EMAIL: Mon, November 5, 2012   10:37  PM

Subject:  Less-Active Miracles

Howdy Y'all!

This past week has been great! Sister Hansen and I are seeing so many miracles here in Rowlett, Texas. First, Connor Ivanovsky is going to be baptized this coming Saturday. I am so excited for him and his family. I can see the parents really feeling the difference that the spirit and keeping the commandments can make in their lives. Brother Ivanovsky bore his testimony is sacrament meeting yesterday about how happy he is that Connor has made the personal choice to be baptized. He knows that Connor is truly prepared for baptism and Sister Ivanovsky does too. Even in the few weeks that we have been actively teaching them, there is a great change of heart in the Ivanovsky family. When we stopped by last night, Brother Ivanovsky was so much more loving and kind to his family and wife than I have ever seen him. The gospel makes a difference. The spirit makes a difference! As you come unto Christ you cannot help but develop Christ-like attributes like charity, love, faith, and so forth. I love this gospel!! I am so excited for the Ivanovsky family this week, and I am especially excited for Connor. I am so happy that the Ivanovsky family is back active in the church. I know that Heavenly Father will continue to bless them as they endure actively in the church and diligently continue to live the gospel.

So a funny thing happened to Sister Hansen and I this past week. We got a media referral from mormon.org - this typically means that someone is interested in finding out more about the church and have requested the missionaries to visit them. So Sister Hansen and I were so excited to find this person. The person that we were supposed to visit was named Slarti Bartfast. We felt so bad that a person would be named that, and we couldn't help but laugh a little. Turns out no such person lived at the address and the phone number was one of those prank call lines. We were definitely had. It is sad that someone felt the need to waste our time and try and prank other people, but Sister Hansen and I just had to laugh at the funny situation we had experienced. So for all y'all that read my brother's, Elder BakBak's, emails and all the funny names he finds, I would like to put mine near the top of that list... Slarti Bartfast.

One miracle that we saw this week was with Sister O'Neal. We got a referral from other missionaries a little bit ago for a less-active member that had recently moved into our area. We finally met with her, Sister O'Neal, this week. Turns out, Sister O'Neil has a 9 yr-old daughter named Sarah that wants to be baptized. Sister O'Neal wants her daughter to be baptized too. They both came to church yesterday and were very happy to be back. I am so excited to work with Sister O'Neil and Sarah to help them learn the gospel and see the blessings in their lives. Sister O'Neil is pretty awesome. She has a great low Texan drawl and acts as a true Texan in every way. She is a little bit sassy and very independent. I love Sister O'Neal too because she is very bold about sharing the gospel. She was talking to one of her neighbors and found out that neighbor was also a less-active that we didn't know about. So we are going to start working with the neighbor, Rita, too. Rita wants to be back at church and she wants her entire family to be there too because she misses the blessings. Her husband made the whole family leaves about 10 years ago because he was offended by a class discussion. Rita's 14 year-old son also knew he needed to be baptized and was baptized into another denomination a year or so ago. When Sister O'Neal heard this, she boldly told Rita that it is time that her son needs to be baptized into the correct church (meaning the LDS church). Gotta love Texans and their don't-mess-around attitudes! We haven't met the son yet, but I am so excited to work with Rita's family as well. I love working with less-actives and then helping the rest of their families have the blessings of the gospel.

Texas is awesome!! I am so grateful to be a missionary here in the TDM. The weather is great. Halloween was a nice warm 85 degree day, and the temperature hasn't dropped much since. I love it! The leaves are still changing colors and beginning to fall from the trees. Maybe this is why I can barely believe how fast the time has flown and that it is already November. I love Texas!

I love being a missionary! I love my companion, Sister Hansen. She is a great missionary, and we are going to keep seeing miracles. I love spreading the gospel. We are on a search to find those that are prepared and help them find a trueness of joy and happiness in this life and in the life to come. What a blessing to be a missionary! I wish y'all could fill the smallest part of how great it is to be a missionary.

Thanks for the Halloween packages and cards from friends and family. I love y'all and am thankful to all y'all for caring. Keep the commandments and do what is right. May the Lord bless y'all!!

Love always, Sister Peck

Something cool for those of y'all that are on the Riches Family side. I was reading the September 2012 ensign. Near the middle, there are a bunch of pictures that are from an art contest depicting testimonies of Christ. One of these pictures is of our ancestor, Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner. She is painted reading the Book of Mormon that she borrowed from Issac Morely. I love her story and how she knew the Book of Mormon was true from the moment she began it. How else could someone read such a book in a few days? I love the line from Mary's history when she declares, "for I am a full-blooded Mormon, and I am not ashamed to own it..." I love this! I hope that I declare my same belief with such boldness and can continue to stand as a witness of Jesus Christ. What an example the strength of our heritage can be.

Thought it was a cool painting and especially meaningful because it is of our heritage. Y'all should look-up and find the painting.