exactly what I need. I'm sure I will realize it even more as I continue through life. I have been able to see so many examples of when things have happened that have been exactly what I needed or exactly what I needed to do for someone else. As I have begun to see that He is in the smallest details of our lives, it has brought me so much closer to Him and I am so grateful for that! God is our Father and He loves us! :)

Love,
Hermana Pierce

I love St. Peter! (Feb 2)

Hola, como estan?

Just about every day this week Hermana Hiatt and I have had a conversation about how we don't understand how we have been so blessed lately! Missionary work is always awesome because there are always miracles and cool things, but either I have gotten a lot better at recognizing the blessings or these past few weeks have been truly exceptional! I think maybe a little of both.

We visited the family I mentioned last week that has been less active for years- the father and 2 sons. Long story short, science and reason led to doubt, and eventually to complete confusion about spiritual things. We had such a great lesson with them though and they are very humble and open to "experimenting" on the word and trying to regain their faith. We are seeing them again tonight and I can't wait! It's amazing how no matter where we are with our testimonies, we are never free from danger of losing it if we do not continually exercise faith to grow it. One of the saddest things I have seen on my mission is how many people who have once lived and held on to the gospel have somehow become lost. The answer really is in those small and simple things done sincerely and consistently.

We had an amazing lesson with the L's- the family I had met before on exchanges. Her doubts were about the Plan of Salvation but she told us she understood a lot better when we talked about it the other day. She wants an eternal marriage with her husband so bad! He wants to be with her too but hasn't realized what that means or what he has to do. They both committed to coming to church this Sunday. Sadly, there was a snow storm Sunday morning and a lot of people didn't come to church because of that, including them. Next week though!

J and her daughters are still so excited for their baptism and are doing awesome. We taught about temples this week and they loved it and asked lots of questions. They come to church every week and are reading and doing so great! We had a really cool miracle with their family this week. J's husband has not been interested at all. He is supportive and isn't against them going to church or getting baptized, but he told the sisters he isn't interested in anything to do with religion and he has had some bad experiences in the past with other churches. One day we decided to stop by unannounced to see how they were doing and we happened to find N, J's husband, at home. He usually is working every day all day except Sundays so we got to talk with him and he told us he actually really wants to be a part of what his family is doing. He has lots of questions and doubts about everything, but he wants this to be a family thing and he wants to know for himself too! We came back last night and had an amazing lesson and he is so committed to finding the truth. He had a complete change of heart! This gospel is for families and we are so excited that they will get to have this as a family too! :)

We were able to have a couple more great lessons with Tana this week. She is starting a job soon in the cities so will likely be gone this week, but it was nice to get to teach her a few more times. She had the opportunity to move earlier, but she decided not to. We asked her why and she told us that she knows there will be lots of temptations and she just felt like she shouldn't go. Unfortunately, she still be back there soon, but hopefully our last few lessons helped her and she will be able to stay strong up there!

As always, there is so much more I could say. I love being a missionary and I am so grateful for all that Heavenly Father has taught me so far. I hope you all have a great week! Love you!

Love,
Hermana Pierce

Better (Jan 26) w pictures

Hola!

Sometimes it just feels like things can't even get better.. and then they do! I really have been blessed throughout all of my mission so far to be happy and have great experiences. In the last few weeks though I think this may be the happiest I have ever been. I have learned so much and I have found myself just reflecting again and again on the things I learn in my studies or from lessons or conversations with investigators and other people.

This week was full of a lot of incredible experiences. On Tuesday we stopped by a family who has been less active for about 8 years. It is a father and his 2 sons, and his wife who is not a member and is a step mom to the boys. They let us come in and were very nice. The father told us that he had grown up in the church, went to seminary, went to BYU etc but always relied on the testimonies of others and never gained his own, or if he did he let it diminish and doubts took over. Just a year ago his father joined the church and his entire family is very now very active. He feels pressure to become active, but he still has doctrinal issues that he is trying to work out. They agreed to let us come back tonight. For some reason, Hermana Hiatt and I have been so excited, more than usual, to come back and teach them. I really feel like I was able to receive so much revelation for them and it has been an incredible experience so far. I have a lot of thoughts, but one quick one is that I know that the Book of Mormon really is key to overcoming any doubt. All doubts we have either have to do with Jesus Christ as our Savior, Joseph Smith as a prophet, or the Church being true today or basically that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet guiding Christ's true church. If we know are able to receive revelation through the Spirit that the book is true, and do not "cast out" our faith we will be able to resolve any concern. I will let you know how it goes with them!

We were able to visit that family that I had met before again, and are also going back tomorrow. We now know what her concerns are, and have been working this week on trying to find the answers that will be what she needs to hear. Hopefully it goes well!

J and her girls are so excited for their baptism!! We are continuing to work with the ward to help them so they can have good, lasting friendships with the members. They are so much fun to teach because they are all so happy and have good questions!

The other day we had a lesson with T, and she basically told us she didn't want to meet anymore because she really doesn't believe she can change. She has been through so much and just can't keep all the commandments necessary for baptism. We tried everything we could to help her see otherwise but she wasn't willing to listen. The last thing we were able to do was to commit her to pray. Then, 2 days later, she texted us and told us that she actually would like to meet. We saw her yesterday and she had had a really sweet experience and felt so much peace and comfort. She opened up to us about some of the incredibly hard things she went through in her life and how she really does have a sincere motivation to change. She just went through a really low point. It was such a miracle! That feeling came after she prayed and I was so grateful that Heavenly Father heard her prayer and also ours! She is possibly going to be moving this week though, so other missionaries might be teaching her, but that's okay!

Ok, I'm sorry this is getting super long but just one more quick thing. This week I was able to go to Lakeville on exchanges!! I got to see a few familiar faces, not many, but it was still really fun and the people I did see made comments that they had known about transfers and how I almost came back, haha. It really did feel like being home in Lakeville, and it was almost as if I had never left. In a weird way though, it felt right coming back to St. Peter and Heavenly Father confirmed to me again that this is where I'm supposed to be!

I love you! Have a great week!

Hermana Pierce


Serious Ice Fishing in MN

Brittani with David and his nephew. Recently baptized in Lakeville.
Brittani with Sister Tingey

:) (Jan 19)

Buenas Tardes Familia!

Hermana Hiatt and I had another great week! We were able to teach J's daughters and had a really good lesson with them. They are all excited for baptism on the 14th! The ward is awesome here too and everyone is excited for them.

We are teaching a lot of people right now, like I mentioned last week. We are also teaching a lot of recent converts and less active members as well.

When Hermana Rawlins came to St. Peter she and her companion at the time met a man named Wade while tracting. Long story short, he felt the Spirit strongly and soon got baptized. He has been teaching with us a lot and is a huge example to me. He went from using/selling drugs, drinking etc to a man completely devoted to Jesus Christ and the gospel! On the weekend before I came he was able to baptized his 11 year old daughter and another man named Travis. He has been helping us a lot with teaching. He has such an amazing testimony. One of my favorite things as a missionary is getting to see such great changes in people.

This actually isn't the first time that I have been to St. Peter. About 3 weeks after I came to Minnesota I came here on exchanges. We met with a couple where the wife is less active and her husband is not a member. I remember all the details of that meeting and so when I came to St. Peter I asked Hermana Hiatt about them. She hadn't heard about them. We found a record saying that they had pretty much told the missionaries they didn't want to meet. We decided to go stop by anyways and they remembered me too and let us come in! We had a really good visit and the husband (who had apparently been the one opposed before) kindly invited us back for tomorrow! I don't know what will happen with them, but it was a cool experience!

We met some other really cool people this week, I'll have to tell you more about them next time.



Hermana's Pierce and Hiatt (Hermana Hiatt from Blanding, UT)

I just wanted to share one other thought about the Plan of Salvation. I have been studying it a lot lately and wow, it is really amazing. One thing that I have come to realize on a deeper level is that right now we are preparing to live with God again. Sometimes we think that things will be so much better when this world is over and we get to live with God. But, we have to learn to love it. If we want to live in the Celestial Kingdom, we have to learn to love celestial things. We can't expect that things will be so much happier, brighter, better etc there unless we are able to learn how to be happy, brighter and better now. Learning this has helped me to enjoy every moment. It is great to look forward to wonderful things ahead, but it is wonderful to have today, right now, with all the blessings or challenges we have.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Love,
Hermana Pierce

Change (Jan 12)

Hola!

I don't even know where to start this week! My faith was tested for sure! Tuesday afternoon I got a call from President Forbes telling me that I actually wasn't going to Lakeville. There was a situation with another missionary and President needed me to come to St. Peter instead. So, I am now in this cute little place with Hermana Hiatt, who Hermana Rawlins just finished training!

When I got the call, my first internal reaction was disappointment. I couldn't even sleep Monday night I was so excited to go back to Lakeville. I had to decide right then and there to just have faith that it was what God wanted and that it was a test for me to handle the disappointment and just move on. I really didn't know what to expect in St. Peter, but I tried stay positive! Now, almost a week later, I am so grateful that I am here. I have learned so much, and if I had a choice right now to go to Lakeville or stay here, I would stay.

If I had gone to Lakeville, it would have been awesome. It would have so fun to see all the people that I love so much there. But if I had gone there, I wouldn't have met the people here. In a few more months after my mission is over, 6 weeks more in Lakeville wouldn't of changed much, but 6 weeks in St. Peter definitely will! One of the best things so far is my companion. Hermana Hiatt is amazing! She has only been out 2 transfers, but it doesn't seem like it. She has a lot of confidence, in a good way, and is just so on top of things. I was so stressed when I took over for the first time! If she is, she doesn't act like it at all. We have already had lots of fun and I'm so excited to finish my mission with her!

We are teaching so many great people right now! There is this sweet mom named J from Honduras with 4 daughters. This week we had a lesson with her and 3 of her daughters and they all committed to baptism on February 14th! They came to church and loved it and are doing awesome. They are so much fun. The girls are 15, 14, 13, and 10. The oldest also wants to be baptized but works on Sundays.

St. Peter is kind of like Austin because we do both English/Spanish. More Spanish than in Austin though so that's fun. We are teaching these two older ladies who are best friends named D and E. They both want to be baptized as well and have such strong testimonies of Joseph Smith!

I will tell you more about our investigators next week. I'm still learning the area and the people so it's a little crazy right now! One other thought though- Last night we had a lesson with a lady name T, who is also working towards baptism :) She is trying to quit smoking and change her life. We watched "His Grace is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox. It was a BYU devotional. It is so good! I think I've read it or at least part of it before, but it is so amazing! I won't even try to sum up what he talked about because it is too good so please just go watch it or read it! I am so grateful for Jesus Christ and His grace. Truly He has given us everything. I love being His representative. People need to know about the gift that He has already given us. We can have so much hope because of Him!

Love,
Hermana Pierce

Pictures (Jan 5)

Some pictures, including Christmas dinner, Hermana Ficklin, Aaron and Hermana Pierce, weather around Mid December 2014 and some families she is working with