Transfers, a baptism, and a PIANO!

Our Fantastic District!

March 23, 2015

There seems to be so much that has happened this week! Many MANY miracles. 

First of all, I am getting transferred! I am leaving Danville and going to Centralia, IL, which is south of here! I've heard it's a great area. My new companion will be Sister Brimley. Leaving Danville will be one of the most difficult things ever. I love this city and these people! But I know the Lord is in charge and this new area will be the right thing!

S. got BAPTIZED on Saturday!!!!!!!!! I wish there were words to describe how happy everyone was. She has come so far! It has been almost a year since she started meeting with the missionaries, and now she is a member! I am so so SO proud of her for being so strong! It was one of the best days of my mission. She stepped out of the font glowing with happiness. She was so beautiful! During the baptism I just was filled with gratitude that I was able to teach such a wonderful daughter of God. I look up to her so much. AHHH God is good!

S.'s baptism!!!! OH the joy :) :) :) She did it!!!

J. committed to be baptized on May 9th this week. My joy was overflowing!!! They are so happy as well!

I am running out of email time but I need to share this incredible miracle! Friends and family, prayer is a REAL power, and God loves us so much!!

B,, the sister who was baptized my first transfer here, is super talented and plays the piano! She told me she would be able to play for church if she was able to practice. However, she didn't have a piano. So a couple of months ago, I told her that somehow, I would get her a piano!! I have been praying ever since that if Heavenly Father somehow had some spare time, he would lead me to a piano for B.! So this week, I had kind of given up hope...the end of the transfer was approaching and no piano! Then, on Friday, a friend of S. calls us up and asks if we could go over to his house to help him move some of his collectible items up and down stairs. While we were moving, I noticed a very nice, full-length keyboard in his basement, and the spirit told me to ask him if he played the piano! He said no, then asked "Do you play?" I told him I did. "Do you have a piano?" I said yes, we had one at our apartment. "Do you know anyone that NEEDS a piano?" Of course I said YES!! He then told us that he would give away his piano, probably worth several hundred dollars, just because we had helped him that day. So we walked out with a piano sitting in the back of our car! I just started crying, I was so full of gratitude and amazement....truly God is SO GOOD! So that night we delivered a piano! It was another highlight of my whole mission...to see the surprise and delight on B.'s face when we walked into her house with a PIANO!

Me and B!!!!

 AHHH family, I wish I could express my love for these people in Danville! They have changed my life. I would do anything for them all. I hope you all have a fantastic week.

The Snow is Finally Melting!

The Beautiful Lake Vermillion

March 16, 2015

It's almost spring! We've been able to go out walking a lot this week! It's been wonderful to talk to people in their yards, offer service, and just feel the sunshine on our faces! I feel so blessed to be a missionary, to have the restored gospel and to be offering it to everyone we meet.

I'll just skip straight to the two highlights of this week, the two times we taught about temples!

The first was with S. We had the most incredible lesson with her Sister C. (she got baptized in November and is amazing). I LOVE teaching about temples! The temple is evidence that our growth doesn't end at baptism but begins! As we strive to be worthy of our temple recommends, enter in the house of God, make new covenants and perform ordinances for our ancestors, we receive some of the most wonderful blessings of being members of the restored church. There are so many that don't have the opportunity to partake of these blessings...we need to take advantage of them! Anyway Sister C. was able to testify of the blessings of performing baptisms for her own deceased ancestors, and it was powerful! Like I've said, I LOVE teaching with recent converts!! They have a unique, fresh spirit of the gospel about them. S. was so touched and motivated by her testimony! S.'s ancestors mean a lot to her, especially because she felt like she received her testimony of the gospel through her grandfather, who has passed away. The spirit testified to me as we talked that the temple is a blessing for so many reasons! Having the temple and it's incredible blessings and service available to us as a goal motivates us to remain worthy and to continue to grow in the gospel. it's another stepping stone on our path to God!

Pic with S. while J. talking with Bishop Fulton...they came to church for the first time yesterday!

They LOVED it! Seriously my favorite people ever.

The second lesson was with J. and S. After talking about the commandments and the blessings of obedience, we read Mosiah 2:41, which talks about the state of never-ending happiness that is available to all who obey Heavenly Father's commandments. J. asked one of those questions that makes missionaries die of excitement in lessons haha...He said, "in that state of never-ending happiness, is there a way for us to be with our families and those we love?" Of course we couldn't stop smiling as we explained yes, there was, and they could have that sealing power in their lives when they were baptized, through the ordinances of the temple! S. basically passed out of excitement, it was SO CUTE. She said, "Oh baby, that's what I want! To be with you forever and ever!" hahaha we couldn't stop smiling for a long time after that!

I am SO grateful for temples! It has also been a blessing to live in the district of the almost-finished Indianapolis, Indiana temple, only 1 and a half hours away! I have seen that truly the Lord builds the people as he builds the temple...like the B's for example! They are a returning less-active family. They have a hard life and lots of sticky habits keeping them from holding a temple recommend...but they have so much faith that by the time the Indianapolis temple opens, they will be able to enter it together! It's been incredible to teach them and see them change and grow, already! I love them!

Well, it's been a good week, and we have another great week ahead of us. I can't believe it's the last one of the transfer! Time flies.

S. took us out on a four-wheeler on Monday to the lake she lives on. I love S.!

Lunching outside! #spring

Angels Ministering Daily

March 9, 2015

I read this morning in 3 Nephi, chapter 7 verse 18..."And Nephi did minister with power and with great authority...for so great was his faith on the Lord Jesus Christ that angels did minister unto him daily." I have been striving for this kind of faith this week, the faith to be supported in all my trials, and to be given revelation and answers to prayer daily!

There have been so many angels in my life this week! Brother P. (best gospel principles teacher ever) says, "The Lord sends angels to surround us and answer our prayers...these angels are the people we interact with every day!" Wow! I KNOW the Lord answers our prayers, and it truly is so often through other people!

My district missionaries are angels in my life. Elder Odom was so inspired this week for district meeting! I had been praying for renewed spiritual strength and motivation. Sometimes we don't see just how important this work is in all the lives we interact with. I asked Him to remind me why I was out here and why I loved this gospel so much...and He did! Elder Odom asked each of us in the district to stand and tell the story of our conversion. As we each testified, the spirit was incredible! We happen to have two converts in our district, Elder Odom and Sister Sims. Both joined the church 2 years ago! We also have an Elder who was less-active most of his life before his mission. And of course, the rest of us have had to strive for conversion throughout our lives! I was so touched by each story, and the spirit testified to me that the gospel is JOY! I realized that the gospel really means everything, I mean EVERYTHING to me! I am so grateful for the chance to share it. I am so blessed!

Another angel in my life is S. Her courage and determination and strength is like nothing else! She inspires me to do better. We've had to push back her baptismal date to the21st of March to make sure she is prepared, but she is SO determined! I've asked before but please pray for her!! I have had some of the most meaningful and sincere prayers of my life in praying for S...I love her and know she will succeed!

Sister C.--a recent convert that got baptized my first transfer here-has been such an angel to me this week!! She has no idea how much her strength strengthens me! Despite so many trials in her life, she is constantly reaching outward to others. Nothing is about herself! The same day her son had a monthly cancer checkup she texted us saying she had some groceries she wanted to give us!!!! She truly is like Christ, and I love her. Pray for her family as well!

B. has been an example to me as well this week, and example of being a missionary! We had a lesson with both her and Lorenzo, her son. I felt the spirit FILL the room as SHE testified of the truthfulness of the gospel, and how much it had changed her life. We were teaching her but really she was teaching her son. I have said this before but I LOVE teaching with recent converts! They feel the spirit and blessings of the gospel so strongly, and it is easy for them to share it. I love this gospel!!!

One more small miracle this week that helped me feel God's love and support and his angels all around! There were three separate times this week where we had a 15 minute space or so before our next appointment. Both Sister Ramirez and I want and love to work hard every minute, so each time we went out and knocked just 3 or 4 houses before our appointment. Each time, we were led by the spirit, and were able to see miracles! The first time we met C...a young mom who wants to know more about how to live happily in families. The second time we met M., a dad who wants to be closer to God but doesn't know how. The third time, we met W., a truly humble man seeking God! Warren said he'd been praying for a deeper belief in God and reading His Bible right as we knocked his door! He said, "I don't believe in coincidences...I think God sent you sisters to me!" Sometimes, we get to be angels to others, we get the privilege of being an answer to someone else's prayer! I feel so blessed!

I know my Heavenly Father is watching out for me, and I know he is doing the same for EACH of His children. He has a plan! His love is incredible! His angels minister to each one of us, daily, if we have the faith to see them!

YOU ALL are angels to me, family! Thanks for your incredible support. I know this Work is His, and the gospel is the way to happiness.

Sister Petrie

Hard Work and Blessings!

Selfie of Me and Sis. Ramirez

March 2, 2015

It was another wonderful week full of hard work and blessings!

We are so excited for S.! We had an amazing lesson with her this week...all about the importance of baptism! She said she felt the spirit so strongly, telling her that baptism is the right thing for her! We read 2 Nephi 31: 20 with her, and she says that when she thinks about the future, she feels that "perfect brightness of hope" working in her life. She threw away her cigarettes this week. No more temptation! We are so proud. I feel like I can't express how much I love her! Both Sister Ramirez and I would walk around the world for her. She will be getting baptized this coming Saturday. Keep her in your prayers if you can, I know this coming week preparing for baptism will be a hard one!

One quick miracle with B. this week. Last Sunday, in her confirmation blessing, Brother P. promised her that she would be a light and an example to her family, and that she would be the first of many to find the gospel. When we taught B. this week, we taught her at her son L.'s house. The whole time, we could tell he was listening...slowly walking through the room often, etc. haha. At the end, I knew we needed to invite him to sit in on the next lesson, even though he's refused our invitations before. This time something softened. "Y'all teach about Jesus Christ?" He asked while thumbing through the Book of Mormon, just before we left. Of course we said yes...and he agreed to be taught the lessons! WOW. I'm just so happy for B. She gets to be an example for her family! What a blessing.

We started teaching D. this week, the wonderful lady that showed up to church last week, asking to be baptized!! The minute we started talking to her, we could tell how prepared she had been. She has some hard things in her life, and she KNEW the only solution was to turn to God. Her story of how she got to church was incredible. She said she was in bed, for about an hour, struggling with whether or not she should go to church. She seriously had a wrestle before God! She finally got the courage to just go...and what amazing blessings she's received already! Every time we talk about Christ's Atonement with her, she tears up, because she already knows it is the way for her to be supported through her struggles. I just love her so much already! Miracles still happen, I know it!

J. is doing amazing! We are so excited for him and S, Church was cancelled this week, but they are going to come next week! We had a fantastic lesson on the Restoration. Josean said, "It is a little difficult for me to believe that God appeared to a 14-year-old boy and restored his church, but I will do better this week at praying to know if it is true." He is a man of so much faith. We brought Brother F. to his lesson...which was the best idea ever! They connected so well, they have similar stories/background! We are praying for J. to receive his answer. I know he will!

Church was cancelled this week...we had a foot and a half of snow!! It's like NH weather! Sister Ramirez and I are getting along just great. We work so hard together, and I love it! When one of us gets down, the other is the leader and pushes both of us through it! We're a good team.

Also we started teaching a Hindu family this week...I know nothing about that religion...any tips?

Thank you for all the support and prayers. I love each one of you. What a blessing to have such a great family!

Sister Petrie

The G. Fanily!  We love them!!

The Witness After The Trial of Faith!

February 23, 2015

I learned a lot about the meaning of Ether 12:6 this week. Heavenly Father has been blessing our area so so much! But there were for sure several trials of faith first. I am so grateful He takes so much time and care to plan for my learning and growth!

The trials! We had 5 investigators drop us this week, and many dropped appointments! Also, with the windchill factor it was -20 most of the week. BRRR. Needless to say I felt tried! Luckily Sister Ramirez has so much faith...she inspired me to keep going, and we worked hard, despite things not working out in our favor!

And the blessings that came on Sunday made it all worth it! We watched B. be confirmed. It was incredible! She had one of the sweetest blessings I've ever heard. She was promised she would be a strength and a light to all those around her and that because of her, many of her family would be brought to the knowledge of the gospel! How incredible. Afterwards, she paid tithing for the first time. What a rock that woman is!

Then S. came to church. She's officially quitting smoking, she'd gone 16 hours without a cigarette! Say an extra prayer for her if you could. I am so proud of her! She also received a blessing of comfort and strength. She is going to succeed, I know she is!

Then we had a member call us and refer his cousin to talk with us. She is looking for a church that "feels like home". Ok, miracle.

As if that wasn't enough, right after sacrament meeting, a sweet sister walked into the building, and asked if she could be baptized into our church! She said she was looking for a church, and that she had a feeling she should go to ours that morning. What a blessing. I felt impressed that this was a direct answer to prayer and blessing based on our faith and hard work during the week. I felt like quoting scripture: "My cup runneth over!!" During our sunday school lesson about following the promptings of the Holy Ghost, I couldn't keep from crying, just a little bit, overwhelmed with gratitude! I testify of God's love for us individually. He knows and plans for us.

We should have a great week ahead. I keep you all in my prayers! Thanks for your incredible support! Sorry for no pictures this week :( I was a slacker.

I love you allllll so so so so much! This gospel is TRUE and the Book of Mormon is the way to find answers.

Love,
Sister Petrie