When life sends you robbers, you figure out your destined career!

January 12, 2015

It was a bright sunny friday afternoon when our zone, a group of 20-25 innocent, happy-go-lucky missionaries left the room we were meeting in to view some training segments in a different room. Just 20 minutes later, we returned to the original room only to discover 5 of our bags had been stolen, including mine. (Luckily all I lost, other than the bag itself, was my temple recommend some tic-tacs and well-used chapstick. Thank heavens I took my camera out that morning!) One of the elders remembered that he had seen one person cross the hall while we were watching the videos and so he decided to describe him to me....

And that's when I knew that throughout all of my worries about what I should do in college and life, I had been overlooking my true calling. From now on I will continue to hone my skills as a crime scene investigation sketch artist.

On a more serious note- this week has taught me a lot about repentance and prayer and just being a christian. Being a christian is not about how many times you go to church or what calling you have or how often you read your scriptures and pray with your family. though all of those things are essential to becoming a true disciple of Christ and continuing to be one, being a christian is about doing what Christ would do in the moments when it's inconvenient, 

On a more serious note- this week has taught me a lot about repentance and prayer and just being a christian. Being a christian is not about how many times you go to church or what calling you have or how often you read your scriptures and pray with your family. though all of those things are essential to becoming a true disciple of Christ and continuing to be one, being a christian is about doing what Christ would do in the moments when it's inconvenient, undesireable and oftentimes not a situation you will have had any previous counsel for. Joseph Smith said that we need to teach correct principles and people will govern themselves. This is how it must be. We cannot be forced to do good things, in fact that would go against God's entire plan. As we were standing on the side of the road with a woman in a wheelchair who is missing one her legs from the need down and was badly in need of help that we hadn't the means to give her, I witnessed the miracle of christianity. One of the women in our ward stopped her car and despite that fact she was on her way to church, she agreed without hesitation to give the woman the help she needed. Many cars had passed us up to that point. My heart felt full just seeing this kind act and seeing the gratitude of this poor woman who has no family around, no home, and a very sad life story. Remember this week that you will never be perfect, but as long as you are trying to make christlike decisions, you can be His hands.

Sadly, Maombi has decided not to be baptized. Something is wrong and we're still trying to figure it out. Godelive slept at her house to try to help her but she said we just have to work slowly with her. Keep her in your prayers please!

Love,

Sister Pearson

P.S. Pray to be the answer to someone else's prayer this week! 

Want to know what interregnum means?

January 5, 2015


Fun fact- as I was studying a conference talk about sustaining the prophets in the ensign during my personal study, I learned a new word- interregnum. The definition is the time period between when a prophet dies and a new prophet is called! so just in case you've been anxious to figure out what to call that time period (which, historically has lasted from 4 days to 3.5 years). Try it out in a sentence this week! You don't even have to be mormon! Just throw it right on into your conversation and you'll immediately appear more intelligent by at least 10% For example you could say:

"Dude, how did you feel during that last interregnum? My stomach was in knots!" or (if youre over age 23 and too sophisticated to use the word "dude")

"My dear fellow, I was in suspense during the entire interregnum after President Hinckley died. Thanks heavens for modern day prophets being called one after another!"

There you go, now apply.

   Miracles this week:

Godelive turned 50!

She also got up on Sunday and bore her testimony. She had Claudine translate for her and broke down in tears as she talked about how much God had helped her in 2014 and how grateful she is for this church and the support she has received. We took her to a lesson with a less active woman that has had lots of marital troubles and Godelive, whose husband left her in may resulting in her and her family having to live in a shelter for 4 months, said "You no have husband? You have God. He like big King. He is your king husband because he in your house!" She has more faith than anyone I know. I love taking her to lessons especially with her sister Maombi who is now excited to be baptized soon!

  New Year's eve was a depressing night. We found out that the 18 yr. old atheist/agnostic boy who used to be a strong member tried to commit suicide. He has a lot of mental struggles due to being born out of wedlock and never having a strong father figure. It made me so grateful for the commandments that keep us oh so safe. I know God gives us commandments such as the law of chastity to keep us safe, not to restrict us! When we keep them, we find freedom. It's just like it says in 2 Nephi 2:27, we can choose liberty and eternal life through following Jesus Christ!

  Marta and Raydeen came to church yesterday and absolutely loved it. Marta is reading the Book of Mormon like crazy and says she just can't put it down/ I love seeing the change in people when they actually keep the committments we leave them with. In fact, they are keeping commitments to God, not us!

​Brino chillin'. He smiles sometimes. :) But he's adorable either way!

I love this area and all of the people I've been blessed to meet. I can't wait to see what they year of 2015 brings!

love,

SIster Pearson

P.S. I got to go on exchanges to the spanish sisters area this week and 2 people made me pray... they were very simple prayers but I felt accomplished!

PDAY snow activities! It was snow fun.

​

​Love these sisters!

Snow Exciting!

December 29, 2014

It has been snowing a lot since christmas- one of the greatest gifts this year was having a white christmas! The greatest gift of all of course was talking to my sweet family. I feel so lucky to have such incredible support from all of my family on my mission and to share spiritual experiences with them that they actually care to hear about. I have utmost respect for the many converts to the church that come out here at risk of offending their families in order to fulfill what they feel is their duty to God. This weeks I've realized that it is the little things that matter most. A Few examples:

-we went to a Book of Mormon giveaway activity for the 8-11 yr. olds in one of the wards. Many of the girls didn't know who they could give their book of mormon to so we told them to pray about it and promised them Heavenly Father would help them. The next sunday one of the 10 year olds ran up to us and said "thank you so much for telling me to pray about who to give my Book of Mormon to, I did it and the friend I thought to give it to said she will read it!"

-we've recently started working with an 18 yr. old less active boy who used to be a strong member and loved the gospel but now considers himself "agnostic atheist". His grandma who faithfully comes to church by herself with her little grandkids every week stopped us and said "please be patient with my grandson, I know he is hard." I promised her we won't give up on him and had a moment where I imagined how I would feel if I were her and how hard it would be to see a family member fall away from the truth. She tearfully thanked us.

-When the old men at church come up and tell us how they always brag about us to elders that they meet and say that we are "closers" when it comes to missionary work. 

Mawombi, Godelive's sister that we've started teaching came to church with her crazy 1 yr. old baby. though she doesn't know any english, she loved church. Junior, the 14 yr old that always sleeps in and misses church came as well and stayed all 3 hours! Christmas miracle:)

Funny moment of the week: A member in the spanish ward was supposed to bring Junior to a baptism to see what it is like on Saturday morning. We set it up and told him we would meet him there. We get there and the spanish sisters called informing us that the member had brought the wrong person. Instead of picking up junior, they had picked up his drunk uncle. When we asked him where Junior was he said "he is sure missing out!" with a huge, drunken grin on his face. Hey at least, someone benefited from the ride we set up!

I love this mission and I love all of the people we work with. Jesus Christ is the most important person we can learn from but there are also many important things to learn from everyone we interact with daily. Learn something new this week, and share something about the gospel that's important to you with the ones you love!

Love,

Sister Pearson

Murphy's Law

December 22, 2014

Let me describe our saturday...

The day started with pouring rain. Merry Christmas? Josh and Abraham were supposed to get baptized at 11 but that's when they showed up and their parents dropped them off rather than sticking around to sign the baptismal record so we had to wait for a half hour with everyone sitting their patiently until the dad came back to sign the paper so they could actually get baptized. They said the wrong name when they baptized Josh (the 9 yr. old) luckily we corrected it before he went under the water. When the baptism was finished we went with Sister Davis to take Godelive to the temple and on the way a dog ran into our car, I repeat INTO THE SIDE OF THE CAR WITH HIS FACE. Sister Davis tried to slow down but there was no hope, she was going down a 40 mph limit road and the dog wasn't stopping for anything. She got out to find the dog who had apparently gotten hit by another car right after but he was gone. When we got to the temple, Ines forgot her recommend so we went up to the front desk and almost got swallowed in the mass of wedding brigades. BUT, everything worked out! somehow, by a miracle, everything worked out and the boys were baptized and Godelive got to go to the temple and it eventually it stopped raining. Which just goes to show that no matter how many negative things happen, even when it feels like everything is going wrong, looking at what went right changes your entire perspective. Looking back on the day I have to sing a few hallelujahs in my head and smile:)

  We had the opportunity to go to a service project on Saturday morning where we took low-income families around to pick out christmas gifts and listening to the kids got me thinking about selfishness vs. selflessness. Despite the few letters difference in the two words, they are complete opposites. At one station, one of the kids we were with saw headphones and said "I need headphones, mom can we get those?" Immediately her sister snapped "no, I need them because YOU are always breaking mine!" Hearing the selfish exchange made me sick, though I'm sure my siblings and I got into similar quarrels growing up. It feels so much better to give than to receive, because that is when we choose to act like christ rather than our natural selves. We all have pride and selfishness, but we can choose the good over the evil if we simply practice a little self-control and take the time to think "what do others need?" rather than "what do I need". I am in no way perfect at that but it is a lifetime pursuit to take on the character of Christ, which is to always turn outward rather than inward. That is the gift I will try to give to him this year. I invite you all to think of how you can be a little less selfish and a little more selfless and I promise you'll discover nothing but unimaginable joy in your heart, so great that you'll feel like bursting! Merry Christmas to you!

Love,

Sister Pearson

Rosepark can't get rid of us!

December 15, 2014

This week Sister Taylor, my trainer and companion for 4.5 months, is gone! Back to Oklahoma for her. I love all of the companions I've had. The lord blessed me with so many friends here in Utah both through companions and members we've worked with!

Sister Johnson and I both survived the transfer and will be staying through the New Year. Yay! We are working with so many wonderful people that we will both be heartbroken to leave. We filled our week with christmas joy through making treats for the people we teach, caroling with the youth at a nursing home on wednesday night, and taking people to see the lights at temple square last night. The place was PACKED. I've never seen it so busy in my life! There is still a special spirit there.

Poor little kirt. I promise he was happy to be there! The mother is Ana and the boy just right of her is her son Vryan who has been coming to church and scouts:)

​Cute little chase at the christmas party! He was so scared one of us might leave. Luckily we're staying!

I don't have time to write much this week but I just want to hsare my testimony of continued revelation. I know we have a prophet on the Earth today who continues to guide and direct the Savior's church and that through revealed scriptures we can have more questions answered than ever before! God is so aware of us and our physical and spiritual needs.

   I love this time of year where the world feels something special in the air. They might not know why, but we do! It is because we are remembering the birth of the Savior, who none of us would want to be here without. Remember that he really was the first gift any of us were given. Share the gift with someone this week! www.christmas.mormon.org 

Love,

Sister Pearson

If you don't pay your tithing you will be burned at the last day!

December 8, 2014

The title this week can be attributed to the short but powerful testimony shared by our 9 yr. old recent convert in sacrament meeting yesterday. If you don't know what tithing is, little Chase would suggest you invite some missionaries over to explain it real quick. At least he payed attention in class, right? :)

  I really can't move on before I brag about my opportunity to meet Esther- Godelive's auntie who just came from Africa and is LITERALLY one hundred years old.

​It's amazing how you can step inside a house in this town and feel like you've left the country.

She doesn't speak any English but kept patting my stomach and telling me "you look great" in her language.

Speaking of Africans, we had a miracle with Claudine (the girl on the left) on Sunday! The night before she had committed to coming to church and sharing her testimony but when we went to class with Godelive she said none of the girls came. We walked over to their apartment and found out Claudine hadn't gotten ready on time and fe;t bad going late. We told her it was fine and we would wait for her to get ready. As sad as it is when people don't make it to church on their own, it is one of my favorite things to go and walk with people to church, it makes me feel like I'm really helping my brothers and sisters here on earth! Sharing the gospel is not about pulling or convincing or forcing but about gently leading people back to the voice of their master, Jesus Christ, and loving them into the church. Claudine was really nervous to get up in front of the whole congregation but Sister Johnson and I promised to go up their with her. She got up and courageously stated this testimony: "I know the church is true. I know Joseph Smith is a prophet. the young women is perfect." Of course it made me cry instantly. She has a strong testimony of the gospel and is just praying about baptism still. She wants to do it but is afraid of offending her catholic ancestors. She and her mom feel the spirit more strongly than anyone I know so before long Claudine will figure out God's will for her.

  The last part of my week I'd like to share has been on my mind for days. We had a lesson with a 12 yr. old who has recently gotten involved in boy scouts. His mom thinks church is good for him and sits in on the lessons though her first language is Spanish and she doesn't think she would ever change from being catholic. she opened up to us and started crying as she asked if it's too late for her son who is 17 and atheist to come back and regain faith. She feels like a failure as a mother because she has let the business of life get in the way of teaching her children about God. I testified to her that God gives us second and 3rd and 4th chances etc. to repent and as long as she makes the changes she needs to now to put God first, she can trust that her son will be in God's hands. It made me think a lot about the role of parents in our lives and how crucial their examples are. As long as parents do everything in their power to lead their children to stay on the right path, no matter what decisions their kids make they can have peace of mind knowing they have done all they can. We cannot control the agency of others, but we can influence with all our might to help others see what is good and right! I'll include one of my favorite scriptures that always gives me hope even when we only have a few seconds to converse with someone before they reject our message:

 16 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. Moroni 7:16.

  I know that all my parents have taught me is just and good and having experimented on their words in my own life, I know that they are true principles. God loved us enough to send His only begotten son to the earth, he also loved us enough to give us commandments. How grateful I am for a sure path to follow that gives us safety, peace, and security in this life. I love my mission, I love this season, and I love the Lord! Let his light fill you each and every day:)

P.S. for anyone who is dying to give me Christmas present- I would invite you to 1) read the Book of Mormon whether or not you've read it before and 2) have the missionaries over to share a message about our savior regardless of your current beliefs. That is the greatest gift I could ever receive!

Love,

Sister Pearson

Pictures!

December 1, 2014

​Some fall pictures we took a while back:) I love my roommates! They offer so much support to us.

​Craig's baptism!

​With elder patton and tapia. Right after I left YSA, Craig ended up moving into the assistants area which was perfect for him. They have really taken him under their wing and helped him with things that would have been hard for sisters to help him with. But Craig is like our little brother! We all love him so much, the spirit was super strong at his baptism. D&C 18:15:)

​Adam's baptism! I taught him for 2.5 months in YSA and then he got kicked out and moved in with his girlfriend. They got married and then finally baptized by some sisters in my zone, so we were able to attend! (he is the asian kid in the suit) We found him in the middle of a lesson with a less active member. He just walked into the house, we found out he wasn't a member and we came back to teach him. Sometimes the Lord just hands you people:)

Glory to God in the Highest!

December 1, 2014

This week was full of another midnight hospital adventure (luckily not for me or my companion) and lots of baptisms! Sister Stratton had a little biking accident and got a mild concussion, but she;ll be okay. There are miracles happening all over the place. Both Craig and Adam from my last area got baptized and I was blessed to be able to go to both! Funnily enough it was the night after we got back from the hospital, but God granted us the energy we needed to have an amazing saturday despite only getting 3 hours of sleep. The promises of the word of wisdom are true especially when things out of your control happen! 

   As I was leading the opening song at Craig's baptism, I looked at Craig and thought of the horrible life he has had up until we met him a couple of months ago. After being abandoned by his mom and living in a hotel on his own at the age of 15, the state took him to a group home full of violence and the horrors of kids who have no guidance in life. It's not surprising that he resulted to things like drugs and alcohol and cutting. Seeing the scars on his arm immediately made me think of the Savior and the pain he suffered for the world, and specifically for Craig. Craig had no one to love him or teach him how to be a good person. He was a lost sheep, and together with the elders whose area he ended up moving into, we were able to lead him back to the flock where he could be healed by Christ. Now he is clean and on the path to more light and truth. The gospel offers such a stark contrast to the evils of the world. Singing "I Believe in Christ" and "I stand All amazed" touched me powerfully, and I couldn't help but cry with joy when Craig came out of the water. 

  I don't have time for much more, but I wish I could express the joy that I've experienced everyday this week as we've taught the gospel to so many different people from all different backgrounds! The gospel is for everyone. With Christmas in mind, we've started sharing "He is the Gift" a new christmas video the church has put out. Please take the time to watch it today! Just go to christmas.mormon.org :)

Have a fabulous week!

Love,

Sister Pearson

​Craig's baptism!

​Thanksgiving!

​Yes, it is possible to make cream cheese frosting without an electric mixer. :)

Tongans don't have meals they have eatings!

November 24, 2104

Commence food inhalation. Say hello to newly baptized Kino! Isn't he adorable? He and his cousin Akira got baptized on Saturday and it was a beautiful service. The spirit was intense and despite Akira's nerves at the beginning, she was beaming after the baptism and especially after receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Naturally, being polynesian, they ahd a giant eating afterwards which we restrained ourselves at since we had dinner to go to in an hour. Problems of serving in utah... we are so spoiled sometimes! As wonderful as physical feasting is, I'm even more grateful for the grand spiritual feasts I've had throughout my life and mission. And as we are approaching a great day of feasting and gratitude, I feel the need to express my gratitude in list form.

11 Things I'm Grateful for (I'll stick with 11 since that's the number of the month November and I'm short on time;):

1.A beautiful earth to live in where we can experience life at the fullest and delight in God's many creations

2.Loving parents that have been patient with their children and raised us in the light of the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ

3. Jesus Christ who is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. Without Him none of us could fulfill our purpose in this life.

4. The sacred promises or covenants that Heavenly Father gives us the opportunity to make through baptism and the temple

5. Health! I;ve been so blessed to have few physical limitations thus far in my life. Being able to run, hike, swim, and even just walk is a huge blessing!

6. My family- They are my best friends and have shaped me as a person. I can't express how much I love them for their strength and examples to me!

7. Living in America, which truly is the land of opportunity. There are so many that don't have the opportunity to get an education or rise out of poverty due to the land they are born in. 

8. A loving, personal, living God. I know that He knows me better than anyone.

9. FOOD! Who isn't?

10. the Gift of the Holy Ghost- I can't imagine my life without this special gift that comes through those having priesthood authority from God. It has led me more times than I probably know especially in the past few years, and I really do rely on it to help me make not just good decisions, but the best ones.

11. MISSIONARY WORK! There is nothing more fulfilling, more inspiring, more joyful than what I am doing now. Since the start of my mission, there has come into my heart an immense sense of peace and direction that I am doing the work of the Lord and I am so privileged to be doing this!

So there's that. Enjoy lots of turkey for me this week, I might just be eating pig (we're eating with tongans again:). This past week has been incredible. I've learned the power that a simple invitation can have on someone else. The young men's president in one of our wards- probably one of the most missionary-minded people I have ever met, found us two new people to teach simply by inviting his neighbors to scouts and church! It's silly how afraid some people are to just extend a simple invitation- maybe someone might say no but the last thing that will happen is that they get deeply offended which seems to be everyone's fear. One of the boys we've started teaching has the sweetest mother who was raised catholic but wants her son to be able to choose what is true for himself. She brought him and his 4-yr old brother to church on Sunday and it was so beautiful to see them sitting as a family. She says she jsut wants the lessons for him but I think they'll end up being for her too:) She just has a light! Hopefully the father and older brother will listen in too. 

I'll stick some pictures from the baptism in- it really was wonderful! Thanks to everyone for the love and support and prayers, I can feel it everyday!

Love,

Sister Pearson

​Akira!

​One of the youth in the ward who is preparing to go on a mission had the opportunity to baptize Kino. It was really exciting for both of them!

You're On!

November 17, 2014

Another Rhyan quote from this week- we had the opportunity to go to the Salt Lake City temple on thursday morning with Rhyan and her family so she could do temple work for the first time. Since she's afraid of water, (it's a miracle she was able to be baptized) she didn't do any of the proxy baptisms, just confirmations. Her sister did do baptisms and after Rhyan told everyone near the font to be very careful with her sister because "she has a baby in her tummy" as Rhyan put it, when her dad went to enter the baptismal font with her sister Rhyan whispered (loudly) "you're on, dad!" I am so grateful for the joy all the people I've been blessed to work with here have brought into my life. 2 months ago it was hard to leave my old area but the Lord asks us to take little steps into the dark and then blesses us beyond anything we could imagine.

  Something that has boggled my mind this week is how uncivil people can be. Even those who claim to be christians or active in another religion have no problem telling us to get off of their property or criticize our beliefs as we stand their and take it, simply offering them to add to the truths they already treasure. I love the african culture for their open-mindedness and kindness. They will never turn messengers from God away no matter how strong they already are in their own faith. I think it just comes down to loving people. I don't claim to be perfect in this but if I've learned anything from recent experiences, it's that everyone wants to be heard, understood, and loved and as brothers and sisters on this earth we owe each other at least that! My favorite scripture this week is found in Acts 5:41- I am happy to be counted worthy to suffer "shame for His name". Jesus is the Christ, He lives and because of that we can live again! I've been fascinated with studying the spirit world lately. I know that this life isn't it, there is SO much more after death and though we can't fully comprehend it now, we can trust that our lives and happiness are in God's hands and he knows better than us.

   I don't know what else to say, I'm blissfully happy doing the work of the Lord and there is no greater joy than this:) 

Ndagukunda! (I love you in Godereva's language)

Love,

Sister Pearson

​another hike to ensign peak!

​Love this family!!! and this temple!!

Woah, woah, woah! Pump the brakes!

November 10, 2014

Truck driver humor, don't you love it?? the title of this week's email was the reaction that the truck driver had to our invitation to him before church last sunday to bear his testimony in sacrament meeting. the funny thing is that after 2 minutes of being in shock (this was over the phone) laughing at us for even suggesting the idea, and yelling to his wife "hey honey, you're never gonna believe what the sister missionaries just asked me!" he said "okay i'll do it". Though he did not end up following through, it worked out because we had a different church meeting to attend at the same time as his so we'll just hound him next month:) If you ever need a laugh, just make friends with truck drivers named Henry. (pictured below)

                                    

The next item of humor this week came from Rhyan our now recent convert. It's sad that we don't get to see her as often but we still have lessons on sunday nights for her follow-up lessons and they're always a riot. Rhyan's comments during last night's lesson:

"Hold on a minute, just would you hold on a minute you two? (turns to her mom) "Could you just be quiet for a second mom? (turns back to us) alright go ahead you two."

(after mentioning something about baptism) "wait wait wait, let me guess (points to sister johnson) you're baptized? (then to me) and you too? (then the member with us, her mom and her dad) let me guess all of you are baptized? Well that's just like finding a needle in a haystack!

Sometimes she pulls out these random phrases you wouldn't expect her to know and it's great. It's true when they say the gospel is so simple a child can understand it, some more abstract concepts like faith are hard for her to understand but everything else isn't too difficult.

​Thanks for the new dress mom! My roommates thank you for it too (we share closets)

Something Rhyan said hit me last night. We were teaching about the importance of scripture study and asked what life would be like without the scriptures. Immediately she responded "well that would just be confusing!" How true that is. I've been praying hard and seeking more for understanding from the scriptures lately and the more I seek, the more I find! I really would be confused in this life if I didn't have scriptures to read. God has given us all of the tools we need to get back to him and not only do we have thousands of verses of scriptures and wisdom from those that knew and loved God before us, but also the words of modern prophets! how can people say these things just come from man? the prophets testify over and over that it's only through the spirit that they can testify of the things they do as well as their own personal interactions with angels and the Savior. I know we don't need angels to know truth. the spirit is the most powerful resource for learning truth that we have and I can promise all of you that as you drink deeply from the words of the scriptures, you will have a more abundant life, you will find answers to questions, and you will be happy! I love God and I love being his servant everyday. Never lose hold of what you know in this life just because things don't go perfectly, God has promised us peace in this life and happiness in the next.

Mosiah 4:9

love,

Sister Pearson

​Temple square with our favorite Tongan families! Kino, the little boy is getting baptized on November 22 with his cousin Akira who wasn't able to make it. the spirit was so strong as we talked about families here!