EMAIL: Mon, September 17, 2012   10:32 AM

Subject:  New Companion

Hello Y'all!

This last week has been pretty good.  On Tuesday I got my new companion. Her name is Sister Hansen. She is from Denver, CO, although she has spent the last 3 years at BYU Hawaii.  Things are going pretty well with Sister Hansen and I. She is an awesome missionary, and I am very happy to be training her. She does very well in the lessons for a new missionary. Sister Hansen is also very enthusiastic about sharing the gospel.  She just wants to help people understand how this message has blessed her life. Sometimes I wish everyone in the church could feel the zeal of a new missionary and then act on it.  Sister Hansen bore her testimony in church yesterday and promised all of the ward members that she would work her hardest while in their ward to bring souls unto Christ.  Everyone was pretty impressed, including me.  She is going to be a great missionary.  I look forward to the next few weeks that we get to be together.

  

We are excited for the Harper's baptism that is coming up this Saturday.  They have had a pretty rough week though.  The lessons all went well in the beginning of the week. Tom, Rene, and Quinlan (the 8 yr old) all passed their baptismal interviews on Friday.  They all have a great testimony of the church for just barely learning our message. On Saturday morning we took them to a baptism, which they enjoyed. I think it calmed some of their fears and made them more excited to be baptized.  Then on Saturday night we got a call from Tom.  The family was at the hospital.  They have a daughter named Lindsay that is married and pregnant-about a month away from having her first child. Traumatically, Lindsay's baby passed away.  When Tom called us, the Harpers were all pretty torn up. I was also pretty torn up when I heard- I was expecting something to happen before their baptism because something always seems to, but not a trial to this degree.  It is such a horrible thing. The Harpers were so excited for their first grandchild, already having baby showers and everything, but now they have to deal with the tragic loss.  The Harpers still are planning to be baptized on Saturday though.  Even though it is a tragedy, this incident did give the members of the ward a chance to help. People have been calling the Harpers, one fellowshipping family even took Quinlan for the night and brought him to church on Sunday, the Bishop and Elder's Quorum President even went to the hospital to visit the family.  This is definitely strengthening their testimony especially of the Plan of Salvation, and maybe we will have the chance to teach Lindsay soon as well. I just keep praying for the Harpers, and I know the knowledge they have gained from the church is helping them at this time. I am glad they have the church to hold onto and the support from the ward.    Please pray for the Harper family, especially their daughter Lindsay!

Everything else is going pretty well. Sister Hansen is awesome at wanting to work every minute possible, so we have found quite a few new investigators with some good potential. The work is looking up in the Rowlett area. I miss the Spanish work, but I am very happy to be back focusing just on the English wards and their needs.

Thank y'all for your love and support.  I can't believe how long I have already been on a mission.  I look forward to every day because I love to share this gospel. I know that families can be together forever only through the example and Atonement of Jesus Christ. I love y'all!!  Have a great week! Hopefully I'll have some exciting stories to share next week about the Harper's baptism.

Love Always,

-Sister Peck

EMAIL: Mon, September 10, 2012   9:56 AM

Subject:  Transfers Again!

Hello Y'all!

So Saturday night was transfer calls. Hermana Lopez and I figured that we probably wouldn't stay together because President Durrant doesn't really like missionaries doing bilingual work. We anxiously waited for the call and it finally came about 4 minutes before we were supposed to be in bed. So the transfer news.... I am going to be staying in Rowlett and be the senior companion for the area.  My new companion is... well actually I don't know my new companion because she is probably on a plane right now just headed to Texas from the MTC.  Yep, I am going to be training a new sister missionary!  I think I am still in shock that I get the opportunity to train.  I am really excited because I know this will help me grow a lot as a missionary, and hopefully I can help her grow as a missionary too. At the same time, it is a little bit scary that I have to be in charge and responsible for the area and a brand new missionary. What I teach her now could effect her entire future as a missionary.  I am not a bad or disobedient missionary now, but I definitely need to elevate my standards and be the example. I hope that I can be the trainer that this new missionary needs. I hope that I can help her with her desire to share the gospel and fulfill her missionary purpose. It should be a great opportunity, and I am really looking forward to it!!

The rest of the week has been pretty normal around here. Nothing too exciting. Just a lot of lessons in Spanish and a few in English. The Harper Family is still doing amazing. Rene is starting to really grasp the gospel and consider the info that we share with her.  Tom is also doing very well. He has a lot of time while he is trucking during the week, so it is perfect for him to spend time reading/listening to the BOM.  He also has been listening to a lot of religious talk shows and things about Mitt Romney. Tom actually told us he is excited for Romney to run for President because then more people might come to the LDS church.  It was pretty awesome to hear that from someone who is not even a member of the church yet.  Tom is beginning to love the gospel and he is very glad his family has it.  Quilan is doing well. He saw Hna Lopez and I out tracting the other day, and he was so excited that he saw his missionaries. He is so sweet. Quinlan loves when we teach things specifically for him- we always try to do exciting visuals for him and he loves them. We actually have a lesson just for Quinlan tonight and he has been telling his parents all week that the missionaries are coming just to teach him a special lesson. I am so excited for this family. The Harpers will be interviewed for baptism this Friday night. I can't believe that their baptism is coming up so soon on Sept 22nd!!  My new missionary is so lucky to be coming into an area with a family baptism her 2nd week as a missionary! Oh how I love the Harpers!!!

Sorry this is probably a short email this week, but we have got things to do. I forgot to tell y'all earlier that Hna Lopez is going back to just Spanish work here in Rowlett. The cool thing is that she is also going to be training a new missionary!  It should be fun that we are both training and we may be able to work together sometimes while tracting, etc. to give the new Sisters more experience. I'm sure next week's email will have more info especially about my new missionary. I hope it doesn't sound like I am bragging that I get to train, because I don't feel that way at all. It is a special privilege that the Lord has entrusted me with.  All I need at this point is prayers and more support! Thanks!

I love y'all and thank you for your support. Thanks for the letters the past few weeks from the Pierces, Grandma and Grandpa, Nana and Papa, and Dad (like always!!). Thanks for the words of encouragement and advice. If y'all have any suggestions for training I would love to hear them (although I will definitely counseling a lot with the Lord too).

Love always,

Sister Peck!

EMAIL: Mon, September 3, 2012   1:10 PM

Subject:  The Harper Family

Hello Y'all!!

This last week was pretty crazy, but it was also really great. We had a Sister's Conference on Friday. It was great to be around and be trained with just the Sister missionaries.  I love each of them so much. They are all such an inspiration to me as a missionary. They all have amazing talents and abilities as missionaries, and I know that they truly bless the areas and investigators that they serve.

Another crazy thing happened this week. Everything was going just fine and dandy with Hnas Lopez, Spenner, and I in our tri-panionship, when we got a surprise call from the assistants. Hermana Spenner was emergency transferred! She had to pack her bags that night and be ready for her new area in the morning. She didn't even get to say goodbye to anyone! Another Spanish sister had to suddenly go home, and so they needed a companion for the Hermana left behind. Hermana Spenner was the lucky one. She was transferred to a great area with a great companion (Hermana Motuliki from Tonga!).  I am so glad for Hermana Spenner. It is sad that she was transferred (especially after we were companions after such a short time) but I know the transfer was helpful to her and is giving her more experience. She seemed so happy when I saw her at Sister's Conference.

I am glad for the opportunity right now to be with Hermana Lopez. Spanish work is much different than English work, but I love it.  It is difficult to try and split time between Spanish and English.  All is going great though! Hermana Lopez is amazing, and she is great at easily getting the members and everyone else to love her and trust her. She has some interesting cultural differences, but I think this is why people (especially Hispanics) feel so comfortable around her. We are having a great time together. Hermana Lopez is working on saying her prayers and testimony in English and I am working on doing the same in Spanish. I am so grateful for this new experience of doing Spanish work and I know it is helping me as a missionary!

 

One of the highlights of my week has been the Harper family. We met with Rene on Tuesday and taught about temples and information about families and parenting from the Family Proclamation. She loved it and loves that the church is so centered around families.  Rene is progressing so much more quickly towards baptism and her desire to learn about the gospel is increasing now that her family is involved. I can definitely see the importance of teaching families.  I know I have been saying this a lot lately, but the gospel truly does bless families and is a great place for families to learn and grow together. I can see this more than ever as I teach the Harper Family.

The son Quinlan is so smart for an 8-year-old and I love teaching him.  Hna Lopez and I taught the Word of Wisdom on Friday. We were discussing the 5 things that the WOW tells us to avoid. I asked Quinlan if he knew what tobacco was. He responded that "Tabasco" was like hot sauce, but he was confused why we couldn't eat that. It was pretty funny, but I think he now understands that he can eat hot sauce but he should avoid things like cigarettes.  Another amazing story with teaching the Harpers the WOW was with Rene. We gave her the pamphlet a week before we taught the lesson. All that week, Rene decided she also needed to give up caffeine and especially her Coke because that is something she knows is bad and addictive to her. I was so proud when she mentioned this as we were teaching the lesson. Rene felt so bad because she had given in one day and drank a Coke, but she told me she is going to try harder next week.  This family is so prepared!

I have always struggled with getting investigators to come to church, but the Harper family is entirely the opposite case. We met Tom and taught him his first lesson right before church one Sunday, he followed us to church, and he hasn't missed church since.  On Sunday, Rene had to leave just after Sacrament meeting because one of her close friends was having a bridal shower.  Even though Rene was leaving, Tom and Quinlan both stayed at church. Even Mormon families don't often do that!  We talked to Rene later in the evening and she was so upset that she had to miss Relief Society and Gospel Principles earlier. She was also very upset and disappointed that her friend would have scheduled an activity on Sunday that wasn't in-line with keeping the Sabbath Day holy and going to church. I was so happy that Rene saw the difference in how she felt because she missed church (even though she still went to sacrament meeting). Rene now has a great testimony of church!

I love this family so much!  I can't even describe in words how prepared they are!  I feel so privileged that the Lord would allow me to teach such elect people.  Hna Lopez and I challenged them to read the scriptures and pray together as a family every night. We knew this would be difficult especially because Tom is a trucker and is only home 3 night a week. We figured that Rene would just read with Quinlan on those nights. To our surprise, Rene has been calling Tom when it is time for scripture study and they have been doing it together as a family over the phone! Quinlan will read the verses and Rene and Tom will both help explain it to him. I also gave Quinlan an easy reader BOM a couple of days ago. He is so excited to get to know the stories in the BOM, but he also wants to keep reading in the other BOM. This family is amazing. They already seem like Mormons, and soon they will be after their baptism on September 22nd. Quinlan is excited because the next day is his birthday, so he is going to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost on his birthday.  I love this family!!  I hope that I will get the opportunity to keep teaching them (even though transfers are this next week) up until their baptism and also help out with the new member lessons after.

I am grateful to be a missionary. I am grateful to see lives changing.  I love sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ!  The Lord truly does love his missionaries. I know that I am not teaching the Harpers due to my own credit. It is all from the Lord that they were found and that I am led by the spirit to teach them. I love my Heavenly Father for this! And I love this gospel!

  

Thanks for everyone's love and support. I love y'all and pray all is well. Don't forget to read your scriptures everyday. It truly does make a difference! Please pray for the Harper family. Although everything is going well right now, I know that temptations and difficulties will arise. They always do! We need all the help we can get to get the Harpers baptized because they are going to be amazing members of the LDS church. I love them so much! And I love y'all too!

Love always,

-Sister Peck

 EMAIL: Mon, August 20    10:19 AM

Subject:  Families Blessed by the Gospel

Howdy Y'all!!!

 

The first big news is my companion, Sister Pierce, leaves for home this Wednesday.  I am very sad that she is going to be leaving because I have gained many valuable missionary skills from her, but she has completed an amazing mission. Sister Pierce is an amazing missionary and I feel truly privileged to have been her companion for a transfer and a half.  What a blessing to my life as a missionary!

With Sister Pierce leaving, things are going to be changed around a bit. I found out late last night that I am going to be in a trio companionship again.  I am going to be paired up with the Spanish Sisters (Hermana) in the Rowlett area, Hermana Lopez and Hermana Spenner.   I am super excited.   Their apt is super small, so the Hermanas are going to be moving into the Heuer's home with me (the members I currently live with).  The three of us are going to be covering the 3 wards in Rowlett. I will be mostly in charge of the work in Rowlett 1 and Rowlett 2 wards while the Hermanas will stay mostly in charge of the Rowlett 3 Ward (Spanish speaking).  We will spend most of the time together with lessons and tracting, but because we will have a larger area and more people to visit, I may spend a lot of time with some of the female ward missionaries as my companion for a couple of hours.  It should be pretty fun!  And I get to work on my Spanish!  The rumor has it that the Hermanas and I will be a tripanionship for only three weeks, until the end of the transfer, and then I will be back with an English sister, but we will have to wait and see what happens.

A couple people have asked exactly how Brother T (the extremely large Samoan) was baptized a couple of weeks ago. I may have already mentioned that it was outside in a pool. T struggled getting into the pool because of his feet problems, but he had at least 4 men help him in and then at least 5 help him back out. The prayer for the baptism was said by Brother Bawden and then Brother Ryan was on T's other side and Brother Kraus was behind T. They had T with water pretty much just below his chin, so he just had to bend his knees a little and lean back to be immersed, but it still took 2 times. The three men were barely able to get him back out of the water and they also had to support him the entire time. It was a very interesting baptism, but I am so proud of T because he endured through the pain (and embarrassment) to fulfill a commandment of the Lord and be baptized. What a great experience!

One of the reasons that I am happiest to get to stay in Rowlett for now is Renee and her family.  They are doing amazing!!!  On Tuesday, Sister Pierce and I taught Renee. We talked about baptism (we have set a date several times but she was still wary about being baptized).  We told Renee that she could wait to be baptized with her son Quinlan and her husband Tom. This made Renee so happy. She feels like it is right and confirmed by the spirit that she needs to be baptized with her family.  On Friday night we taught the whole family at one of the member's home. (Having lessons at member's home is the best teaching opportunity!!)  We were teaching the Plan of Salvation, and Tom was very interested. He had even read the pamphlet beforehand and had questions that he wanted to ask us. It was pretty amazing because he asked about the three kingdoms and even named them to us with perfect pronunciation without even looking them up first. Even members struggle with remembering the three kingdoms in order! I was so amazed and I knew that Tom had a true interest in what we were sharing with him.  Their son, Quinlan, is also very smart and has a great comprehension and memory. He will be turning 9 years old in September.  The lesson went very well and Renee's family loved the members that we were with.  Then, Renee and her family came to church yesterday. They even stayed for all three hours!  This is the second time they have all been to church and Tom especially is enjoying it.  The members were very welcoming and helpful. One of the elder's quorum counselors even found out that they live only 4 houses away from Renee and family, so he invited Renee's family and me and my companions over to dinner this next Friday and then to teach a lesson. It should be awesome! I am so happy for Renee because getting her family involved is really what was needed to help her progress and have more desire to be baptized.  It is going to take some work, but I know this family (especially Tom) has been prepared by the Lord to become members of the church.  I am so thankful to be a part of their teaching experience! What a blessing and a testimony to my missionary experiences.

Yesterday, Khek (the Laotian baptized at the beginning of July) was able to receive the Aaronic Priesthood. I am so happy for him. Khek is so excited to have this power and authority from God.  He was talking to a friend a couple of days ago about buying a gun to protect his family. After getting the Priesthood yesterday he told us that he no longer needs a gun. Khek said that he knows the Priesthood will protect his family more than any weapon ever would. It is amazing to see Khek's simple, yet strong faith. He is starting to really grasp the principles of the gospel.  The language barrier is starting to disappear and Khek loves what he is learning. I am grateful Khek and Van and progressing in the church.  They have great fellowshippers and friends at church now and they love going. Even their 2 year old Anouxiay loves going to church. He is still a bit of a menace and unruly, but he is so much better than when the gospel was not a part of their lives. Having the gospel in their home, and having the Priesthood, is changing their family. I know they are truly happy and grateful for this gospel. I love this family so much. It is great to see the gospel change lives!

I love y'all. Thank you for letters and emails this past few weeks from the Pierces, Grandma and Grandpa Riches, Uncle Jack, and Brother Bartholomew. Thanks for much for the support.  I am grateful to be a missionary.  I am so excited for these next few weeks that I get to learn and grow by being companions with the Hermanas! I love seeing people accept the gospel. This gospel truly does change lives. More importantly, the gospel blesses families! I hope y'all are reading from the scriptures daily and constantly praying. The Lord blesses us when we keep the commandments.  I know that this is true!

Love- Sister (Hermana?) Peck

Postcard from Sister Mc:

EMAIL: Mon, August 13    11:57 PM

Subject:  Fist-sized Spider

Hello Y'all!

I hope everything is going well back at home. Everyone seems to be getting ready to go back to school here in Texas, which is strange to think about. The weather hasn't been too bad lately, which is nice when you are out knocking on doors.

Yesterday was a great day. I wrote last week about Renee who we have been teaching for a couple of months. She is shy and not super open, but I am really starting to see her desire to learn more about the gospel. Sadly, Renee had not been making much of an effort to come to church. On the other hand, she had been telling us that she wanted us to meet with her husband as well, but her husband is a truck driver and only home on the weekends (not a problem for missionaries, but their family is busy on the weekends).  Sister Pierce and I finally decided to go meet Renee, her husband Tom and 8-yr-old son, Quinlyn, early on Sunday morning before church. Renee was just fine with that and even said she would follow us to church after.

So yesterday morning we showed up with a member from the ward. The door was opened by Renee's husband (first time we had ever met him) and he was wearing a suit and tie! Tom was super friendly and quickly invited us in and started chatting with us. Quinlyn, the son, was also dressed up in slacks and a tie. It was so amazing! The whole family was ready to go to church and we hadn't even met Tom or Quinlyn before. We taught them the first lesson, answered all of Tom's questions, and even committed Tom to be baptized if he came to know that the LDS church and the priesthood are true. I was so happy to see Renee's joy at her husband starting to accept the gospel.  The best part was that they then all followed us to church. Everyone was welcoming and even inviting their family to sit by them. Unfortunately, Renee's family couldn't stay all three hours of church because they had relatives coming over, but Tom was telling everyone at church that they would be back next week for all three hours. Quinlyn is also super excited to go to primary. What an amazing experience to see a whole family come to church!!! We are teaching Renee again on Tuesday and the whole family on Friday. I hope that I can stay in Rowlett long enough to continue to teach them and see this family baptized. I love them so much and I want them to have the gospel.

 The rest of the week was pretty good as well. The bugs are getting bigger in Texas. The other night on the driveway to the home where we live, Sister Pierce spotted a giant spider. We got out of the car to look at it and it was bigger than my fist! The most disgusting part was the spider's entire back was covered with its little baby spiders. Gross!  The spider and babies were way to big to squish with a shoe, so Sister Pierce decided that we had to run over it with the car. Yes, the spiders are so big in Texas that they must be ran over with a car!  Unfortunately, we missed, so now the spiders babies and momma are running free around our home. Yuck! It is like the lake and woods by our home has been infested by Shelob's descendants!

Thanks for all the letters this week. I was excited to hear from all of my 2 youngest siblings and of course my parents. Thank you also to the Pierce Family for the card.

Missionary Work is great. I am so excited for Renee and her family!  Don't ever be afraid to take missionary opportunities and share the gospel. Knowing that this gospel is true makes you want to share it with others because y'all know it will bless their lives.

Love- Sister Peck

EMAIL: Mon, August 6     3:08 PM

Subject:  That's All I've Got!

Howdy!

The work is going well here in Rowlett. My time is interesting right now because my companion leaves to go home (Orem, UT) in just over 2 weeks. She is leaving in the middle of the transfer to be home in time for school, so it makes is interesting for me because I am not really sure where I am going to be going because everyone is already in their companionship for the rest of the transfer.  Not really sure who or where I am going to end up.  Hopefully I can get some information soon, but more than likely they will let me know the Saturday before it happens. I will keep y'all updated.

I forgot to tell y'all that I got to go the Dallas Temple on Tuesday, July 23rd. They let the missionaries go to the temple every 6 months as long as they are serving in an area no more than 1 hour from the temple.  I have now been out for 6 months (crazy!) and Rowlett is about 45 minutes from the temple. My companion, Sister Pierce, had not yet gone to the Dallas Temple, so we decided that it was time to go. Despite the fact that we had to leave the house at 5:40 am, going to the temple was a great experience.  I love the temple so much and I love the peace that it brings even just being on the grounds.  It was an amazing experience to go to a session again!  It was also cool because the member that we live with, Sister Heuer, was even one of the workers in the session that we went to. Awesome! The temple was a great boost and upliftment to help us go out and be missionaries again. The Dallas Temple is pretty and very unique in its architecture. It was very beautiful and peaceful to be there just as the sun was rising over the horizon. If you haven't been to a temple in a while, y'all should go because it will help you with whatever you are going through in your life and will brighten your day so much. I loved being able to go to the temple!  To top it off, Sister Pierce and I even treated ourselves to maple, cream-filled donuts from one of the many little Asian "Donut Shops" that they seem to have at every main intersection in Texas. Yum!

Sister Pierce and I have been teaching a lady named Renee for the last couple of weeks. She started out very timid and shy. Renee would barely even answer our questions and not really talk in the lessons. It has taken some work, but Renee is finally beginning to trust us, and she actually has her own desire to meet with us now.  She is such a sweet lady and so caring- she babysits children out of her home.  I have never met Renee's family, but when we called her a few days ago she told us that she wants us to meet with her husband and 8-yr-old son the next time we come over. Sister Pierce and I are so excited to meet them and pray that they will be a support to Renee and maybe even have their own desires to learn more about the church. Renee is still a little bit wary about being baptized, but her opening up and wanting us to come over is a great sign. Hopefully she will keep progressing and also be able to come to church soon. I love teaching her and sharing my love of the gospel with her. This is one of the great joys of missionary work when people begin to desire to learn more about the church and try to better themselves without the missionaries help.

One of Rowlett's recent converts gave a talk in church on Sunday. He used to be a comedian and he's got a thick Philly accent.  He did a great job, but at the end of his talk he totally forgot (or maybe didn't know) to say, "In the name of Jesus Christ.." Instead he ended his talk, "That's all I've got. Thank you." and promptly sat down. It was pretty funny! I love the members of the church! Rowlett is a great area to be serving in. I love my companion and we are both quite distressed that she is going home so soon. Missionary Work is a great calling. I hope y'all look for opportunities to share the gospel or at least tell others what you believe in.

Thanks for all of the love and support from back home. I love y'all!

That's all I've got. Thank you.

-Sister Peck