Tender Mercies Through Fasting... March 27, 2011

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Spring has sprung!!!

Always Working...

OK so there is a reason why I didn't get your e-mails. I guess because they were perfect to get them this week too. I really needed to rely on the Lord.

This week was very good. Not so much that our teaching pool went up which I was a little upset about but really we can't make people come to church or keep their commitments but I had a good week because I love my mission! Satan cannot take that away from me. Even when it is tuff. I have realized the harder the transfer the more I look back and love it! The weather has been beautiful and spring is here! The flowers are out in perfect bloom but so are the bees and my companion is like you mom, runs when they are five feet away. It's funny to the on lookers when they see two sister missionaries running and one screaming about nothing. Lol is fun though. The humidity is here already and I can feel that this one is going to get worse than last year but God got me through the last one, so I can get through this one. Today has been nice. It's has been rainy and thunderstorms all day! I love it! this is what I have been looking forward to all winter long but it only comes in the summer, so I'm excited for it finally to be here. yehaw! For thunder storms!

Christopher has grown up so much I can hardly believe it! I mean he has always been the more mature one of his age and he's always been a spiritual stud but there is just a new level to him that I love! He is becoming the man in his patriarchal blessing. The man God has preordained him to be. I'm so excited for him! I can't believe he will hit a year in almost three months. He can't be out that long! I'm actually glad he has been in his area for so long. He will have a home to go back to when he visits. I do write him as much as I can but I e-mail him a note or two. I'll be better at that when I get home. Then he'll get letters and packages galore. Like Christopher I can't believe Neal is old enough to be going on a mission. He will do so great in Brazil! I love that family. They are so strong in the gospel. They are a family I definitely look up to.

Mom I can't believe you didn't think I would be a great letter writer. Have you no faith in me? Lol jk, I was shocked to find myself answering people back and sure I can't spell so that kept me a way for awhile but I love to write letters. I looked at Shanna and thought she is so good at that. I want to be able to write people cute little letter just to say hello, so I did it and then kept doing it. I find it relaxing at times. Plus if you write one, you'll get one in return so to insure people write you... write letters.

Oh my goodness, I got a cold sore the size of Texas the other day, and now I found a trick. Hydrocinperoxide? Ok so I can't spell it but hopefully you know what I'm saying. It works like a charm and is less than 2 dollars and is gone in 4 days. Man I wish I knew this before I spent $15 dollars on abreva. Plus my comp. got sick this week and has been without a vice but we are pushing through and having fun as she plays darth vater to our investigators.

I'm so glad everyone got to do something fun for the spring break. The two boys got spoiled! That's for sure but I'm glad you got to go to Portland. I told dad that sushi is the first stop on my list of places to eat when I get home. There aren't any good places here but that's ok. Oh and I still do my yummy food dance. I just can't help it, my taste buds and tummy are just so happy!

Thank you so much for your letters I love them so much. Dad talked about stepping up our work and following the spirit. I agree. I can always do better. We had a chance last week to go on a trade off with some sister missionaries close by and it was awesome to see the differences and the things we could do better to improve. It all starts with the morning studies. I know that to be true, along with prayer. Mighty prayer brings about the miracles of God. I've seen that as I have prayed and fasted. I have seen so many tender mercies of God this week, just for myself. God has answered my prayers. This is for me many prayers answered and a huge tender mercy for me this week.

I was reading in Alma 23-27 this morning. Now of course you have to read all of Alma to get the just of the trial and the tribulation that the sons of Mosiah went through but they had it rough. I can't imagine what horrible things they had to encounter and have happen to them because the people would not listen. They were put into jail and Ammon came and got them out and they start to preach again, this time they teach to the king as they followed the example of Ammon. Through trial and pushing through they found success, more than they ever had supposed. Then when the king was converted so was his house hold then he commanded all to listen to them whether they liked it or not and they became such a converted people, so much so that they gave their lives for God. Theses chapters make me cry every time! I just can't believe there conversion. Then afterward Ammon writes of how grateful they are to the Lord for all their blessings. I sat in my chair this morning with tears filling my eyes as I read. This is how I feel about my mission. All of chapter 26 was perfect!

26But behold, my beloved brethren, we came into the wilderness not with the intent to destroy our brethren, but with the intent that perhaps we might save some few of their souls.

27Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to aturn back, behold, the Lord bcomforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with cpatience thine dafflictions, and I will give unto you success.

28And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered every privation; yea, we have traveled from house to house, relying upon the mercies of the world—not upon the mercies of the world alone but upon the mercies of God.

29And we have entered into their houses and taught them, and we have taught them in their streets; yea, and we have taught them upon their hills; and we have also entered into their temples and their asynagogues and taught them; and we have been cast out, and mocked, and spit upon, and smote upon our cheeks; and we have been bstoned, and taken and bound with cstrong cords, and cast into prison; and through the power and wisdom of God we have been delivered again.

30And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our ajoy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some.

31Now behold, we can look forth and see the afruits of our labors; and are they few? I say unto you, Nay, they are bmany; yea, and we can witness of their sincerity, because of their love towards their brethren and also towards us.

32For behold, they had rather asacrifice their lives than even to take the life of their enemy; and they have bburied their weapons of war deep in the earth, because of their love towards their brethren.

33And now behold I say unto you, has there been so great love in all the land? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, there has not, even among the Nephites.

16Therefore, let us aglory, yea, we will bglory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his cmercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.

This is so true for me. I felt the spirit so strong as I read those chapters this morning. We may not see success at this moment but if we are steadfast and immovable and go forth in boldness bearing all things which the Lord sees fit to put upon us then we will see the blessings. I have already seen the blessings of my mission and of this transfer, and they don't always come in the form of a baptism, although that is the goal that I have in mind. Not just to bring some but many unto Christ. I know that God lives and loves me and knows me personally. I felt God's personal love for me at that moment as the scriptures spoke to me in plainness to my soul. I love my God with all my heart. I'm so grateful to be his missionary. This is my miracle in fasting. I had so many prayers answered in one moment and yet it didn't come in the day that I fasted but days later as I continued to do what was right. If I would not have studied this morning, I would not have had my prayers answered in this way that I needed it. It was so powerful! I love this Gospel with all my heart. It is a message of peace and good-will and with joy that over flows. My heart is so full!! I love the lord, I love the Gospel he has blessed me to know, I love him for sending me righteous parents to teach me, and for humble teachers all through my life that I have looked up to for guidance, especially my siblings and cousins that play such a key role in my life. There is no greater work than this, this I'm convinced and this I know because I live it. I'm not just doing it. God has given me a new life that I do not deserve and has allowed me to share it with others and the key to success and happiness that I feel. It is Jesus Christ, mine, yours and our Savior of the world. He is the difference. Without him nothing is possible not even our day to day. I love him. He heals my broken heart so that I can go from day to day. A mission is not easy but it is more than I could have ever hoped for. I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for in him I can do all things.

I love you all so very much! I want you to know that I'm working every day to make my Heavenly Father proud and in return when I come home off that airplane you may see the daughter, God has intended me to be.

Until next week I'm sending all my love~
~forever your Sister Missionary~

Looking for a miracle... March 21, 2011

Hello Family!!!! Well no e-mails this week. I hope everything is ok. (Chanelle did not receive any of the e-mails we sent, huge bummer.)This week really hasn't had any changes. This is going to be really short. This has been a really hard week and It's not like i'm not use to hard things but this week is a little diffirent. We fasted and prayed a lot this past week and it has helped alot. I have gained such a strong testimony of finding added strength through fasting. I know that it works and that it is just one of the many ways God shows me that he loves me.

I love you family so much and I hope to hear from you soon. Everything is going great here. No need to worry and I promise that I will find a miracle and report back next week. I know they are out there.
I love you all~

Love your forever Sister Missionary~

Challenging but good week... March 15, 2011

Thank you for that E-mail. I really needed it this week. It has been a tough week, but we are doing what we have set out to do. We are here to Baptize and prove to the Lord we can do his work and that he has entrusted the right sister Missionaries.

I Know God answers prayers. Maybe not always in the way that we might think; but he does. There is a family that we were teaching when I first got here but because of an abusive, alcoholic and drugs situation, we were not allowed to go over to their home without two priesthood holders and if the husband was there, not at all. Well the kids and the mother wanted to be baptized so badly but they couldn't because they as parents were not married and the father never wanted to be married. We finally dropped them or he dropped us after yelling at us over the phone. We prayed that somehow, someway, the mom and kids could be baptized and the boyfriend or "husband" would be taken out of the picture. Well we have not heard from them in over two months when we get a phone call early Monday morning saying that something was wrong in their home and that we needed to come and bless it. After a long period of time and refusal from priesthood leader to go to the home because of the husbands weird behavior, they ended up calling a preacher from a Baptist church and when he got there he saw how crazy the husband was acting and called the police and put him in the looney bin. Woohoo! I know that is not so awesome for him but he is not a good man and needs help. But hopefully he is out of the picture for good. The priesthood holders finally went over and blessed the home and gave blessings where needed. It was amazing! God works in his own ways, we just pray to know what way that is. I know God answers prayers. I know it because I see it every day!

Thank you so much for sharing your testimony with me. I love hearing it.
Sorry this is short but I don't have a lot of time today, I love you and the family with my whole heart!

Love your Sister Missionary~

Skyler is called to Chile!!! March 7, 2011

Oh my gosh! I watched the video 3 times and cried and cried. I felt the spirit so strong. I felt like I just did that. I'm going to miss Skyler by a month. Bummer. But Man I'm going to miss him. He was like a ball of fun. lol I bet his whole family is freaking out. Another Spanish speaker. That whole family might as well learn it because they all practically speak it. It was so cute when he was like, "I can't read what it says." lol I thought that would be me. But thank heaven it wasn't. State side is easy to pronounce. It's so funny at the end of your mission you seem to always go back to the first part. I felt like I just got here. Crazy!!

Oh, Sister Mitchell, you know the cute red head. She is married. She sent me an invitation. So stinkin cute! She married her high school sweet heart. They came back from their missions around the same time. It was really fast. Kayla is engaged? To who? Is he a good return missionary that is going to take care of her? I hope so. She deserves that. I bet Christopher is weirded out. His first friend to be engaged. lol

Yes I got your package and I loved it! I have been memorizing like crazy and I think I have up to the fourth week memorized. I still have to think before I say it but soon it will just come. I'll be able to quote it to you for mother's day. Mother's day will be weird. I'll being seeing you in a month or so by then. Crazy huh?

We'll not much is going on this week. We had president interviews and that was amazing. We are learning to become master planners. I'm loving it and learning a lot. Our mission president is so efficient. He is amazing. I love him and Sister Barry so much. They have really changed the way I look at things and at myself. President Newman was to show me the fire of teaching powerfully and how hard I can work and how far I can push myself and now that I know that, comes how to do it with love and planning how to use that fire. Like burning leaves. Everyone does that down here. You can start setting leavings on fire no matter where you are and cause destruction if it's not controlled. Yes you have burned all the leaves but you also have destroyed your trees and your house. A Controlled fire allows you to care of your surroundings and add more leaves to the fire as necessary. Hope that makes sense. It does in my head. Anyways I love you so much and thank you for the video. Oh and for the letters. Tell the kids I love them and tell McKenna that she still owes me one. Did she get my letter in the mail?

I love you all~ Pray for you'll all the time

Love your Sister Missionary~

Some day I'm going to bring the whole family out here. It is just amazing and it would be so fun to introduce you to people. So awesome!

President Barry~

It seems that this week our teaching pool has gotten smaller. We are as of yet working with one person. Not from a lack of effort but we seemed to be dropped left and right or they are too busy to meet with us. It gets a little discouraging but we have been praying about how we can improve and felt that there are two main things that can be changed along with all the planning we are doing. Door approaches need to be more powerful and direct and we need to do more miracles with members by teaching the restoration. We started it when we first got here but it seemed that we were able to get into their homes to teach them but they weren't coming out with us, now they are coming out with us but we aren’t able to get into their homes. We are striving to find some sort of balance and I faith that it will work and we can find it. God is in control and I trust him. I know that if I go to him that he can show me what we can work on in order to improve the work and he has. I'm very grateful for that.

We had a dinner with the king family in our branch that we found out are moving. They have been one of our go to families in the branch if we need anything at all. They have been truly amazing and we will miss them. We were in the middle of dinner when their son Nathanial, who is in the MTC waiting on is visa to Brazil, called. He called to tell them that he was leaving on the next plain to go to Long beach California for the next few months while the waiting continues. I was touched as I watched his parents with smiles on the faces and tears in their eyes express how proud they were of their boy. It bought me back to my first flight out to the mission when I called home and talked to my family for the brief 5 minutes. They were both excited and nervous for me but they expressed their love as well. I think back at that moment and I feel like it was yesterday. It was only yesterday as I said goodbye to my family for 18 months and practically skipped to the airplane for this amazing adventure God had called me to do. It has been an experience I wouldn't trade for the world.

Brother King bore a very strong testimony on Sunday about God's love for us and how he showed that love by sending his son. Then he bore his testimony about the blessing of his son serving a mission and the blessings that have come to the family since he has been gone. The family moving is an answer to a long prayer of looking for a better job. He said that this is one of the many blessings that have come. I look at their family and think of my own and the struggle it must be to have both me and my brother out on a mission and yet the excitement that must come on their face as they talk about their children on their missions. You must wonder why I’m telling you all this but I think of all the things that Satan tries to put into my head of being a failure of a missionary and I think, Even if I’m not receiving a lot of success here at the moment, and I will soon. I see the blessing it has been to my family and I realize that a mission is an ongoing success here or at home. I realize more every day the blessings of a mission. They are innumerable. I'm so grateful to serve. I may still have a lot to change and things to work on and improve but the blessings have been forever flowing since I got here and I cannot be pulled down by Satan’s little lies.

We may not see a big teaching pool right now but we will and we will baptize because it is God's will that we do. That is his work and it is all for his Glory.How grateful I am for that knowledge. It keeps me safe and in the light.

Till next week. Lots of love-

~Sister Pedersen