TORNADO

I know y'all were all probably wondering about the tornado, because it seemed like everyone was asking about it. As you can see, we survived! The whole night was actually so fun. Kinda scary, but we were in the Jennings (our ward mission leader and his family) cellar and totally safe:) There were 11 of us in this tiny hole in the ground basically, but we were all singing and joking around and laughing. People in Pampa don't take tornadoes too seriously, because they are so used to them! From what I heard (since as missionaries we still don't really know all the details even though we lived through it) three touched down in Pampa, and there was some damage:( But we were blessed with a lot less than there could have been! The biggest one was a mile wide!!! But it all stayed on the east and south edges of town. I have just always wanted to be in a tornado on my mission. It's ridiculous, I know. But I was so pumped to experience it!

After the crazy of Monday night, things calmed down quiet a bit here in Pampa. More than we would have liked. It seemed like all of the solid people we were teaching just started slipping out of our fingers and we were left with few people to teach. It was definitely a trying week. Between stressed companions, doubting investigators, and empty days, I was about ready to just give up on trying. But it's in those moments that I remember my dear Savior. As He wept in Agony in Gethsemane and ached on Calvary, He never once gave up.  And because He never did, He overcame death, pain, sorrow, affliction, temptation; He overcame the world. With Christ, these trying weeks are able to make me stronger and turn me into the woman God sees me as. This Thanksgiving week, I am so grateful for that knowledge. I am grateful that it doesn't just apply to me, but every single person I meet. I am grateful that God sees us for who we can become instead of who we are. I am grateful that He gives us the way to become the people He sees us as. And most of all, I am grateful for my Savior who makes it all possible.

Things are already looking up here. Even on the hardest of days, I am loving every second and grateful for this sacred opportunity to serve the Lord.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! And a reeeeally Happy Thanksgiving!

Love, 

Hermana Peck

P.S. Mom, all I want is your apple crisp and homemade rolls...no one makes them like you

The pictures are of the tornado and the missionaries in the cellar!

Ready to work with us, share the gospel, do family history, attend the temple and strengthen her family

Transfer news!! NOTHING IS HAPPENING. Seriously, that was such a shock to all of us! But the trio of life will be staying in good ol' Pampa, TX through Christmas! I am so PUMPED! I wanted so badly to stay in Pampa for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and now I get to!! It is crazy to be with Sister Wilkins for 3 transfers, I normally just get one with all my companions! Plus we get to have Sister Carter with us too! Basically, our entire district stayed the same. But everyone else seems to have some crazy transfers. The best one? Sister Perez is coming up to be in Canyon, TX and I will get to see her all the time! I cannot wait. Such a blessing. Besides the ones who have gone home, i am surrounded by all my companions, past and present. This is going to be such a good transfer!

Now for the even better news, MEGAN WAS BAPTIZED THIS WEEK. It was such a sweet baptism. She was so ready and SO excited. I have never taught anyone so prepared. She and her husband cried the entire way through. And we even had several investigators and less actives attend the baptism. It was such a wonderful and successful night. The entire chapel was full of people and even more, full of the spirit! We are planning to go to the temple with her on the 12th of December! And she is on fire--so ready to work with us, share the gospel, do family history, attend the temple and strengthen her family to either return to or join the church. She truly is an example to me! It was just such a happy and glorious weekend!

A talk was given at her baptism that really hit. I wanted to share a thought from it that I loved. And I didn't write this down, so it may be a little off from what she shared, but the principle will be the same. So, there was a man who once decided to walk a tightrope across Niagara Falls from the American side to the Canadian side. That's about 375 yards long, if I can remember right from the story. Everyone thought he was crazy, but he said he could do it. He hopped up and made it all the way across! And then back again. Both sides of the falls had huge crowds cheering him on. He took it up a step and rode a unicycle across. Back and forth and back again. He truly was amazing! The people were cheering and so excited for his success. He then took a sack of potatoes with him, and made it again. He was doing the impossible. He then asked the crowds on both sides if there were any volunteers to go across with him. Silence. Although he proved himself many times that he could do the impossible, he had no volunteers to go with him. It is the save with our Savior. He did the impossible. He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, died on the cross, and rose again 3 days later. But so often, no one is willing to follow Him, even though He has proven that He can help us achieve the impossible as well. Living the gospel is never easy, but with Christ, it is possible, and it is glorious! I know with all my heart that this is true.

The work here in Pampa is doing amazing. I am so blessed to be out here in the Lord's vineyard, being an instrument in the hand of the Lord for bringing about the Salvation of His children. I love this gospel, I love this work, and I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope you all can feel the blessings of His Atoning sacrifice every day in your lives, as we are promised we can feel.

I love you dearly and hope you have a wonderful week!

The work in Pampa is still going great!

Temple trip

Exchanges in Dalhart!

Sisters in the Amarillo Zone!

Good news of Dalhart, I made it there and back safely with no sprained ankle and no visit to the hospital! Thank goodness, that was traumatic last time.

Saturday we got to take a trip down to Lubbock and go to the temple!! That was the highlight of my week! The temple is such a wonderful blessing in my life and a great opportunity to be closer to the Lord than any other place. It truly is the Lord's house and in it, we can find so much peace.

The work here in Pampa is still going great! We didn't get to teach Olivia this week, but we did service for her and that went great! She is so happy and sweet. I love being able to share the gospel with her. Tricia is coming so close to receiving her answer about the Book of Mormon. We are seeing so much change in her, she is even already sharing the gospel with so many people! And also, Megan is getting baptized this Saturday! We are so excited for her. The service is going to be wonderful! And she has invited all her friends and family, so it is going to be a perfect opportunity to invite the spirit and share the gospel with so many that don't have it! She is truly amazing. We brought her and her husband to a lesson with us this week and it was so cool to listen to her testify of the gospel. She was introduced to the church 1 year ago, and the changes in her are miraculous! The gospel of Jesus Christ is meant for change and I am so grateful for that! If it were about perfection, we would never be happy, but Father loves us enough to allow us to change little by little, day by day, through His Son Jesus Christ, and feel happiness everyday! I love being a part of the Work of Salvation, and I love this Gospel even more!

Have a wonderful week! Love you all!

Hermana Peck

I want to be a Texan forever!

Compas

Can I just start off by saying, being a missionary is the best blessing my Heavenly Father could ever give to me! He loves each one of us so much, and as I go out everyday, I see the evidence of that even more. I had the sweetest experience as we were driving to Lubbock this weekend. It was pouring rain, I was stressed because we were running late for Sister Wilkins' doctor appointment in Lubbock, and the music that was playing was just a little too anxiety-enhancing, for lack of a better word. I asked Sister Carter to change it, and a soft arrangement of Called to serve came up. The rain stopped, and the sun popped out of the clouds just in time to light up the darkened, wet ground. The windmills of the Texas Panhandle were flying, and I could see my badge in the corner of my eye. My heart just filled with joy as I looked at the beautiful place I have been blessed to serve in, and the wonderful calling I have to teach this glorious gospel. My loving heavenly Father knew just the right thing to do and the right time to do it to calm me down and help me feel His love. It was so simple, but so sweet. Every day is filled with little moments like those that help remind me that He knows me, He knows my name, and He loves me. And I know He feels the same about all of you!

In addition to that, this week was FULL of happy moments! I got to go to Borger this week on exchanges! The area is a lot different now, but I was able to visit with Crystal, a member that I worked a ton with in Borger. I was so happy to see her and her daughter, Mariah. They are doing alright, but I know that day, the Lord was able to use me as a tool in answering a small part of their prayers. I love them both so much! It was just such a blessing to be back in a place that I love sooo much!

Side note about Borger...we were on bikes and on the drive over there, my bike pedal fell off. So I rode around all day with only one pedal. I have no idea how I made that happen, but it worked! Thank goodness!

Another side note before I get back to the miracles: we helped a member out in one of our outlying towns this week, and her boss treated us to a REAL Texas steakhouse for lunch....can I just say WOW. I want to be a Texan forever. I want to live in a tiny town, eat steak and cobbler, and drive in a truck everyday for the rest of my life!

But back to the goodness.  So we had our ward trunk or treat this week and the BIGGEST miracle happened. I was smiling ear to ear. I couldn't believe what happened! So, there is a lady named Olivia that we do service for every week at her work. We have been wanting to teach her, but the opportune moment just hadn't come up yet! So God just handed it to us! We were in the kitchen, judging the chili, because that was our job. And out of nowhere, Olivia walked into the church! She was all casual to see us, as if she knew that we would be there (we didn't even invite her). We were so pumped that she was there! but to add to it, our investigator Tricia then walked in to welcome her. TRICIA INVITED OLIVIA!!! They used to go to church together, and are super good friends. WHAT? We were so excited. Olivia met basically everyone in the ward and had such a good time. She even told everyone she would come to church. It was such a miracle of service, and we were so happy! She ended up not coming to church, which we were sad about...BUT she met with us last night and it was amazing. We taught her about the restoration of the church and she loved it! She was so excited to read the Book of Mormon, and she explained how she felt an excited feeling, pulling her in to learn more. I have never met someone like her and I feel so blessed to have this opportunity to teach her! We gave her a tour of the church after, and it was truly perfect! I wish I could go into all the details about that experience, because I was amazed the whole time. Such a blessing, and I am so excited for her!

Friday and Saturday we were gone all day. Friday we had Sister Wilkins MRI in Lubbock...pray for her to be healthy! It went well and we'll see the results sometime this week. That night, we went to an MLC at the mission home. WOW. It was about 20 missionaries, President and Sister Heap, and Elder and Sister Foster (who came for the mission tour). Simply put, that was amazing. And the next day the mission tour was just wonderful! I learned so much about grace. I think that has been kinda my theme lately. But it was amazing to be reminded by a general authority and my mission president that I don't have to be perfect, I just have to keep trying to be a little better everyday. My favorite part of the entire weekend was that he truly came to say that we are doing well, we can do better, but God loves us individually, and He's happy for the work we've done so far. Now it's just time to step it up, because we're ready! And I am pumped about it! It was fun to be in Lubbock and see so many missionaries that I love! I even got to visit with Sister Perez, and that was so happy! Man, it just never stops. This gospel is amazing!

Halloween was great! It was a chill night, but we had a good time painting pictures...and each others faces. Man, it is a wonderful life as a missionary!

I love you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Peck

Exchanges in Borger 

Mission Tour

She got her BOOTS!  No more cold toes I hope. 

Our ridiculous Halloween night