happy president's day!

This week has been pretty interesting! I apologize if the email is a
bit lengthy, but kind of a lot happened!

Monday, we started off the week by picking up the new sister from the
airport. She is the first Mandarin speaking sister called to this
mission. Her trainer is trying to learn Chinese also. It was fun to
think back to when the assistants picked ME up from the airport and
how it feels now being the one who has been here "for a while" and who
is giving advice. WEIRD. It was really fun to get to know her though.
We had a fireside at President's house and also went to PF Chang's for
dinner. The next morning, Sister Hales and I went for a lovely run!
Our ears were completely numb but it was worth it. President lives in
Port Washington, and with all the snow, it felt like a little winter
retreat.

Our phone broke on Monday, and we went to resolve the issue on
Tuesday, but alas, they wouldn't be able to give us a phone for
another week because it had to be ordered. We were determined to find
all of the miracles that came from NOT having a phone. And, we have
been blessed! Ready?

Tuesday night, we were able to see Liz and Angela again. They were
pleasantly surprised by our unexpected visit and the lesson super
spirit strong, as usual with them! I felt especially prompted during
the lesson to bear testimony of the importance of coming to church,
since it has never happened even though we have invited many times. I
promised them that greater peace would come and they would get an
answer IF they came to church. Angela said she wanted to be a part of
a church that was a commitment, that didn't just fade away, but that
she wanted to be committed and make a promise...um...obviously in our
minds we just heard, "Baptism! Covenants! Promises!" So we talked
about that and then Liz ended with a prayer. She is usually really shy
about it, and whenever an investigator prays,it just makes me super
happy. More than that, I know it makes God really happy too to hear
his children praying to Him!

We were so excited leaving the lesson that we ran down the street to
our car, and ended up helping push a guy out of the snow. We have
muscles...or faith. :)

Wednesday, we dropped in on a lot of people, and ended up having a
really awesome lesson with Sister Dillon. It was her last lesson
before going to the temple. She has been having a hard time at home
with her children who aren't members but it was a really good feeling
to see how happy our visit was making her. And to see how excited she
was to go to the temple. In her prayer, she said, "bless my children,
including the missionaries." I love her!

We had a few other lessons, but the other really powerful one was with
MANNY. He made us dinner (lemon chicken...except it was made with
limes,but he is Jewish and has a thick accent so maybe he thinks
that's what they are!) and I helped his wife with her resume for a job
(Glad I can use my editing skills out here!). But, we had a super
powerful lesson about the Savior. Obviously Manny doesn't believe in
the Savior, since he is Jewish. But, he opened up to us that he knows
he needs to find out if this is true. He said that because he is
getting older, he has to find out the truth so that he can make a
decision if it IS true. He knows that by learning,his eyes have been
opened and if it is true and he DOESN"T accept, then he will be held
accountable. That was HUGE. We want to teach him tonight about how to
receive answers and praying sincerely. We both feel like he knows it
is true, but he is a bit stubborn and a bit holding on to his Jewish
heritage. But, I know he can get there if he prays with sincere heart.

Thursday was ... well, a terrible snowstorm. We were supposed to have
president interviews that had already been canceled the week before
because of the snow. Without a phone, we didn't know they had been
canceled again. So, we drove to the stake center, which ended up
taking an hour. We saw some pretty bad wrecks, but     said a lot of
prayers. Then we got to the church and found an unplowed  parking lot.
When we finally made it back to Little Neck, we found out we were not
supposed to drive at all so were stuck in the church for the rest of
the evening. I was going crazy!! I am glad we were safe driving but
staying inside was making me lose my mind. Luckily the weather cleared
up the rest of the week!

Friday, we had a zone training meeting & then sister hales and I baked
cookies to take around for valentines day. We included this quote from
president Uchtdorf:

"Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are
imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without
compass, God's love encompasses us completely. "(The Love of God)

I went a little overboard making the dough when we were stuck inside
on Thursday ... 3 kinds. But it only took an hour!

It was great to help the sisters feel appreciated and remembered :)
ALso, thanks for the packages mom and Jenni! And thanks for the card,
Jake!

We had exchanges on Saturday and I was with Sister Lee, who goes home
in two weeks. She was here with me in Little Neck, and we were able to
visit 7 people! More miracles of not having a phone. 7 attempts and
they were all home?! I was able to learn a lot from her, and we got to
know a few members   better too.

Alright, let's wrap this up! Sunday, we drove over to Liz and Angela's
house. We couldn't drive them, but we wanted to take the bus with them
so they knew where it was. The bus ended up being late, so we made it
to church like 20 minutes after it started. BUT, Liz came! Angela was
sick. But Liz came! :) This is the first investigator that I've had
come to church since I've been here. WOo! HOpefully the 10 week
drought is over!

We also taught a lesson at our Bishop's house. They had invited their
neighbors over and we have a return appointment! This was my first
lesson where a member   had invited a friend to meet with us. We'll
see what happens this week!

Okay, this email is super long! I can't believe it's already week
five. It is going by far too fast this transfer! Mostly, I just don't
want Sister Hales to leave,, so I'm praying she stays...if it is the
Lord's will and all.

I love you all and hope you're having a great President's Day! :)
Sister Peacock

{ny south|forever changed}