Training: Week 5!

It's the last week of the transfer already! I am really excited about the coming transfer too -- mostly because I'm excited to experience a birthday and Thanksgiving on the mission. Also, on November 11, each missionary will be receiving a mini ipad to keep for the remainder of their mission & iphones will be coming soon. How exciting that the world of missionary work is changing to keep up with technology.I love it!

This past week, we were able to teach one of my less active friends on Skype and it was an AWESOME experience. Who knew you could feel the Spirit through Skype or Facebook chat? Well, you can! And, I've been blogging more. Interesting thing! We were on exchanges and I was in an English area. We went to one of their investigator's homes and she sees my name and says: "Oh! Sister Peacock. I read your blog yesterday...about doubt? Yeah, it was really good!" Apparently someone had suggested it to her on Facebook. I felt so great that someone had read it, even though I didn't know them!

Our investigator Isaura keeps progressing. I haven't spoken too much about her but there is definitely a light in her eyes that we notice now and she's been reading, she even defended the Book of Mormon to her friend. And she prayed to know if it was true! She had said she felt like it was, but hadn't prayed. But now she has received that confirmation. She hasn't come to church yet, but we're working with her on that! But we did see her at the laundromat today. Good timing :)

We also had a super powerful lesson with Laura -- it was THE most powerful lesson I've had yet on my mission.  It was incredible! Ah. I love being a missionary!

OH! How could I forget? Wednesday was the anniversary temple trip. I loved it! I kept wanting the session to last longer because there was such a wonderful feeling in the temple -- that feeling of peace.

We also had stake conference this weekend, and let me tell you how great the elders were. I was feeling super tired on Saturday and a little drained. WELL, the elders showed up to carpool & had bought a bag of peanut m&ms for the ride, just because I'd been talking about them earlier and how they were one of my favorite candy. It was sweet. They've become my best friends.

We did service at a family's house a few times this week who were moving and I had the best time raking leaves. It was the perfect day and service truly does make us happy! We always tell people we can help, but it's nice when they let us :)

And, finally, last night we had an incredible lesson with a less active named Amerilis. She's Spanish (I sent a pic a few weeks ago). She had talked about the Bloms and so we invited her to dinner at their house. It was the best experience seeing how happy she was to be there, even though they didn't speak the same language. They tried and we translated when it wasn't understood. But, she hopefully will talk to her boss and be able to come on Sundays. We NEED her!

This morning we went to Montauk with our district so we got up at 4 a.m. But, it was definitely fun. We had great conversation on the 2-hour drive and enjoyed the sunrise too! I'll try to send pics, but the USB isn't working today.

Ok, I love you and hope you all have a great week!

--Sister PeacockTraining: Week 5!



Temple trip and our first NY hot dog!

The m&ms from the elders :)

A sunny Sunday afternoon by the beach!

MONTAUK photos:

One of my best friends here! Elder Baker, our District Leader.

Me & Elder Waters (ambassadors at SUU! Now my zone leader

gorgeous sunrise

the whole group & a cool photo :)

Last PDAY: The elders came shopping with us at Kohls :)

Mom, this first pic is for you! :)

Second, us in the car listening to music.

Third, what a board game lover! This is at Matt's house (baptized in August)

Fourth, Pincock & Peacock. Our names get mixed up a lot.

changing.

This weekend was Stake Conference in the Plainview, New York stake. Last night, one of the most powerful messages I learned was to be MEEK. That's not a word used often in my vocabulary. But, as I've tried to see how I can change, improve, and better myself, I realized being meek is something i need to become.

Meekness does not equal meekness.  I learned that meekness is being humble; it is being teachable. It does not mean that we let people walk all over us or allow ourselves to follow the crowd; that is being weak.

But, when we are meek, we want to be taught in every situation. We ask the Lord what we are to learn and we accept what he is trying to teach us.  I will admit that while I liked school (yes, it's true!), I have a hard time being "taught" when it comes to things I think I already know.

Just ask my roommates or mission companions what happens when we attempt to bake together in the kitchen -- if it's not the way I was taught, it's not the way it "should be."

I think that's how it is at times with spiritual things too. If it's not the way I want or the way I think it should be, sometimes I allow myself to be blinded to what the Lord is trying to say. I refuse to open my eyes and see what is being taught; I close off my heart to the possibilities because I think I know the better way, the best thing for me.

How wrong that is!

I am learning on my mission that humility, for me, isn't easily acquired. But, it is a character trait I am seeking. It's hard and I often feel like I improve a little and then have to start back at the beginning. It's a little frustrating. But, I know through it all, that we can be taught. We can ask the Lord, and if He sees the willingness in us, He will teach us.

As it says in the video, He helps us along day by day. It's not an overnight transformation, but a  process that comes little by little.

we do not doubt, our mothers knew it.

DOUBT. 

Isn't that a dismal word? I will admit I am prone to doubting. I doubt my abilities, I doubt my possibilities, and I doubt others sometimes too. In the latest General Conference, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf spoke about NOT doubting (as you can see from the photo above). 

Recently, I was reading in the book of Alma (chapters 56 and 57) one of the greatest stories of the Book of Mormon. I was reading about the Stripling Warriors. 

"47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the ^aliberty of their ^bfathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their ^cmothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.

 48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their ^amothers, saying: We ^bdo not doubt our mothers knew it."

Wow. They had never fought in war, but they didn't fear death. And why didn't they fear? Because they knew what and who they were fighting for. And, they also repeated in their minds the words and teachings of their mothers. 

Growing up, I heard the words, "Keep the commandments! In this there is safety and peace!" as I got out of the car for school each day. Other times, my mom would call out, "Always have a prayer in your heart!" 

Then, in Alma 57: 20-21, it says:

"20 And as the remainder of our army were about to give way before the Lamanites, behold, those two thousand and sixty were firm and undaunted.

 21 Yea, and they did ^aobey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their ^bmothers had taught them."

These 2,060 performed EVERY word with exactness. There is a phrase you hear quite often in the mission -- "obedience brings blessings; exact obedience brings miracles." 

The story continues to say that though nearly all had battle wounds, none were killed. Isn't that amazing? And it was because of their perseverance and dedication to keeping the commandments that they weren't killed. Not only that, but they continued remembering the words their mothers had taught them.

Most of us don't live at home anymore, but we can always remember the words of our mothers. And, if our mothers weren't good examples, we have people in our lives who have influenced us greatly whose teachings stay with us long after we have moved away. In any case, I know I have been greatly blessed by the teachings of my mother. And that if I know who and what I'm fighting for, I can remain "firm and undaunted" in keeping the commandments with exactness. 

Finally, I was reading this morning in "Daughters in My Kingdom" and I loved this quote: 

"“Whenever … temptations became most alluring and most tempting to me, the first thought that arose in my soul was this: Remember the love of your mother. Remember how she strove for your welfare. Remember how willing she was to sacrifice her life for your good. Remember what she taught you in your childhood. … This feeling toward my mother became a defense, a barrier between me and temptation.”

So, I ask you ... what have you been taught? 

being bold.

It's an exciting time to be a missionary. We can use social media and other means to share the gospel in new, exciting ways. We want to have the help of members too -- we hope that this will help them invite their friends to meet us in a less threatening way. How easy is it to "share" a post or to "like" a status?

And so begins the new journey of blogging on the mission, more than just the weekly letters that have been posted here.

We had a zone meeting yesterday and the resonating feeling I had was that I need to be more bold as a missionary. This feeling was still with me this morning, and so I studied all of the scriptures and references I could referring to "bold," "boldly," and "boldness." There were many great references, but my favorite was in Moroni 8:16:

" Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear."

I realized that as a missionary, I have that "authority" from God. I have been set apart as a representative of Christ. And, that perfect love? That's charity. That's the pure, perfect love of Christ. And, if we really have charity, we won't fear. That charity is what inspires us to speak out, to share the gospel with our friends. It is because we love them and we know that this way is the only way to happiness. Even more than that, as I found this morning, that perfect love dispels any fear we may have.

Now, putting it into practice is the challenging fun part. We were "fearlessing" today (talking to strangers) and we ended up engaged in a rather interesting conversation with three recovering drug addicts. I was able to speak with boldness to them. And when they asked how to know if people were just "blindly believing" in Joseph Smith or the religion, I firmly, powerfully, and lovingly testified, as a representative of Christ, that this was His work. And that they could find out for themselves. In the end, regardless of what we say, it comes down to reading and praying to know, for yourself, if it is true. We can't force the gospel into lives. But, we can lead them by example. We can be loving. We can be firm. And if we teach them with love, they will know there is something different about us.

I can't describe the feeling as I told this young man, "As a representative of Christ, I can promise you..." One of the others said, "Did you just say you're a representative of Christ?" And it was powerful (and bold) to say, "Yes, that's what I said. And it's the truth."

So, my invitation? Be bold. If you know this church is true, and if you believe it, share it. Share it with your friends, your family, your neighbors. Live it. If you don't know, be bold. Ask. Ask God. If you ask in faith, there is a promise that you will receive an answer. 

Don't take my word for it.

Training: week 3.

Hello all! Time is short this week because there is a line of people waiting to use the computers...so, I will not be able to use any additional time. :( But, it's been another blessed week in Riverhead.

First story: John. We were knocking one night and we met a man named John. We talked to him on his porch for at least a half hour, and invited him to the church to watch conference. Well, John called us a few times, making sure he knew the times, place, and what to wear. He said he didn't have any church clothes, but we told him to wear the best he had. Well, Sunday afternoon, he shows up for the first session of conference and he was wearing dress slacks and was looking nice! He explained to us, "Well, I bought a 50cent lotto ticket and then won $80, so I used it to buy these clothes." I said, "You better get your use out of it then and come back next week!" Now, lottery tickets aren't suggested..but how awesome was that? He said he had seen us walking down the street and went inside, thinking, "Oh great...what am I going to do?" and heard the knock at the door. He wasn't going to answer it, but then "something told him" to do it. And he started telling us about how he's been praying to God for years to be closer to Him. Well, I hope that we are able to help him out! We'll meet with him again this week.

Second: We were teaching one of our investigators, Isaura. She hasn't ever been progressing but we've taught her a few times. This week when we were teaching, I followed up on last week's commitment to read the Book of Mormon. Much to our surprise, she said she HAD read, and had read about baptism. I about died of shock! We started talking to her more about 2 Nephi 31 and about the importance of following Jesus Christ. She said she needs to know for herself if it's true (absolutely!) but that was a great step in her process! Also she has a sister who is a member that lives in Utah. Weird!

Umm..I couldn't believe when I was watching conference on Saturday that I recognized people in the choir from my home ward! That was really awesome, and a little touch of home! I couldn't help smiling as I saw families that I knew.

Conference. Wasn't it great? We haven't been able to watch the first session yet because we had a service project, but we'll be watching it this week with our zone. But, I loved, loved, loved President Monson's from Sunday morning. "Will I falter or will I finish?" And the poem he read:
"Good timber does not grow with ease; the stronger the winds, the stronger the trees."

Isn't that true? Nothing in life (that is WORTH it) comes easy. There is a price for it. Like this mission. Sometimes, it is really, really hard. But vale la pena (worth the pain).

There is so much in store for us if we will but endure :) and build a foundation on Christ. Without Him, we are nothing. I can't believe it's another conference session come and gone! And who knows where I will be serving in April or what will happen in the next 6 months? But each general conference, I feel energized and enthused about the next six months -- reading for the mountains, the blue skies, the rain, and the joys that are to come.

Thanks for all the encouragement as I've been on my mission! It means so much.

We're getting trained this week on Facebook, which I'm super excited for! So, you can watch for that update. And, I think we're going to the temple on Saturday with Elizabeth. Can't wait!

I love you!

--sister peacock

Pictures! You love them, right?

First pics:

PDay activity with the zone & pumpkin carving (Hna Acosta's first time ever)

Second: I might have gotten in a little accident with a concrete barrier and the bottom of our car...luckily Elder Waters and Baker saved the day (in their white shirts, even).

First, isn't that a pretty view? Just down the road from our house! actually, that river is behind our house...and I'm obsessed with fall colors!

Pre-conference french toast breakfast with the elders. I had to do something fun/festive...it's in my blood, okay?

The District enjoying breakfast Sunday morning.