Pictures!

​Say hello to Richard and Autumn. They often save us from starving on sunday afternoons because we never have time for lunch!

​This is the grandson of Mike, the man we are teaching. His name is Thomas and he reminds me of my nephew Will!

​Slacklining on P-Day! I haven't quite lost all my love for worldly hobbies;)

​We made "testimony gloves" at an elderly woman's house this week. She is good friends with Elder Oaks wife and they're going on a trip for the church to Brazil soon. She teaches kids the 5 basics of what to have a testimony of and then gives them these gloves! We made almost 300 combined with the efforts of neighborhood ladies on tuesday:)

Asian Bias

July 27, 2015



This week, I have rediscovered my intense love for the Asian culture.
We met a Chinese family at a ward function who were delighted when we
offered to come share more of our message about Jesus Christ. We
decided to take a young returned missionary name Julia who served in
Taiwan just in case there was a language barrier. That turned out to
be perfect because Brother Huang's 26 yr old nephew charly was there
and he and Julia hit it off! she is taking him to the singles ward
next week. Brother Huang thinks he is a nice person but wants to be
nicer like his mormon neighbors. He thinks he can't go to church
because he drinks coffee but he is willing to take more lessons. He
has the hugest smile in the world and is just a very happy person. He
was asking why we don't drink tea and coffee and his nephew piped in
and said in his thick accent "Unker, it has Caffeine! (pronounced
CafAYeen)". I felt like I was teaching Daniel Wang all over again,
they were so funny!
   The second best lesson this week was with Taylor, the adorable 9
yr. old we're teaching. We were going over the 10 commandments an when
we got to number 3 and talked about what it meantto not take the
Lord's name in vain, he looked at his 7 yr old sister Jenneca and said
"Um, Jenneca, sorry to bring you up in this but you REALLY need to
work on that one." I love children's honesty. They are evidence that
the gospel doesn't have to be complicated and it's really not. It is
simple and we choose to make it complex. All of us will be happier if
we simply choose to have faith, repent continually, be baptized,
receive the gift of the holy ghost, and endure to the end. By those
steps we accept the atonement of Jesus Christ into our lives. We can
never earn salvation but we can definitely give our all to show Christ
we are grateful for what he did and that wee willing to follow the
commandments!
  Last quote I'd like to include is from an old man's talk in church
yesterday. "You are what you do, and you do what you choose. If you
don't like who you are then change what you do!"
  I invite all of you this week to choose one thing you want to change
and then make a plan to change it. Choose someone to hold you
accountable (along with asking God for his help) and I promise you
will be able to change and become even better!

Love,
Sister Pearson

P.S. It continues to be weird to not only have companions who don't
pressure me to eat things that are bad for me, but to be the only one
who isn't allergic to sweets and that has to take one for the team
sometimes when we feel we'll offend if we don't accept what people are
giving us!

Flying Solo

July 20, 2015


This week has been one of those weeks that, looking back, felt like a month! I guess transfers always throw off time when you stay in the same area just because getting a new companion makes everything feel different and new. We picked up our new companion, sister Coglianese, on tuesday and I got to say one last goodbye to Sister Aguilar and a bunch of others that I won't be able to say goodbye to later so that was a tender mercy. Sister Coglianese is an amazing sister, she has been being trained by Sister Aguilar and a Brazilian sister but is grateful to be with us since we're not sister training leaders and have a bit more of a regular routine. She is from Rexburg Idaho and super down-to-earth and nice. It's too bad she has been so sick this past weekend (long story short we had to make an ER run friday) because we get along really well and I'm excited to get to know her better. Sister Smith has had a hard couple of days- she is dairy and gluten intolerant and someone fed us meatballs that made her have a reaction last night so I went out with a member while she and sister Coglianese stayed home. Sister Coglianese doesn't eat sugary treats ever or they make her sick so I have become the designated treat person.... this feels so backwards, I'm always the healthiest one!!!! But really, I think Heavenly Father is looking down at me and laughing. It's actually a lot easier to be healthy when you're companions don't pressure you to eat whatever junk they're eating. POTATO CHIPS ARE NOT LUNCH. CHOCOLATE AND ICE CREAM ARE NOT BREAKFAST. And Sister Aguilar- ketchup on plain toast? Still trying to figure that one out... peruvians. ;)

   I don't mind being out with members and working but it is a lot better to have an actual missionary companion- splitting up as often as we do makes me extremely grateful for companions. Sister Coglianese and Sister Smith are both wonderful teachers. I've noticed more than ever week that as much as I have been trying to become more humble, I feel like I get more and more prideful, at least about my mission. I cannot count how many times different people that I barely know have started talking to us and one of the first things they've said is: "Wow it must be hard serving in Utah. What do you do here?" I have a testimony that the Lord will never send a missionary to a place that there is no missionary work to do. I understand why members get caught up in the mormon bubble- especially in this area there are a lot more members than non-members, in some places it's even 95% activity in the church, but what about the other 5%? Does God not love them too? Can he not perform miracles here because "most people" already have the gospel? Well, God didn't send us here for "most people", he sent us here to find the lost ones. And oh what joy we have felt as we have continually sought out those lost ones and seen lives change. I wouldn't trade my mission for anything, and I especially wouldn't trade WHERE I served my mission for anything.

So that's my bout of Utah pride for you, hope it wasn't too harsh. In order to reconcile, I should probably express my gratitude for the incredible members I do get to work with. No where else in the world can you find such a large amount of God-loving, charitable, willing to do anything for anyone anytime type of people. I've seen what true conversion looks like thanks to these incredible neighbors and stake and ward leaders.

   We were able to teach a lot of lessons this week and have a full schedule for next week as well which is always a huge blessing! We are teaching Mike again and he is opening up even more. sadly he didn't make it to church this week because his grandkids came but he accepted the challenge to read the Book of Mormon cover to cover and has already started. He is such a sweet man and I really hope he is able to get the answer he is looking for. Or at least recognize the answer God is giving him. We switched our other stake with the elders so we now serve in the Kaysville east stake and the Fruit heights stake which border each other. It makes a lot more sense this way so we don't have to cross through areas to get to our other stake. We continued teaching a sweet mother the elders were helping prepare for baptism- she is getting baptized on August first. Her husband isn't really in the picture right now so she is basically a single mom raising her 5 year old boy. My heart aches to see how broken homes become when Fathers don't understand or carry out their role. They have some amazing neighbors in the ward with kids that the 5 yr old plays with and he came home one day and said to his mom: "Mommy, I want a family like Jason's family. I want brothers and sisters to play with and a daddy who comes home and eats dinner with us and plays with me. I'll even have quiet time like they do!" there is nothing that cuts the heart more than a 5 yr. old already recognizes the lack of togetherness in his own home. I know the Lord will bless them as they set the example for their dad and live the gospel.

  Well I have just been full of things to say this week... maybe I should get out more. Speaking of getting out more, I have a funny story about President and sister Spendlove. She was talking about how she knew he was the right one to marry and as she very emotionally said "I had just never met anyone like him, and haven't since then." President gently touched her knee and said "Oh Honey... you really need to get out more!" 

   They are perfect for each other. Mission presidents are the best! I'll leave it at that for this week:)

Love,

Sister Pearson

​Mis companeras! We called this "the adoption"

July 13, 2015

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" 2 Corinthians 5:17

This week we saw the hand of God in so many of the little details. Sister Salts finally got her visa on friday which is bittersweet for all of us, but her desire was to stay here at least a transfer and to witness a baptism And all of that happened right in time! We were a little nervous about Nick getting baptized this week because he went on vacation the week before and we weren't able to meet with him very much, but everything came together at the last minute and the Elder that interviewed him for his baptism said it was one of the most powerful interviews he has ever conducted. We haven't known Nick for very long, but over the past year after witnessing his son Boston's baptism, he has become a changed man and learned the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. His little family is now complete in a way and beginning a new journey to prepare to be sealed in the temple a year from now. As excited as Nick was for his baptism, his greatest desire from the beginning has been to get to the temple. I'm so excited for them! Everyone was crying during the service and the spirit was powerful. I'll include a picture at the bottom:)

We started teaching 2 adorable new kids this week, one named sage and the other Taylor. I haven't taught a ton of kids on my mission and it is always a new adventure. You really have to adapt to their attention spans and level of understanding so you don't confuse them and they enjoy the lessons. The first time I walked into 9-year old sage's house, she pointed her bow and arrow made out of tree branches at me and shouted "no one with pixie cuts is allowed in this house!" Which was ironic because her two neighborhood friends who came to join the lesson also had very short hair. She is very energetic and likes to talk over us so we figured out a system- we will teach for 15-20 minute and do a game for 10 every lesson. Taylor moved here from Washington to live with his grandparents who are active members in one of our wards. His mom is a member but not super involved so hopefully seeing her kids accept the gospel will make her want to change! I learned the power of childrens' examples through seeing how Nick and Lindsay were inspired by Boston. They feel strongly that Heavenly Father put Boston in their family to lead them back to following God.

Sister Smith and I will get another companion tomorrow named sister Coglieniese (pronounced call-ah-knees) from Idaho. She is waiting for a visa to Brazil but who knows how long that will take! Sister Aguilar has been training her in my old area in Rose Park and she is a very hard worker and super obedient. I've been so lucky to get amazing companions throughout my mission. The Lord has blessed me in too many ways to count! I read a great devotional from Elder Christofferson this week about the need for feeding our spirits daily. I couldn't find the written version but here is the link to the video: https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-01-1000-give-us-this-day-our-daily-bread?lang=eng I love that he emphasizes the importance of looking ahead to the future but remembering to take things day by day. If we don't do that we'll never reach our end goals! So much of this life requires faith, patience, and trust if God if we want to be truly happy.

I've gotten really good at telling people I've been out just over a year when they ask. It doesn't feel like lying until they say "oh so you have about 6 months left?" Something like that....:) I am determined to work hard to the end, especially because school is causing me to lose a week:/ I can still remember so clearly being in the MTC... time flies, don't take it for granted!

Love, Sister Pearson

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Loving it in the Land of the Free!

July 6, 2015

Happy belated 4th of july! Also happy homecoming to D.J. Belnap!

I had a dream a couple of nights ago that I had to go home early but I was still a missionary because they hadn't released me yet. In the dream I was riding in a car with some friends and realized I didn't have my badge on. I immediately freaked out and started searching frantically while my friends looked at me like I was crazy and told me to calm down. Don't worry, I found a spare tag and put it on;) Needless to say I caught a glimpse of the pain all the recently returned missionaries are experiencing. Hang in there!

I hate most holidays as a missionary due to the lack of interest in meeting with us but I love holidays because they make for the most interesting personal studies in the morning! I read 1 Nephi 13 (in the Book of Mormon) which prophecies of Christopher columbus being wrought upon by the spirit and finding the americas. How could Nephi have known that all those years ago? He must have been a prophet of God! We went around singing the 3 patriotic hymns we have minus God Save the King to a bunch of widows and shut ins and shared different scriptures about freedom and liberty. I read a quote a while ago and I don't remember who said it but it was along the lines of "we need to stop worrying about human rights and worry more about human responsibilities". Amen to that! If we cared half as much about how we treated other people as we do about how others treat us this wold would be a happier and more peaceful place. It's sad to see the downturn in morality the world has Only the gospel can save us! Only through Christ's atonement can we change into the people God needs us to be to bring His children safely back to Him.

We started teaching the man I talked about last week who received the priesthood blessing. He is reading the book of mormon and came to church but just doesn't feel like he is getting answers. I know that he will, it just takes time and diligence! It's more typical that God's answers come as the slow sunrise in the morning rather than the quick flood of light that comes when you flip a switch. In the end, it's worth the wait and the faith it takes to get you to that point is necessary to endure to the end.

I dare you all to get as bad of a farmer tan as I got this week. Isn't the missionary life the best??? :)

Love,

Sister Pearson

Pretend there is a snazzy picture my flash drive wasn't working this week!

The Paradox of Man

June 29, 2015

President Uchtdorf said in a talk a few conferences ago that the paradox of man is this: compared to God we are nothing, but we are everything to Him. I experienced that "everything to Him" part this week when I was able to attend my brother's temple sealing in the Salt Lake City Temple. Words can't describe the joy that I felt all throughout those 2 short hours. I found it ironic that all of the thoughtful, mind-racing, floor-pacing preparation that goes into deciding to marrying someone is manifest by such a small, common, 3 letter word: y-e-s. There is so much behind that yes! And I'm excited to see the amazing things that Ben and Eliza contribute to this world because of their willingness to take a leap of faith and both say yes. :) It's hard to give a brother and best friend away but I'm grateful that we will always be connected because our family is sealed together too! Friday morning was a shining golden stitch in the great tapestry of my mission and life:) I know that the Lord provided for me to be able to be there. He knows who we are, where we are, and what is most meaningful to us. As a missionary I've gained a stronger conviction that the most important things in life aren't things. Relationships are the most important thing we have, including our relationship with our Heavenly Father. 

P.S. When I saw Mary( she is a woman that Ben and I befriended a couple of years ago and she lives in a care center) there in her wheelchair I couldn't help but cry- she means so much to Ben and me and I know it meant the world to her to be there! She will be a lifetime friend:)Picture below

We experienced a miracle this week that we really had nothing to do with. One of the men we've been trying to teach was struggling and decided to ask for a priesthood blessing. He didn't really know exactly what they were or what they did but he was desperate for help and reached out to his member neighbors. They explained that the blessing would be according to his faith (just like every blessing Christ ever gave) and after it he felt loads lighter and like he could move forward. I know that the priesthood power is real and it is restored to the Earth. The same power that Christ worked many miracles with is available to us as we ask for it and exercise it righteously. Heaven and Earth really aren't as far apart as we think:)

Another neat thing that happened this week was showing up at the right place and the right time for the mother of one of the children we're teaching. We were supposed to do service for her but she broke down and started crying and just asked us to pray with her. She just needed someone to listen to her. It is the best feeling in the world to find out that God let you be the answer to someone's prayer.

Pray we don't melt this week!

Sorry this letter is brief. I guess I should mention we have a new companion know! Yay for trio companionships!

Love,

Sister Pearson

Happy 1 month to Sister Salts!

June 23, 2015

This week has been a whirlwind of change! Not only did I find out that the sweet senior missionary Elder Prier just passed away, but in the same day got a call informing us we would be in a trio as of this week with a sister named Sister smith. Trios are a whole different dynamic but I know this is the Lord's will! I'm excited for what is to come an at least I'll have a companion now when Sister Salts leaves! Sister West and I were blessed to be able to travel to the funeral at the Ensign Peak chapen in Salt Lake for the funeral on saturday; that will be my last time seeing her since on July 1st her area in Layton will be booted to the Ogden mission. I couldn't resist to get a very australian picture, my companion who is going to serve in Australia and my companion from there! Too much outback-lovin goodness:) Sister West even brought us some veggimite so Sister Salts can try it! For all of you who have tried veggimite you are either disgusted by this info or delighted. It's addicting in a weird way .

​I realize the angle of this picture makes me look like an elf.

  It has been a hot hot week, so hot I think I got a bit dehydrated from biking all afternoon on tuesday and my dinner decided to come up on the lawn of a family we were visiting that evening. They do tell us in Preach My gospel chapter 11 to always leave something behind... I'm not quite sure if that counts?

Random fun fact that I've been meaning to share: Being withSister Salts has led to an interesting discovery. When she introduces herself she says she is from Hawaii but actually pronounces it correctly (Hawa'ii) instead of the American way (HaWHYee). At least 3 elderly people who struggle with hearing always say "Where? portland??" I guess the hawaiian pronunciation of hawaii sounds exactly like Portland.

   Nick and his family were interviewed by a general authority who came for stake conference this week and apparently it went really well! I'm sure it was a little intimidating for Nick becuase he likes to say he's not a super churchy guy but Elder Becerra said it went really well. I love the chance I've had to meet and interact with so many church authorities because it strengthens my testimony of D&C 121 where it talks about the proper use of the priesthood. The natural man would use a high position to exercise authority over others, a christlike man would use it to serve and bless and help and lift, and that's what the church authorities do that I've met. This life is all about becoming more like Christ and they are true evidences of that; hopefuly we as missionaries are too!

  I must say I feel extremely blessed to have the chance to go to BEn Pearson's temple sealing this week- The Lord is the master planner and knew that it would work out for me to go. I know it will be brief but I'm just very grateful! You are one of my very best friends Ben and I am SO happy for you and Eliza!!! Families truly can be eternal through the sacred ordinances of the temple:)

Love,

Sister Pearson