Hola!!!!

 

I'm sorry, I have no time to write this week! We are heading to the temple and I don't have much time! So this will be quite the short letter! This week included getting to know lots of people and doing all sorts of service! I am just so glad that I'm here serving a mission. Any of y'all who have the chance, DO IT! You'd never regret it! It's amazing to see the Lord giving you strength to do things that wouldn't be possible without him.

 

Sorry for the shortness but to make up for it here's a great picture! After on of our lessons this week one of our investigators asked if she could braid our hair and this was the end result. Hermana Phillips and I liked our hair. But Hermana Enos' braid stuck straight out from her head! We got a good laugh out of it.

 

 

 

The other photo is the cute little boy we have to play with during the class where we teach English. We try to distract him so that his mom can play attention. Alejandro is the cutest!

 

 

Adios!

Con Amor,

Hermana Pier

It's already been 2 months? WHAT?!

It was another beautiful Washington week! If you were to go outside and see how pretty it is where you are, and then multiply that by about 32,000, you almost would be able to imagine how beautiful it is here. I have fallen in love with North Bend and this area. There is one thing that people forgot to mention to me though, the fact that there are spiders EVERYWHERE! I think I have seen more spiders and bugs in the last three weeks then I have in my entire life. Seriously ever! My fear of bugs may or may not have resulted in my flinging a handful of chips all over the dining room this week. No worries, it ended up just being a burnt chip! All is well!
 

This week I really have realized why I'm here serving a mission, I will get to that... After a few stories!
 

Well firstly, we had Zone Conference this week and it was AMAZING! President Choi is the best. EVER! He's challenged us to sing all the time, "Have fun with the spirit!", and "If you don't like something, like it!". Welp, I'll be completely honest, knocking doors was not my favorite thing. One day, we had just had another door slammed in our face when President Choi voice popped into my head saying "If you don't like it, Like it!". So I decided to like it. And I started singing,

"Knock, Knock, Knock!
I love to knock!
I love to knock on doors,
Knock, Knock, knock!"

We just started laughing and it really made it so much better. And every time we have hard times tracting, we start to sing that silly song! And now I realized it's all about my attitude. Someone who is really ready for our message could be waiting behind one of those doors. We do find people who have desires to come closer to Christ and it's amazing!
 

The second blessing this week was Marco. He just continues to amaze me with the love he has for his Heavenly Father and for his desire to know him more. He meets with us and he has studied the scriptures so much and is praying all the time and he honestly is an amazing example to me. There was one experience that really stuck out to me. We were talking to him and a scripture from the Book of Mormon popped into my head and I thought, "Oh that would be a really great scripture to share with him." So I opened to it and then saw that Hermana Enos had opened to the same scripture, so obviously it was a very important scripture to share with him. We were about to talk to him about it when he says, "I remember reading a scripture the other day and what were talking about really reminds me of it." And went on to quote the exact scripture we both had open! WHAT! Let's just say he is a spiritual giant. For being a short little guy (He's like 5') he sure does have a lot of spiritual strength.
 

Okay, so back to what I really realized this week about serving. I was reading my Book of Mormon and was in Mosiah when King Benjamin is talking to his people and something really stuck out to me. In chapter 5 is says that there is no other name that salvation comes through except for through Jesus Christ. It then says we need to know the name by which we are called and know the voice by which we are called. And then verse 13 says, " For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?" This really made me think about how important Christ is in my life, and what he means to me. Since being out here, I'm growing to more fully appreciate my Savior and everything he has done for me. I'm starting to better understand the importance of Christlike love and service. I think we'd all love to be able to stand before our Savior some day and truly KNOW him. Not just know facts about him but to have felt ourselves change through his atonement and help others as his did. And I know that it's possible if we put the Lord first in our lives.
 

Y'all have the best weeks ever!!! Look for chances to serve others and be great examples! Thank you for your letters and what not. You are the best!!!!!! Les quiero!
 

Con Amor,
 

Hermana Pier

Week Number 2

Can I just say that being a missionary is honestly the best thing in the entire world. WITHOUT a doubt. I'm loving it here SO much and I already love the people here so much! Since there have only been Spanish speaking missionaries here for about 3 months the work is still slow here but it's DEFINITELY progressing!
 

Marco is one of our main progressing investigators and he is the best! The missionaries met him back in May and he didn't have time to talk but said that he would call them and come to church sometime. Well about a month and half later, HE DID! He called a couple weeks ago and came to church and has been coming every week! We met with him twice this week and the first time he just kept rubbing his arms from having chills we explained that those feelings were the spirit. He listens and desires to know more but told us that he wanted us to know that he didn't want to be baptized, he just wants to learn more.Well on our next meeting we talked a lot about the Doctrine of Christ (Everyone should go read 2 Nephi 31 cause it's a very powerful part of the Book of Mormon) and about baptism because he was asking a lot about it. We showed him the font and talked and the Spirit was so strong. He told us the he wants to be baptized someday. That's the best thing we could ever hear! He said he wants to meet together as often as possible and wants to learn more so he can be baptized. He is so amazing and has such strong desires to grow closer to Jesus Christ.

Other than that this week has consisted of lots of service, meetings and knocking doors. Oh, and I gave a talk in sacrament meeting yesterday. The entire meeting was centered around missionary work. It's amazing to see people get more and more excited. Really often we have people going to lessons with us and they help the investigators so much.
 

And to make this the most exciting week yet in my mission, out of the whole 2 weeks I've been out, I GOT PROPOSED TO! Hahaha no worries people he was 65 years old. And drunk during the proposal. We were at this house teaching a lesson and a bunch of men live there, so we typically end up teaching a few of them depending on who is home when we go over. Well good old Andre was highly intoxicated and would just keep telling us random things and not listen to our message. He just randomly stopped and pointed to me and proceeded to say that he really likes me and that he really wants to take me back to Mexico and get married. Hahaha we had to tell him I couldn't date on a mission. Oh boy! His handshake at the end of the lesson was a bit WAY too long for comfort and I was slightly concerned. My companions thought it was the funniest thing ever. For any of you interested in seeing my future hubby, he's the one right next to me in this picture.

 



My Fiance!!



I'm so grateful that I can be here. I've never been this happy in my life and even though we get doors slammed in our face and a lot of people have no desire to talk to us, it's definitely worth it. Loving and serving people 24/7 is the life! Les quiero mucho!

 

Hermana Pier




Tri-panionship

Field Week 1!

I'M IN WASHINGTON! YAY!!!!!
 

Well of course I had to start this new experience off with an adventure. The morning I left the MTC we had to leave our building my 4:20AM to be on time. Well apparently none of us Hermanas set our alarms. Whoops. So I woke up at 4:05 feeling a little to rested for it to be 3:30. I look at my watch and just jumped out of bed and I was so worried about being late. Luckily we all made it to our buses on time and got to the airport safe. At the airport I got to talk to my family which was amazing! And saw my district and got to say my last goodbyes. Que triste! I love them so much!!!!! The actual flight was the longest 2 hours of my life because of the nerves, but I was actually able to talk to someone about the church and place a Book of Mormon so that was cool!
 

After we got interviewed by President Choi. It took FOREVER cause there were 37 missionaries that came in that day. It was the biggest group the Seattle mission has ever received. Cool huh? And then we got assigned our companions. I'm actually in a trio, so I have two other companions! My trainer is Hermana Phillips and Hermana Enos is our other companion, she's been here for a few months waiting for her visa to Argentina. They're both so sweet and great. I've been able to learn so much from them this last week and they're just the greatest! We live with some members here, The Marrs and they are the most amazing people. They help us missionaries out so much and we really couldn't be luckier. Plus they have a cute doggy!
 

My area covers North Bend and Snoqualmie and Issoquah. This area opened 2 transfers ago and it's such a great place to be. Us Hermanas cover the whole Valley and there is a set of English Speaking Elders in each of the towns as well. We cover a larger area because there are not very many Spanish Speakers here, but there are definitely plenty to keep us busy.
 

This week consisted of lots of lessons, knocking doors (FOR HOURS!), singing, and doing service for others. It's the best!
 

On miracle that happened this week was that we had 3 Spanish speaking investigators attend church. (This basically never happens.) And on top of that around 6 or 7 people in the ward bore there testimonies in Spanish because they knew there were non-members there. The spirit was really powerful and it was amazing to see the support of the ward members. We have chances for members to come to lessons a lot with us and they are so helpful!
 

One other really cool experience happened this week. We are teaching a family and they are the most amazing people EVER! A couple weeks before I got here their family went through a really hard time and they really have bonded with the missionaries through it. Well, the father is very religious in the Pentecostal (No idea if that is how you spell it) church and for a long time had no interest in listening to anything about the LDS church. Lately though, instead of going into his room or something when the Hermanas came over, he has been coming and talking with us. He said that one night he had a dream and that the sister missionaries were in it. The dream was that the missionaries came over and were helping him to wash all of his clothes white. He said that he knew it was them helping him come closer to Christ. He still isn't wanting to attend our church or anything, but he really is just an amazing person. And I hope we can do exactly that and help him grow closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Companions

MTC Week 6

Well I officially have less than 24 hours left here in the good old MTC. Que Triste! My companion just left me to head to Chile. I love Hermana Lone!!! This is getting real. This letter will probably be very short so sorry about that! This week has been amazing though and I have grown so much. Probably the best week here.

 

Well first off we got to host this week. This just means that when the new missionaries are dropped off we meet them at the curb and help them get all the things and get to their classes. It was cute seeing all the families saying goodbye but at the same time it was so sad seeing people crying. I kept remembering when I was dropped off and how in shock and scared I must have looked.

 

Every week as the districts leave, on Sunday night our entire zone gets together and they sing "God be with you til be meet again" (In Spanish of course) to each other. But we sing it really happy and try to make it not a sad moment. Luckily I didn't start crying but cute Hermana Lone did. Having it be us that was getting sang to was so strange. I'm actually leaving, 24 hours from now I will be in Seattle. WOW!

 

So the last exciting thing that happened was in Sacrament Meeting yesterday. So every Sunday one Elder and one Sister give talks in sacrament meeting just a little short 5 minute one. In Spanish. But they don't tell you who is going to be speaking until they announce it during church. It's how they get everyone to always prepare talks. Well just guess who was called on the week? Yep, me! But the scary thing was that day President Lon B Nally, President of the entire MTC, was in our little zones sacrament meeting. Well I gave my talk about the Holy Ghost in Spanish and it went well. Yay! Heavenly Father definitely helped me out during it.

 

Well that's all about all for this week. I can't believe I'm going to be in the field doing real missionary work. This week I am focusing my life on being more focused on what I can do to help those around me. I want to put others first always and I invite you all to do the same. Look for chances to help people around you. Even little things.

 

-Hermana Pier

 

 

MTC Week 5

Hola!
 

I have one week left in the MTC! What?! Not possible! We got our travel plans on Friday and it was the best day ever! I leave next Tuesday morning at 4:30 am to head to the airport but my actual flight's at 8:30. It's so crazy that it's finally here, I'm actually going to be in Seattle serving. WOW! As excited as I am to leave, we're all really struggling when we think about it.  Hermanas Lone, Broberg, and I get along so well, like we've been friends for year. That's okay though, 17 months and we'll all be in Provo!
 

This week we had to say goodbye to our amazing teacher Hermano Monroe. He is leaving to be a teacher at the MTC in Mexico. :( We're all really sad because he was the best teacher. His fake "investigator" Gregorio helped us go so much when we were here. After our last lesson with him the other night he talked to each of us individually and we got to talk about our experience here. We had so many spiritual experiences with him so it was cool to talk to him. As we talked about how certain things we'd helped the spirit convey had helped him a ton in real life. And some of the things he'd felt prompted to say were exactly the things that we needed and that had changed us the most. We really realized just how much God's hand is in our lives.
 

Another thing that really helped me grow this week was a little journal I started. When I was in high school I started this thing where I had pages in the back of my journal where I would write about when I saw God's hand in my life. I don't know why I didn't think of it until now but I got a package from my Mommy (thanks Mom) with these cute little mini journals I decided to start a tender mercies of the Lord journal. Since doing this and recording all the miracles in my life I see the Lord in my life so often. I challenge you all to start looking for the tender mercies in your own life and I promise you'll notice how often the Lord truly is with us.
 

Last week I told you that our district was dropping like flies and my time finally came this week. DUN DUN DUN! Okay not really but I had some very embarrassing moments. Firstly, one day when we were playing four square (I'm kind of a pro) I completely biffed it and killed my knee. I know, playing four square of all things. I have a really cool battle wound but the only problem is that we kneel and pray a lot so it's a bit of a struggle at times. Embarrassing moment #2. So since our teacher is leaving, our new teacher, Brother Hopoate (He knows Devan). came to observe our class a few times. Well his first time there the teacher told us to grab our Preach My Gospel books and I couldn't find mine. So, I got out of my desk and searched for it while everyone just waited for me. I finally found it and stood up to go sit in my desk and guess what?! I slipped on one of my church pamphlets. So basically my life is just an embarrassing struggle.
 

I love you all and thank you for the letters, packages, and emails. I appreciate them so much. Sorry if I don't get to all the emails very fast. I don't have very much computer time.
 

-Hermana Pier
 

Ps Happy Birthday this week to my Mommy and my Grandma Pier. I love you both so much!

 

 

 

Travel Plans !!!

MTC week 4

This week was definitely one of ups and downs. Let's just say that our district is basically dropping like flies. To start the week off Hermana Broberg got super sick and had an awful sinus infection so for three days she was stuck in bed. So sad! We took turns spending time with her in the room and mission class. Because of that I taught with Herman Cole a few times and we even taught in a few tripanionships. I'm really grateful things are back to normal! We missed having Hermana Broberg in class and I missed teaching with Hermana Lone.

Speaking of Hermana Lone, she got some weird warts on her feet from not wearing her shower shoes so we got to spend a few hours in the doctors office while she got that dealt with. And in a week or so we have to take a van to a podiatrists office to get her all better. Funny story though, so that day her foot was completely numb and she was struggling with the whole walking thing. We were in the hallway saying a prayer together before we went into one of our appointments and halfway through the prayer she lost her footing in the foot she can't feel and she just fell to the ground. It's a good thing God has a sense of humor cause we have never laughed so hard in our lives.

Next, Hermana Cole got sick and lost her voice. And then Elder Wayman messed up his foot playing volleyball. That means Elder Woodfield, Elder Davison, or I is next. Scary!!!!

But to counteract all the rough times this week, Hermana Lone and I have been called to be the Sister Training Leaders. Basically what we do is interview all the Sisters in the zone and check up on them. And then give tours and help the new sisters get used to the MTC. Until the Sister Training Leaders right now leave in a few days, we are technically the Sister Training Leaders in Training. Has a nice ring to it huh??

One thing that I've gained a ton this week is a huge testimony of the Book of Mormon. I mean, Ive always had one but as I've continued to read and learn more, I've realized it truly is the most powerful book in the world. In two weeks and one day from today I will be in the field teaching real people the gospel. I'm so grateful for this opportunity. Write me!

-Hermana Pier