Monday, November 23, 2015

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!



Wednesday, November 18, 2015

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!

Monday, November 9, 2015

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

Monday, November 2, 2015

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




Monday, October 26, 2015

October 26, 2015 - There is literally a podium for preaching in downtown Childress


Hello again dear friends and family! This week was WILD. We were all over west Texas! Tuesday, we spent the day in Amarillo at a Zone Conference, which as always was AMAZING. I just wish you all could hear my mission leaders instruct. It is so enlightening, spiritually filling, and personal revelation inviting. It is exactly what I needed! I am so grateful to be led by such inspired people!

From Zone Conference, I headed off to Childress with Sister Olsen. Sisters Wilkins and Carter went back to Pampa with Sister Starr for exchanges. That was a crazy day. And dad, you'll be proud to hear this...I ATE CATFISH. We stopped in Clarendon on our way to Childress to visit a less active family and they invited us to eat with them. I was pumped when she said fried okra (yes, I am a Texan who loves okra now), but I think I died a little inside when she said catfish. BUT I survived! And I didn't hate it. I didn't necessarily like it, but hey...improvement:) You should be proud of me, pops! Anyway, Childress is the cutest place ever. The people are so nice! And my favorite part is that there is literally a podium for preaching in downtown Childress. Oh West Texas and their love for religion, it is amazing. The people are so good here! Also, sad story of that day, we finally got back to Pampa, and I realized I had taken the sisters phone..oopsies! It took forever to get a hold of them, but somehow, the Lord sorted it all out for us...yay for a day when we still see miracles! 

Also, we got all moved in this week! I love our new place and we are so blessed to be there. And much safer, but those details don't matter:)

So, onto the work! So, last night we met the cutest couple. We were 100% led to them and it was too perfect. One thing I know to be true is that even when we're not paying attention, the Lord will lead us in our lives to where we need to be. And when we get there, hopefully we make the right decision. And if not, we will be led again to another point and be given try after try to be better. This couple was so sweet and so prepared! They both are looking for more faith and they are expecting a new baby! They let us in to share a message after talking for less than a minute. I literally couldn't believe how perfect it all went. That doesn't happen too often, so we we're especially grateful last night for having met them!

Our investigator Megan is still so pumped for her baptism! We are so excited for her and I just can't wait until she is going to the temple and helping spread the gospel. She will be an amazing missionary to so many people!

And Tricia is doing well! She is progressing like crazy. She is seeing a lot of opposition in her life. It's so lame how Satan does that to us when we are so close to receiving all that Father has for us! But I know that God's power will always overcome any power that Satan tries to have over us. We are fasting for her this weekend and I know that will bring so many needed blessings! Please just keep praying for her!

We are seriously so blessed with so many miracles and I love this work forever. Even though it was the hardest decision I ever had to make in my life, it was the best! There is nothing sweeter than the work of bringing others closer to Christ, and in turn coming closer to Christ myself! I love you all so much and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Hermana Peck

Adventures in Panhandle, TX 
while waiting for the sisters to meet us there 
for Zone Conference












October 19, 2015 - The Field is White Already to Harvest

THE FIELD IS WHITE, ALREADY TO HARVEST
I love Texas!
First off, before I forget...We are moving this week! I am so pumped to get out of the house we're living in and move into our gorgeous apartment:) Not too pumped about the actual packing and moving part, but that's why we serve in Texas where everyone has a truck and can help us! Our new address is:
1312 N. Russell
Pampa, TX 79065
So write me and send stuff there!

Anyway, this week was too much fun! I am seriously amazed every single day by how many miracles we see, how much we are blessed, all the things we learn, and how much fun we have. Missionary work is the best thing anyone could ever do in this life. It is seriously a part every day, even when it is super hard. But the hard times are what make the good times so sweet! And they help us truly focus on what is most important.

Our investigator Megan is baptism ready! It will be on the 14th! I am so pumped for her. She is making invites for all her non-member friends and family, and she is already set to go to the temple on the 12th of December. Literally, she is so ready. I didn't even so anything, she has been so prepared by so many amazing sisters over this past year, and now I just get to be a part of the super special day where she opens the gate to a celestial life through baptism by proper authority. It is just too cool to see the way the gospel has changed her this past year!

As we all fill our life with the goodness of the gospel, we no longer have any disposition to do evil, but to do good continually. And every time we do good, we kick Satan down and stop him from winning. He puts up a fight, but we truly can put up a better one. Christ has overcome the world and with His help, we can truly become the people we have wanted to become for eternity!

Tuesday, we were able to go on exchanges with the sisters in the Canyon ward. I stayed in Pampa with sister Brunt and sister Carter. It was so fun! Sister Brunt trained sister Perez the rest of the way after I left Carlsbad, so the whole time, we just go to talk about how much we love her and the people in Carlsbad. We were able to teach so many people and see a TON of miracles! I love being able to go on exchanges so many times a transfer, because exchanges seriously bring miracles that we could never expect. Even when people sadly reject the message, it just strengthens my personal testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel!

The next day we had exchanges with the sisters in the Canyon YSA branch. I went to Canyon with Sister Nichols. Let me just say, serving in a YSA would be crazy. They do a lot of finding on the campus at WTAMU. That is wild. Everyone is so rushed, and somehow, they are able to discern which of all the people passing by are ready to hear the message. It was amazing to watch how it works, and I learned so much from them! 

Friday was MLC, and it was amazing! I am so blessed to have leaders in my mission that are SO inspired. President Heap talked about improving personal prayer. Which is something I really need to do! I loved growing in my understanding of what we really are doing as we pray and how much every word matters.

I wanted to keep going, but time is basically up. I love you all. Have a great week!
Hermana Peck

The Sisters at MLC 







October 12, 2015


Hello again! Another week has flown by. I cannot believe how quick Mondays come around these days. Time is flying by too quickly! But it is such a blessing, because it means we are working hard and seeing miracles! This week was such a good one. I LOVE BEING IN A TRIO. Sister Carter was the perfect addition to mine and Sister Wilkins's companionship. She is so sweet too! She has been out for about 8 months now and is from Chicago. And she needed to be ere in Pampa. We needed her and all the people we work with needed her. It is seriously the best thing ever. And this week, everything exploded (in a good way) here in Pampaland North! Tuesday we picked up Sister Carter in Amarillo and headed off straight to a lesson. And we've been so blessed ever since.

Megan, our investigator, finally has a date set! She will be baptized on the 14th of November. She is so ready, so excited, and so prepared. She literally amazes me with all the knowledge she has! And even after studying for over a year, she is just as excited to be baptized today and she was when she first learned about the gospel. And even more excited to be sealed to her new husband!

Tim is doing well. He accepted an invitation to be baptized on The 13th of November. But he is really struggling to fight off temptation. We meet with him every day, trying to help him. The Lord even blessed us to meet someone who needed a younger guy to do some work, and Tim really needed a job! Huge blessing! So please pray for him!

Andrew is a new investigator. We weren't sure how solid he was. But randomly this week, he called us and told us he needed us to come over. We had no idea why, but we went over, and he shared an experience about how God told him that it is time to change. And he preceded to ask to be baptized! So exciting! He is reading, working on the word of wisdom, and came to church! He may be moving to Waco in a week, so sad, but he plans to study with missionaries there too!

Finally, Tricia. Our lesson the first night in Pampa with Sister Carter was with her Tricia. I can't remember if I have mentioned her yet, but she is amazing. She is the wife of a recent convert names Miah. He is seriously so converted and so solid. She is very involved in her current church, but she knows that this church is Christ's restored church on the earth. Like, she KNOWS that it is true. Sh is just really scared of what will happen if she converts, because her church preaches a lot of anti Mormon material. Anyway, to make a really long story short...all transfer long, as I would read my scriptures, phrases similar to "thousands were converted unto the Lord" kept standing out to me. I couldn't figure out why, until I mentioned it to Sister Wilkins, and she started recognizing it too. It would come up every day. We were searching and praying to know, and finally one day, the spirit taught us what it meant! Reading over the chapters of Alma 17-24, you find the story of the sons of Mosiah and their missions. The first son goes to teach King Lamoni (Miah). Ammon serves him and eventually gets to teach him the gospel. Lamoni is converted and baptized. Later, King Lamoni's wife (Tricia) comes into the story. She sees what has happened, and with time, becomes converted as well. Once she decided to take that step, her entire household and their city become converted. THOUSANDS converted unto the Lord, because of the faith of 2 people. Later, Ammon goes with King Lamoni to help his brother get out of prison. On the way, they meet King Lamoni's father (Miah's dad), who is sooo against the conversion of his son (true in Miah's story too). But, after time, Aaron, Ammon's brother is able to teach King Lamoni's father. He then becomes converted. Then his wife. Then their households. And then all the 7 cities and towns that he reigns over. THOUSANDS. This was a spiritual smack in the face. Tricia is literally the key to bringing thousands unto Christ. AMAZING. So if that story makes no sense to you, sorry, I'm typing quickly. But I could not believe it. Then, to make the story even cooler, we went and shared this learning experience we had with Tricia. She was amazed. Miah was amazed. They proceeded to tell us that when Miah was first baptized and Tricia came to church with him, the bishop mentioned to her that she could bring thousands with her if she came to choose what she knew to be true. AND, when Miah and Tricia were setup, the woman told them that she didn't know why she felt prompted to set them up, but that the Lord told her they had an important job t do together. Seriously, the spirit was so strong in that lesson. Things were unfolded unto us that none of us knew were part of the story. But the more we taught, the more we saw that the Lord is working so much here in Pampa. I am so excited to see where this goes! Tricia even came to church this week. She left her church in the middle of it to come to ours. It took so much courage, but she did it! Please pray for her. There is so much pressure on her, and the devil knows all that she has the potential to do. He's fighting hard, but we will fight harder! Miracles, conversion, and truth is happening here in Pampa--I love it!

This church is so true and the Lord is leading our lives so much more than we know! Love you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Peck

p.s. There were so many frogs here this summer that got hit by cars Literally, when we ride around on bikes, there are dead frogs everywhere. Whoever invented the game of frogger must have lived in Pampa.