November 25, 2013 (Pics)

Paige - A Preach my Gospel Missionary!

Sis. Aslett and Sis. Pizzey - companions and great friends
(Paige looks forward to visiting her one day in England)

Sis. Lee

Sis. Junyheim

Paige and Erika




Whalen Family

November 25, 2013

So I am just going to go day by day!  We will be having Cameron’s baptism this Saturday, he is just the best investigator ever. He was so prepared, we just had to teach and he accepted, he just knows it and gets it! He is already in 2 Nephi!  It’s funny with investigators, I feel like a parent bragging about my child haha. 

So Monday: We went to Halifax and visited with the Halifax family sisters, it was a good visited.  We went out knocking in the pouring rain for 2 hrs, it was pretty funny.  We were literally just as wet as we would be, standing in a fast pace shower.  It was great and character building! I was knocking with Sis Jungheim who is from Columbia, who well let’s just say is very "spicy".  I have a funny story to tell, I will save it for Christmas phone call.

                                          

Tuesday:Then tues I worked with Sister Lee and it was good.  We were able to find her a family to teach as we served with one another!  We were contacting referrals and I saw a family walk into an apartment as we were waiting on the main floor of the elevator.  I told her we are going back and knocking on that door... she seemed kind of taken back by that, then afterwards we went back and knocked and boom we were let in, taught them a lesson and picked them up as new investigators!  We were able to learn alot from one another. That night we taught Jackie and Mark the LA family we knocked into, then taught Gage and Amanda.

Wednesday: We served a member.  I actually was sick, I have had the worst sinus infection this past month in a half... finally went to the doctor and got some actibiotics and nasal spray.  I have just been using Dristan nasal spray this past month in a half.. haha and apparently its addictive and not good to use for more than 5 days!  The antibiotics are working good and I am back to feeling tip top shape again :)  But we were still able to street contact in Wolfville and teach Leah and Amanda with a YW in the ward it went really great!

Thurs: We started teaching Jo the mish. lessons from start (LA endowed member from England).  She is quite set in her ways but I have faith we will reactivate!  We were able to see Cameron and few other people and pick up a new investigator!

Friday: We had a lesson with Cameron at the church and 3 other members.  He received a priesthood blessing as he is quite stressed out about finals etc in school.

We had many opportunites to share the message of the Restoration this week! I love being a missionary! We hopefully are going to be able to find more new investigators!

There was so many great things that happened this week and we are picking up the momentum here! 

I am so grateful for this opportunity of being a missionary! My life has been forever changed by this and its something that I really can't imagine what my life would be like without this!  I am learning so much about this gospel.  I want to have a humble provident lifestyle with lots of kids and family! These are the days that I will remember forever! These are the best days of my life thus far. I had two dreams this week:

1) where President sent me home because I had to go on antibiotics for my sinus infection and he thought I was too sick to be out so he sent me home and I walked through the Edmonton airport and you all were waiting and I was just soo depressed and not happy hahaha it was like too soon. In my mind i was just so sad and was like "ugh this is too soon to be back!" and i was sitting on my bed bored and depressed haha.

2nd dream) Where it was the end of my mission and I was at the good bye dinner and was like what the heck?!? how did the time fly?! I am not ready to go home and then when I got home I couldn't stop thinking about the mission and missionaries that are still out.

hahah when I woke up from those dreams and I was like 1) felt very anxious and annoyed and 2) felt guilty for having thoughts of going home. haha I know I am crazy but I JUST LOVE THIS SO MUCH!

haha don't get me wrong I love you all and don't dread seeing you but I am just very happy to be a missionary and being blessed and trusted to serve in part of the Lords vineyard!

Sorry the details weren't much this week! But thank you for the emails and I will send some pictures today!

I am looking forward to serving a full week in our area! Visits can be quite draining!

LOVE,

Sister Pizzey

November 18, 2013

So Monday:

We had dinner at George a chinese persons house where we made us the best chinese meal, very different food, but good!! We had a great lesson with him where the Spirit guided the whole lesson.  We read throughout the BOM about faith, mainly and really painting the picture of God to him.  We really made the gospel very clear to him. We have not seen him yet but it was a great lesson!

We also taught a lesson to a guy named Thomas, we actually met him "car parking lot contacting" and he has some personal struggles.  At the start of the lesson he sat down and said "just so you know, I don't believe in God and I am going to probably walk away having that same opinion from this.  There is nothing you can do to change it" .... I was just like in my mind, "pfft okay".

So we taught him and well at the end he closed with a prayer.   He is willing to read and pray daily.  He wants to experiment and put it to the test and see if this can change his life! (which it obviously will). I mean this in the humbliest way, but due to my change in my life, I am quite convincing and with the power of the Spirit.  Obviously I would be nothing without that. He was going to come to church yesterday but last minute bailed but we will be seeing him this week again.

 

Tuesday:

We had a wonderful District training. I LOVE my district and the missionaries I serve with, they are wonderful and inspiring!! Truly building friendships for eternity. Then we had visits with the Halifax YSA sisters...which was good I was able to see Erica and Matt Whalen and have a great lesson with them as well!  They are still going strong, meeting with missionaries.  I just love that family!  I have had some growing and learning to do as the training leader.  It is not easy always, I am growing and learning ...  

I am just so greatful for Sister Aslett she is just so humble!

 

Weds:  Sister Aslett and I had a wonderful day in Canning!!! We started teaching Cecila and Breton, that Sis T and I started teaching a while ago.  We also felt impressed to begin knocking on this certain street.   At the beginning we prayed as to which side to start, we decided to begin the opposite side than normal.  The second house we found, Leah, a grandmother and Amanda 17yr old girl. They have been through alot and Amandas mom died when she was 5 and well they just have been through alot! They both have are not well, very humble people.  Leah's husband died 7 mnths ago. We taught the restoration and have taught them twice so far.  They came to church on Sunday and really enjoyed all 3 hrs and we will be seeing them again on Weds! 

 

We started teaching a lady from England this week who we bumped into street contacting who has be LA for 10 yrs and has been endowed.  We had a great lesson with her where we watched Pres. Uchtdorfs "Come" talk, it was wonderful and hoping to have her active!

 

I love this ward so much its like my "home ward" I just know everyone, it’s funny, I don't know our home ward at all.  I look forward to actually being a contribution to the ward one day! 

 

Things with Cameron are going great, he is like the perfect investigator!  He is so receptive, accepts WOW tithing, everything, he reads, prays daily and loves church.

 

We were blessed to be able to pick up 5 new investigators this weekend and hopefully will be picking up a members friend this week as well! We had a member missionary class this week, which was marvellous, that Sister A and I taught last night! 

 

Things with Gage and Amanda are going great, baby steps, I love them.  

 

Any who i feel like this a very scattered hard to read email... it is all over the place so sorry if it is hard to follow along but it has been a great very busy week!!! We have been go go go today cleaning car, just had a lesson with Cameron before emails and now heading to Halifax so its a franctic email today! 

I bought whole bunch of thermal leggings etc today and stuff on debt card! 

 

I really appreciate all you do mom and dad and I LOVE you so much!!!!

 

Anyway its had been a wonderful week and I LOVE you all so much!!!

Have a great week.

Love,

Sister Pizzey xoxox

November 11, 2013

And one thing side note: falls here are sooo beautiful! Like in AB we don't have falls that is just a fact; compared to these falls there is no fall in Alberta just summer spring and winter! haha. Like we literally have no snow and no coldness yet!

Sis. Aslett and Paige love
serving together!

Alrighty, alrighty so lets begin on this crazy week!! It has been a freaking tough week! But it is okay I love my companion and we are having the time of our lives and nothing is going to get us down; dispite the down falls and trials that have been placed in our hands this week.  We still have been able to smile and laugh and not let these things get us down.  Just like Alma and the sons of Mosiah we are "bearing patience with all manner of afflictions" :).... and mom don't stress or worry it comes with the role of being a missionary- I am doing great and am just character building!

OKayyy so I am just going to go day by day;

Monday evening we were able to meet Kate here and go over the baptismal interview questions. President Leavitt interviewed them bother over skype.  Tanya was first things went great! So it was wonderful! Whoo hoo! Kate and Tanya are able to be baptised this Friday with one another and they both were looking forward and were very excited.  Kate sent us text messages like 3 paragraph ones thanking us for teaching her and saying that we inspire her.  President Leavitt said that Kate thinks we walk on water haha. Then that evening Sister Aslett and I went and knocked in Wolfville, knocked into a lady whose husband is from England and is a LA member! PERFECT, we weren't able to get in and teach but we will be stopping by again.

So Tuesday: we had a lesson with Thomas with a member (thomas is a 19yr who we started teaching last week- very humble and willing to experiment to see if there is a God through acting upon our message) President Leavitt came and had in person interviews with us on Tuesday he is a wonderful Mission President and I am so grateful for him!

So Wednesday:  We started first thing in the morning by teaching a guy named Cameron Johnson he is 23 and from the Bahamas! Then we had correlation meeting with the ward mission leader Bro Hudson, then we decided to go stop by Kate's since we have not heard from her.  Unfortunately it wasn't the best visit.  President has been very supportive and helped us feel alot better.  It saddens me to see her struggle with being able to enjoy the complete blessings of the gospel in her life. All we can do is pray for her and boy oh boy just being a missionary prepare for parenting!! Literally felt and still some what feel sick to my stomach for her; and mom and dad while I was feeling this way all i could think was wow I was such a brat to my parents because I definitely I put you through these similar feelings!! Funny how things have its way of sorting its self out! But look at your faith and where it has led things to from now till today and I know it can do the same for Kate one day!

Weds evening we are able to pick up 1 new investigator so at the end of the new day we are blessed with  2 new investigators!

Thursday: We had our last lesson with John before he leaves home to Barbados! We had a lesson with Thomas again and it was a very spiritual lesson where we taught him so much

Friday : Tanya's baptism it was probably one of the most amazing baptisms she was just glowing and so excited the whole time!  We picked up a new Chinese investigators! We are teaching two Chinese people at the time being and one of them who will be making us Chinese food tonight and having us over for dinner! 

Saturday: We taught Gage and his girlfriend it went great! His mother is LA and we were able to teach them all and address his mothers concerns. Gage has a testimony and is very Spiritual, his gf is unsure.  I have faith they will be baptised one day though!

Yesterday at church the Bishop asked to meet with us; he reassured us that we are doing well and that the ward is getting more and more excited and involved, due to the missionary work being done.  It was very thoughtful and we very much appreciated it.  The Gospel principles teacher called us an hr before church and said she was sick and asked if we could teach so I taught my first gospel principles Sunday school class! It was on the sacrament!! It went really well!! Was blessed with having lots of participation in the class! We were able to contact and invite 288 people this week!! It was great!

We will be going on visits this Tuesday to Wednesday with the Halifax YSA sisters! I get to have dinner at Erica's house while on visits and teach her, I am quite excited for that! Then next week we will be having visits with the Halifax Family ward sisters. I look forward to helping the sisters out as their areas are struggling.  They only have been contacting 100 ppl on average a week and not getting best numbers!  I just want to love them and lead by example. I know that I am so inadequate to this calling, just as I am as a missionary but through Christ I can do all things!! I have a firm strong testimony in the enabling power of the atonement!

We are in a growing stage but I have faith that we are on the brink of something amazing! I know the Lord is preparing many and that despite the down falls, the adversary is not going to get in the way of the momentum of this great and marvellous work!! I know this is the Lords work! WE are the Lords work!

I started reading the New Testament this week ! and That is AMAZING a WHOLE new conversion level!!! I LOVE reading Christ's words and what he says; it is amazing to read and listen and learn about Christ's character. Just really helps me see how much there is to become in this life so that one day we can be like him! I love this gospel and I love our Savoir Jesus Christ's example and all that he does for me. He live and loves us and we all can Be perfected through him so that one day we can be like him and recognize Him as our Lord Savior Jesus Christ.

If you haven't read the New Testament I would strongly suggest it, I feel like I have procrastinated. So many more blessings in store from reading such a marvellous volume of scripture to strengthen us and bring us closer to our Father in Heaven.

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

LOVE

Sister Pizzey

xoxox

Nov. 4, 2013 (Pics)

Paige's new companion, Sister Aslett (from England) Paige is training

 Those Nova Scotia pumpkins are sure huge!

Looks like one yummy breaky!

November 4, 2013

So this has been a good week! Actually a slower week from what we have been use to in this area, sometimes our "success" in regards to key indicators and lessons are marked off of peoples agency! But we have made a stellar vision, plan and set some solid daily goals and I have faith that as we  follow it exactly the Lord will bless us with success. Goal planning is life changing, something I will do for the rest of my life. I have realized on my mission its all about progression and changing ourselves, there is always something we can change and improve.

 This week I really realized that this is the Lords work, not ours and that we just have to be humble servants of the Lord, allowing us to be capable instruments in Gods hands.  Just like Alma in the BOM "bear with patience all manner of afflictions" and have a steadfastness faith in Christ! I just LOVE it.

I am so greatful for our family, each week I talk/emails to you all it motivates me to do my very best each and every week.  Thank you family for being so amazing and supportive :) we are all so blessed to have one another.

Alright so this week!

So first week with Sister Aslett has been wonderful! So much fun!! Sister Aslett and I have a relationship like how sister Keeler and I had. We would be friends naturally if it weren't for our missions and her living in England! haha. But I love her!  She is also quite hilarious and has the desire to work hard and we do!  

So we had zone conference this week in Halifax it was great.  Sis Starkie who I served with on the island was there and that was so nice seeing her. She is STL for the Nova Scotia North zone! She is wonderful, it’s our dream to serve with one another...I don't think that will happen though. We asked PL once and he said "yea thats smart put those two horses together so they can run so far into the ocean that no one will ever see them again" haha it was funny. After the zone conference we had a hr long leadership meeting with the ZL's for both zones and DL's and Sis Starkie and I. 

This week we have had very spiritual lessons with Kate and Tanya together.   Kate wants to be baptised so badly!  President Leavitt is actually interviewing her tonight. And we will go from there! They are both wonderful and we have had some amazing lessons.  I have faith they both will be baptised.

We were able to do lots of street contacting and finding this week, we picked up one new investigator named Thomas, who is interested because he finds it amazing how we are so sure and have so much conviction in what we believe. He doesn't really know if there is a God, but is willing to pray about it and act and experiment upon our message.  

Traci who is preparing for Nov 30th is doing great! We pray and hope that she continues to choose to make right decisions to  strengthen her relationship with God. 

Sis Aslett and I have had some quite interesting memorable experiences this week; which has lead to some good laughs. I love serving with her because we truly balance one another out. Elder Prince and I were talking and in a companionship there has to be a "good cop" and a "bad cop" and in my companionships I am usually the "bad cop" haha the bold one but it works out good and yet again I am the bad cop. She is quiet and kind and soft, but not insecure, it’s quite nice.  Serving with Sister T was great in preparing me for training! Anyway Sister Aslett is great at just taking the humble way of things I guess you could say; for example, dealing with ignorant people at the doors sometimes one of my weakness! Lol I tend to kind of give a little attitude back or just give it back haha... and seeing how shes just so polite and kind, really is nice to see and a example for me. But this week we were knocking and Sister A and I came across a Christain family and literally this man on the doorstep prayed for our souls he was very anti and went on a big rant and did not want us to say anything back.  Then half way through his rant he said I'd like to pray now and BOOM he just went into a prayer haha.. we were like oh wow okay he said "Lord help these young ladies find the real Jesus Christ, as they have not found you yet" It was quite funny Sister A and I were really trying not to laugh because it was quite ridiculous but after his prayer I looked him in the eyes was like " Well I'd like to inform we you we have found Jesus Christ, thanks for you concern anyway have a great night" we just walked away. His wife was pretty mortified I am sure because he just looked crazy and very un Christ like.

Anyways I had my first call night as a stl this week that was interesting, as a STL i want to do my very best to help these sisters improve. I feel being a leader is like a pipeline where water passes through and I can either be like a pipeline that just collects the water and allows the same water to pass through to the next pipe or I can be the pipeline that collects the water but also purify's the water before allowing it go through the next pipeline. I decided I am just going to love her but also be bold and real. I can't wait to go on visits with them we will be doing that next week, and just see how they do things and do my best to motivate inspire and improve with them!

We had a wonderful "member missionary class" last night! We had a hour class at night where we talked about how we "can not predict and prejudge" in regards to who is fit and ready for the gospel. We did some roleplays with the members on how to invite people on the bus (like what Blake did this morning!) and on inviting friends to church etc!

MOM and DAD: you should by Elder Christienson's member missionary book its unreal! Its called"the power of everyday missionary" i believe. 

The elders had two baptisms this week! And we might have another two this week if not next week for sure! 

I love this gospel so much! I am reading in Alma 60 right now! Its unreal just the steadfastness faith the strippling warriors have and Moroni and his army! It is such an example. Because although they experienced sad time and sorrows they never doubted their faith they clung to what they new to be true. 

I love being a missionary, it truly has helped me understand surrendering our will and having our will be Gods will.  Every day we have to submit all things to the Lord it is a continual process and I love it!

The Gospel is so true, I love missionary work, it always is changing and provides opportunities for us to continually step outside our comfort zone and rely on the comforter to stretch and grow ourselves but also saved Gods children. Every rude person, every ounce of cold weather is worth being able to save but just one soul, even if it is our own. 

Sorry if my letter is mumbling on and boring this week!

But I love this, these our the days that will truly never be forgotten!! 

I thank you all for your love and support and examples :)

LOVE

xoxo

Sister Pizzey