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

Howdy Y'all!

 

     This week was a pretty awesome week on the mission. The first good news is that I didn't receive a transfer call. Sister Pierce and I will still be companions here in Rowlett- but sadly, this will only be for three weeks since Sister Pierce is leaving to go home. I should be receiving a transfer call mid-transfer to find out my new companion(s) and possibly a new area. This is exciting though because Sister Pierce and I have the great opportunity to work hard together for the next three weeks. It is going to be awesome!

 

    I also had 2 baptisms this past weekend! Our investigator Taylor was baptized on Saturday morning at the Singles Ward. It was great because she had support of members from over 3 wards that she attended just during, and prior to, the month she was taught. The best part of the baptism was Taylor sharing her testimony. Taylor said she could physically and spiritually feel the change after she was baptized and she knows that the LDS Church is true! It has been such an amazing pleasure and treat to teach Taylor and become a good friend with her. I am still amazed by Taylor because she is trying to dedicate herself fully to her new faith. She has already decided that when their lease is up in a couple of months, she is going to move away from her mom and family. She loves them so much, but she knows that they don't live the same standards and so she wants to be around people that can help her uphold the covenants she has made. Taylor is so amazing and I wish y'all could meet her and see why Sister Pierce and I love her so much.

 

     My other baptism was "T" who I taught back in Dallas 4th. I loved his baptism. Because T is a much larger Samoan man, they couldn't do the baptism in the church font. So we had the baptism outside in a member's pool!  Even though we were all sitting in over 100 degree weather, this baptism was so spiritual and touching. I think this is partly because I had to work so hard with T to get him to come to church as I was helping to teach him. The journey has been so long, but he is finally baptized!  It was sad because T still has a very difficult time standing and walking, so getting him in and out of the pool was very difficult and took many helpers, even standing in the pool waiting to be baptized was difficult for T, but he sacrificed and was baptized. What an amazing experience and change. I can't even describe how great and joyful it feels to see someone change their life and even go through painful and trying times just to become a member of the Church. I love seeing this! This is one of the great joys to being a missionary! I love both "T" and Taylor so much. I am very proud of the decisions they have made to come unto Christ.

 

     What a great week it has been!!! I am so excited for this new transfer- it is always a great time to reevaulate my focus and goals as a missionary and strive to work harder and better. Being a missionary is so amazing because I get to be immersed in the gospel all day, every day. What an amazing experience!!  I can't wait to go and find more people to teach and baptize!  This gospel is so true. It wouldn't make sense to find so much joy and happiness in something that is false or made-up. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is truly the Lord's church once again restored to the earth. Our Heavenly Father loves us so much!

 

    Thanks y'all for your support back home. I got letters this week from Grandma and Grandpa and also from the Pierces (any relation to Lee and Kay Pierce from the Blackfoot area of Idaho? those are my companions parents)... Thank y'all for everything and most especially for all the prayers! Hope all is well with everyone.

 

Love- Sister Peck!

Email from Sister Mc received July 23, 2012:



Howdy y'all!

    Things are getting hot here in Texas (though I think we have actually had many more "cool" days this year than Utah has).  I can't believe it is already the sixth week of the transfer and that we will be getting transfer calls this Saturday night. We'll see what happens- Sister Pierce and I are hoping to stay together in Rowlett until she leaves to go home in a month.

    This upcoming week is going to be great. We have Taylor's baptism on Saturday- she is so, so excited.  She had her baptismal interview on Friday, which went great.  Sister Pierce and I also taught her about Tithing and Fasting before the interview. Taylor is so amazing that she had already learned about Tithing from her friend Randi (who originally introduced her to the church). Before we even taught the law of tithing, Taylor had already put money aside from her last paycheck and she just needed to know who she to give it to. Amazing!! Taylor also already has a great testimony of fasting. Her Dad got Leukemia when she was 13, and Taylor fasted along with her family almost every Sunday for a couple of months. I asked her how that made her feel about fasting and she said, "Well, it works... my Dad is still here!"  It is such a privilege to have taught Taylor and I am very excited for her baptism.

    I also got news from the D4 Sisters that "T" (the large Samoan investigator that I taught) is also going to be baptized on Saturday. I am so excited and proud of him! I can barely believe that he has finally made it to church a couple of times even with all of the physical limitations of his feet. It took many months, but I can tell that he is finally prepared to be baptized and change his life by coming closer to Jesus Christ. Hopefully both of the baptisms go alright this upcoming Saturday!

  The work is going great! Thanks for all of the support and letters from home that y'all send me. Grandma Riches expressed in her last letter that she hoped that I still have a piano to play at the member's home where I live. Grandma- I do have a piano. In fact, I have three. Their daughters are very musically talented, so they have some amazing pianos that have been restored. The most beautiful one is a black, grand piano from 1880. All of its pieces are original and still in great shape to be played. It is gorgeous!


    I love y'all!! Thanks for everything! The gospel of Christ is so important not only to understand, but also to live. When we keep the commandments and do the will of our Heavenly Father then we can truly find joy and happiness in this life. This gospel changes people's lives when they are willing to follow Christ.

Love always- Sister Peck

Email from Sister Mc Received on July 16, 2012

Hello Y'all!

Things have been going well in the TDM. I am still loving the Rowlett area and the members are great!  This last week Sister Pierce and I did an exchange with the D4 Sisters- Sister Cole and Sister Squarcia. It was pretty awesome because I got to go back to my old area D4 and be with my old companion, Sister Squarcia. It was pretty great because I got to see some of the people that I used to teach. It is sad though because some of them decided to not meet with the missionaries anymore after I got transferred.  On the other hand, I did get to see how well some of my previous investigators are doing and also see how much work is starting to happen in the D4 area.  I even was lucky enough to have dinner with one of my favorite members in D4, the Armstrongs! I will always love the members, the people, and the area of Dallas 4th. It was also great to spend the day with Sister Squarcia this week. I love that little Italian- her enthusiasm and love of sharing the gospel with everybody is so contagious! I came home to Rowlett so excited to get the work moving even better. The exchanges were great.

Sister Pierce and I had another fun experience on Saturday. Sadly, we had nothing scheduled for the day- even our dinner appointment cancelled!  So we decided that we were going to be "real" missionaries and walk all day.  Maybe not the smartest idea, but we sure had some fun. We left the Heuer's home in the morning and walked over 6 miles in about 4 hours, talking to everyone that we saw along the way. We ended up walking home early because we found out a new family needed help moving into the ward, and we definitely needed to wash up before we went to help. Gotta love the hot Texas sun and humidity.  Sister Pierce and I did have quite a bit of fun despite her sunburn (mom- you'll be proud because I actually put on sunscreen and avoided a burn). Maybe next time we will avoid carrying so many copies of the Book of Mormon. Those scriptures are heavy stuff!

This next week should be pretty exciting. Our super sold investigator, Taylor, is being interviewed for baptism this Friday. We are so excited because she has been so prepared to become a part of the gospel.  It is pretty amazing because she transformed into a new person before even meeting with the missionaries. About a month before her first lesson, Taylor decided that she needed to stop smoking and take out her tongue ring. After taking the first lesson, Taylor decided to quit drinking coffee and tea and also make her clothing more modest- we hadn't even talked about any other those things yet. Taylor is amazing! We were worried because she enjoys the family ward, but she is 22 and single so we knew she should go to the singles ward. She has been there twice now and is loving it. With the Singles Ward, Taylor went to Institute on Tuesday, country dancing on Wednesday, and she even switched her schedule at work to be off on Mondays and Tuesdays for FHE and more Institute. I am so excited for Taylor because she really feels like she belongs now and is so excited to keep learning. I know that she will be an awesome member of the church once she gets baptized in 2 weeks. It is so amazing when the Lord has truly prepared people and the members follow through on that and bring their prepared friends to church.

The Lord loves His missionaries! Our Heavenly Father is so concerned with each one of His children. All He wants us to do is keep his commandments (MSH 2:22) and turn to our Savior for help in our lives.  The gospel is so simple and easy- just live it!  I know everyone is blessed even for keeping the smallest commandment.

Thank y'all for all of the support! I got so many letters these last few weeks from Nana and Papa, Grandma and Grandpa, Ilauna Parks, and a few others that I know I am forgetting.  Thanks for everything! I love each of you and pray that all is going well.

By-the-way, the spiders can be huge in Texas. The other morning there were over 15 spiders the size of my fist on the Heuer's garage alone. So gross!  Apparently they are just garden spiders. The members told me they are harmless, but they are huge nonetheless.  They do make pretty cool webs though that have a line of scribbles down them that they use to roll up whatever gets caught in their webs.  Huge Spiders! Just thought y'all might like to know that.

Love- Sister Peck