September 23, 2014

So what exact day do you finish this transfer, put your stuff in the mission home and start your adventure? I WILL BE LEAVING THIS THURSDAY, I WILL BE ATTENDING THE TEMPLE WITH MY NORMAL GROUP FOR THE "LAST DAY THING" AND I WILL BE ATTENDING THE GOODBYE DINNER AND TESTIMONY MEETING THEN FRIDAY I WILL BEGIN MY NEW ASSINGMENT I GOT MY RELEASE EMAIL I WILL FORWARD IT TO YOU. SO MOST LIKELY FRIDAY I WILL BE FLYING TO NFLD.

 

And big question??  Do you think you will see Emily?

YES I WILL BE ON WEDNESDAY... CRAZY! AND IF SHE IS SERVING IN NFLD WHICH THEIR ARE GOING TO BE TWO NEW MISSIONARIES GOING THEN I WILL GET TO SERVE WITH HER FOR 3 DAYS!

Hello!

This week has been fantastic, I am just  so grateful to be here, my mission has changed my life and I am getting emotional looking back at my time here in Cole Harbour hahhah wow I am literally tearing up as I write this letter right now. I look back to when I came into the Cole Harbour ward in January and I just feel like a completely different person from who I am today. My experiences here have been very sacred to me almost so sacred it is hard to even talk about and put into words.

It really is sad for me to think of leaving this area because I love the ward so much, I have grown to love the members, the LA's, the investigators the Young Women, it has been extremely hard, one of my hardest areas but one of the most fulfilling areas in my mission and fulfilling moments of my life.

You never really realize how much the little things you do pay off till you sit back and realize it and have it all hit you in the face. Yesterday I had my goodbye book passed around in during Young women's for the Young Women to sign it and sooo many of them wrote the nicest notes in it, like things that these intimidating young women (basically young women like how I was in young womens... can appear scary but really they are just confused in the world haha) wrote how much they have changed and desire to grow in the gospel more because of my example. They wrote about how much my happiness... just soo many specific things that I did not even think they thought of in their minds. Some of them desire to serve missions now. Man this just gets me emotional writing this.. haha seriously the people sitting beside me at the library right now must think I am writing a depressing letter or something. But I am just so full of gratitude it brings me to tears, I just think of these young women and I had no idea that just smiling and going out the way to push them to knock with us, to just talk to them and feel like a nerdy molly Mormon would go so far with them, "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass."

This ward and this area is so completely different from how it was 9 months ago, I have seen so much here and as Ammon says in Alma 26: 11 "I do not boast in my own strength nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God." My heart is so full and I truly feel what Ammon feels here. I know this is the work of the Lord and I know that this is true, the heavens are not closed and the Lord is gathering His sheep in these the last days.

Leadership training was great, I traveled there with Elder Jason, he is a convert of about two years he is from the Caribbean and is hilarious. It was a great training and we were able to talk about resolving concerns, listening, LISTENING so important. I was able to go street contacting with one of the sisters serving in St. Johns for about an hour after leadership training, it was great to be able to get a feel for NFLD and understand what to prepare myself for! I also was able to ask a lot of questions and understand more of some areas that are hard in NFLD in regards to the work, so I can know how best to help the sisters. But it was amazing on the flight home it was night time we arrived at about 9 PM but the person sitting next to me actually got up and moved so it was quite nice because I was able to spend the whole time on that flight just feasting on the scriptures IT WAS UNREAL!! Just reading in the Book of Mormon, the flight was about over 1.5hr so I ended up reading in Doctrine and Covenants and that was amazing!! I just gained a whole new testimony of the Doctrine and Covenants it is sooo amazing that is an amazing record of scripture! It is so missionary minded and I received so much revelation as I was reading it, that just right there was another added witness of how true this gospel is, like brother and sisters this is Christ's restored everlasting gospel in it's fullness!! There is no way that it would not be true! Seriously though. there is just no way that Joseph Smith would not be a prophet called of God! "By their fruit you shall know them" and let me tell you the fruit of this gospel is delicious and can not be found anywhere else!

This week Debbie attended the temple with us for baptisms for the ward temple night that was exciting!! The Fall weather is here and I just LOVE it, I love fall especially in the Maritimes! It is truly a great time of year! I am so grateful to be able to experience more of the fall weather here.

 

So I had a couple of amazing experiences this week that I would like to share;

So we have been meeting with this LA couple for the past little bit, Brother and Sister Thompson I actually have a picture of me on facebook after I cut her hair, she is confined to a wheel chair she has MS, she was baptized two years ago, she broke her hip a year ago, and her MS is just getting worse and worse.  Her and her husband have been through so much together and their love for one another is so strong it is amazing. Sister Thompson just has such an amazing spirit, they barely get any sleep because she is up all throughout the night having muscle spasms, she can barely talk so brother Thompson has to translate for us a lot because her speech is very hard to understand. It truly has been humbling teaching them, I love them so much; 3 weeks ago we were talking about missionary work with them and we invited them to pray for missionary experience on their end. After hearing about Sister Thompson you think it would be easy for her to not pray because for one she is in a wheel chair, never gets out, and can't speak, and as well only communicates to members so that would be quite an easy excuse for her to not pray and not have the faith to think that would be even possible. But low and behold we were at their house on Friday afternoon and their was a new caregiver there for her that day. Sister Thompson kept telling Bill her husband to go invite the caregiver (Valerie) to come sit with us, so after her persistently telling Bill he finally got up and went and invited Valerie to come sit with us, and she did. It is turns out Valerie lives about 40 minutes away and she got called in from her employers to come to the Thompson's that day; when she first showed up at their house she said to Sis Thompson "well I know I am here for a reason today" and then we came and BOOM we ended up teaching her the restoration.  She is from Jamaica, moved here 7 years ago, and she is FULL of faith. She had been praying to God to show her more because she felt something had been missing, she had been given the Book of Mormon in the past but she never read it because she thought we worshipped prophets not God, so after clarifying that she felt the spirit and we are now teaching her! She lives in Halifax so we will be passing her over to those sisters this week! But we have been texting her since Friday and she has been reading and we are seeing her tonight! ALSO that was the first day Valerie had been back to work for 2 years and she was just filling in for the day at the Thompsons.... crazy!!? I  KNOW! If this is not the work of the Lord then I don't know what is! So later that night we were talking to the Thompsons over the phone and Sis Thompson told us that ever since we asked her to pray for missionary opportunities she had been!... WOW we have so much to learn from a faith-filled lady like her, seriously, if a lady who can't speak, in a wheel chair, does not have power to eat, use the washroom on her own, can have faith and power to pray for missionary opportunity and have one, then how much should we be! seriously though!

 

As well Pio and Merry Capablanca came to church yesterday! And Pio has been reading the Book of Mormon and he is just loving it!! He loves the gospel, yesterday in gospel principles he shared his conversion story in front of the whole class is was unbelievable!! After church he thanked Sister Howell and I for being so persistent with them both, because they truly love church now. We ended up moving his baptism date back to Oct 11th and it is most likely I will be able to attend as I will be coming back from Cornerbrook NFLD that day!! What a blessing!   

 

This week I was feeling a bit of stress about the future really and the unknown, and just as well the responsibility of training sisters in NFLD and being able to help them, so I received an amazing blessing from one of the senior couples who are from Utah and serve in the temple; Elder Poelman. The Poelmans are an amazing couple they actually have decided to set aside 10% of their life to be missionaries, he has been a mission president before in the USA, the are hitting about 7 or 8 yrs of service as full time missionaries, they are in their 70s and have many grandchildren.  It was very amazing, this blessing gave me feelings of clarity is the best way I can describe it; just feelings of peace, and comfort. In knowing that this is not the end. I have been feeling that I am going to come home and then boom I don't feel the spirit and I enter into a deep depression haha that is a bit of an exaggeration from how I’ve been feeling. I now know with high hopes that I will be facing new experiences after my mission, I will be put through new challenges that will cause me to drop to my knees and cry to the Lord with all my heart, that He will continue to direct me just like he has throughout my mission, just like when I stepped in to the unknown of the mission field it will be that same way.  I must just stick to the essential daily things and continue in obedience and selfless Christ-like service. I know that I will grow in many different ways, and I have faith that as I never loose sight of my vision of how I see myself 20 yrs from now that I will be able to not get fixed up in the small stuff.

 

Sister Howell and I have grown quite close we have learned sooo much from one another I love her very much and we will be dear friends. We have come to understand that we must envision ourselves of who we want to become and we will be come it!

 

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ! Serving a mission there is no sacrificing! Everything that we are sacrificed we are blessed we are given joy and it is how we truly find our selves, I bear testimony of this! 

 

I came across one of my favorite talks this week that I wanted to share with you all;

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2010/06/things-as-they-really-are?lang=eng

I think this is actually my favorite talk EVER!! It is amazing! It was given in 2009 at BYU I believe but I read it and WOW this is an example of a modern day prophet of God, because it is so inspired and very applicable for our day NOW in 2014! It is amazing and gave me an overwhelming appreciation for my body, my soul, and my mortal life here.

I really hope you all take the time to read it.

I love you all and have a great week

Sister Pizzey

September 15, 2014

Hello this has been an amazing week!

We are going into week 5 of this transfer, So I have a couple weeks here, then I will be transferred out of here.  Sister Sandberg will be my new companion "technically" but we won't be serving with one another, she will be training sisters in NS and I will be training sisters in NFLD so I will spend 3 days in each area from St Johns, CBS, Bay Roberts, then taking the bus by myself :s to Cornerbrook! Where Sister Aslett is right now and I am hoping she is staying there so we can serve with one another, then I will be flying back from Cornerbrook to Halifax on Oct 11th and then Sister S and I get to go to Kentville for our last Sunday in the mission field! We are pretty stoked! I am also really excited because I will get to teach the Whalen's while I am in Bay Roberts for 3 days and Matt told me before they moved that if I get transferred to NFLD that he will take that as a sign that he needs to get baptised... so lets hope! haha. But Erica and I are reading 17 pages of the Book of Mormon a day together right now to complete the Book of Mormon in a month, we facebook one another, it is great. 

 

I am actually going to NFLD this Wednesday for Leadership training.  For leadership training now instead of in person meeting, President has one of the assistants and a STL go to NFLD and then the other assistant and a DL in the metro go to NBW then we all Skype in for the meeting, it makes it more special then just usually skyping in. So Elder Jason one of the assistants  and I will be travelling with one another.

 

This is my letter to President Leavitt:

 

Self: This has been a great week, we are seeing many blessings here, it is amazing the miracles we see before our eyes doing the Lords work! I love it! We are seeing real growth, and the Lord is blessing us with many opportunities to prepare His children to enter into the covenant of baptism. The Cole Harbour area is flourishing and it is crazy to look back months ago and see what we see here because it is a completely different area! I know there are always people being prepared by the Lord it is matter of faith and us consistently going out to find them through good and bad. Success comes from with in but I just know as we work diligently and effectively work each day that we are just destined to by led to one to many of the Lords prepared children of God.
The CES Devotional last night was amazing, I felt so grateful for my mission in that moment last night watching it, I feel without my mission I would not of understood the importance what Elder Christofferson was talking about. My mission really truly has helped me to understand Matt 10:39, and this is something lately I have been thinking a lot about and desiring to forget my fears, and put God first be accountable to Him; I know as He is first, the love He has for others will shine through me. I find at times I can be concerned too much about what others think, then instantly my priority with out even realizing is set on "mans opinion" not God's opinion; and this mainly only really comes out in contact with other missionaries. So I am focussing on having charity for other missionaries but not being a people pleaser, being confident with what I am doing, I know as I am focussing on being accountable to Heavenly Father and forgetting myself, & loosing myself that this will happen.
How great is our calling! Time is running short and I am reading 17 pages of the Book of Mormon a day to complete the Book of Mormon in my last month, Erica Whalen who is living in Clarenville is doing this with me and it has been great to be able to do this with one another through facebook. I am hoping to be able to teach them while I am in their area in NFLD.

Area: the ward is doing well, We focus our efforts on member visits, street contacting well more like parking lot contacting haha, knocking and area book/wall map. Ever since zone conference I realized I lacked the faith in receiving member referrals, it is almost like with out even realizing it I just assumed the members wouldn't give us a referral or even a meaningful one, although I still asked for referrals from them the faith was not there. So since then I have repented and put more faith into the question really setting them up to realize they do receive revelation for who we should be teaching and we have been able to receive some meaningful referrals from members! I love this ward it is great!

Companion: Sister Howell is great, I really appreciate how she thinks about things and allow her decisions to be well thought out, it gives her an opportunity to not make quick decisions and allows her to make decisions that is guided by the Holy Ghost that is in line with Heavenly Fathers will for her, I am learning a lot from her example.

 

I am really sorry I do not have much time to write but it has been a great week!

I loved the CES Devotional last night! there is a feeling of fall in the air and it is great I LOVE fall!

I want to get up earlier there is just zero time left in the week, I have so much to study and to learn and there is just not enough time!

 

I desire to live each day as a true Christian looking to those I can serve, looking to those who I can allow the light of Christ to effect. I know this gospel is true, I know that these are the last days, the world is changing so much and the separation and space between good and bad is getting wider, there are blessings to this because we are able to better differentiate between the good and the evil but we ONLY can if we read, pray and continue to exercise our faith daily and serve others.  If we do not do the daily essential things then we will be swept in by satan suddenly by the changes and temptations of the world.

 

We are so indebted to God, everything we do, everything we sacrifice he blesses us, we owe so much to Him and His son Jesus Christ! I love them so much and seeking God first is what is most important in life! "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all things shall be given to you!"

 

here are a few great quotes:

"I pray because I can't help myself.. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God. It changes me." C.S. Lewis

You can feel peace in the midst of turmoil IF YOU TRUST IN THE LORD YOU CAN OVERCOME ANY OF LIFE'S CHALLENGES.

 

"The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not a check-list of things to do. It lives in our hearts the gospel is not weight; it is wings!"

-Jean A Stevens 

We must pray always and rely on the Lord with all our heart, Our understanding is not His understanding we can not comprehend all the things he can, but when we pray it is to align our will to our Fathers, and to act and go to work! Isaiah 55:8-9, Proverbs 3:5-7

 

I close with;

"Fear not I am with thee, be not dismayed, I am thy God: I will strengthen thee help the: I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." Isaiah 41:10

 

I love you all, I pray for you. Thank you for your examples and your prayers.

Also most importantly I pray for Grandpa tell grandpa I love him!

Sorry for the lack of updates today but I love you all and just know I am loving everything right now, these are the days of my life that will never be forgotten!

 

Love,

Sister Pizzey :)

 

Sunday, Sept. 14 - Pics of Summer

Sister Hoy, from Edmonton ... So fun to serve with her!

Paige got asked her opinion about something from a local news station.

Some of the dear people and families Paige has got to know!

Looking forward to welcoming her cousin Emily Lambert to the mission!

Loving the beautiful land of Nova Scotia!

September 8, 2014

Hello!

Thanks for the emails and the updates I love you all!

So as you saw on facebook Debbie did get baptized it was a wonderful baptism the spirit was so strong, and everyone was so happy for her. Debbie is wonderful she literally brought gifts for everyone that played a part in the program and helped out to make the baptism happen. She bore a wonderful testimony as well, and we sang Sister Howell and I and the Edis Sisters, the musical number turned out terrific! There were parts where Sister Howell and I sung by ourselves and surprisingly it turned out well!

It was my last fast and testimony meeting in the Cole Harbour ward this Sunday, Debbie got up and bore her testimony, as well Karen Belford got up and bore her testimony a LA we have been working with since I have been here! It was a miracle! I bore my testimony as well, and I actually was not planning on doing it but the spirit literally was just burning my heart.

I have grown to just love this ward, and the people within, relationships and friendships for a lifetime! I feel like a different person than I was coming into it.

This week we had a great week, we started teaching Chris I will explain to you a bit about Chris.

A couple weeks ago I parking lot contacted into this guy Chris who we actually met back in April when he just got out of a detox clinic for Narcotic addict, it was a great first contact in April and we felt so good about him had a lesson set up then he flaked off we never could get a hold of him again, then boom! We met him again and he remembered everything, actually had been researching about Mormons and has been 5 months sober since we seen him last. We were able to begin teaching him this week, and turns out he has been reading this members blog who is on methadone just as he is now, and she shares her conversion story.  He loved it, so we taught a really great first lesson and he is one of those investigators who will text you and give you updates on their reading and how much the Book of Mormon is helping him in many areas so we are pretty stoked about him.  He actually text us and told us that he has always struggled with insomnia and ever since he has been reading the Book of Mormon he has been having great sleeps! 

We were able to put Pio on date for Oct 4th this week! I am not sure if I have explained to you things about Pio and Merry the Filipino family.  If not, here ya go;  a few weeks ago we were on exchanges I was here with Sister Jarvis and two days in row we were street contacting we were referred from two different non members to this Filipino lady named Merry Christ who apparently is a member of our church but just moved here (I was stoked about because I just love Filipino people and literally every time I see one I hunt them down because they make the best members.. lol) . So the first day we only got her address so we went to the apartment couldn't get in, second day we were just like what?! So we stopped and prayed then went to the apt and I kidd you not there was two huge bricks just holding the apartment doors wide open when we showed up and no one else was around so we were like sweet! SO we went and met Merry apparently she wanted to serve a mission back home ended up marrying a non member named Pio, and now we have been teaching her husband for the past 3 weeks! They are just awesome, when they came to church Merry was so excited she got us all to take a picture with the Bishop haha, her family is all temple worthy members back home, and apparently they are all in shock that Pio is meeting with us, funny thing is we though his name was B.O. so for the past 2 weeks we been calling him B.O to the whole ward.  Turns out BO is Pio haha. But he is on date for Oct 4th.  But Pio is hilarious and I just love  them so much, I seriously I have been praying my whole mission to teach a Filipino family, they just make great members. But Pio does give us a run for our money he has a lot of questions but he is receiving answers and progressing well!

Things are going well for him, we had a interesting lesson with him this week because it all turned into baptism we taught the true order of baptism ad he was mind blown as he was sprinkled with water as a baby.

We had an amazing visit with New Glasgow west sisters, Sister Hoy and Sister Fincher, they have been struggling with discouragement up in their area as they have not been finding too much success.  It was a great visit where we helped them feel more confident and we found two new investigators for them! Which was quite a miracle!

We are really focussing on helping the sisters be more bold in the street contacts, so on our visit we focussed on using the restoration pamphlet and relating back everything to the message of the restoration.  It was a very fulfilling visit being able to share the message of the restoration with many people, and helping others understand the need of this message in their lives, it was very helpful for the sisters!

It really has been a amazing week, we have a lot to look forward to this week! I love it here and I am so happy to have this be my last ward I am serving in. Transfers are in two weeks, then I will be travelling around.

Also on our exchange Sister Fincher and I actually went into a Salvation Army church to see for service opportunities at their thrift store.  We actually ended up sitting in the "captains" office with two other members of their church and taught them the restoration, we explained the after life and how baptism is essential to live with God and baptism by the proper priesthood authority. Seeing as the Captain which would be like the bishop but she a female had never been baptized it really gave her a lot to think about, it was a pleasant experience and the spirit was felt and it was really amazing for 30 minutes and to plainly share the truth!

 

We rae excited to go hard to work this week, as we will have no exchanges with the sisters!

I wanted to bear my testimony that I know that this is Christs restored church that Jesus Christ is the revelator and head of this church. I know it, I love it, and I know that these teachings are to help all to understand the true nature of Christ and our Father in Heaven, that the heavens are not closed and that God does not cease to be God of miracles. I know our purpose in life is to become more like Christ, to realize the full measure of our DIVINE POTENTIAL, and that requires change; and change is the design of FAITH in Christ, repentance and baptism, if it weren't for Christ, and for his gospel it would end all hopes of us fulfilling our purpose in life.

I bear my testimony of these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

I love you all and have a great week!

Remember to be grateful! :Ether 6:9 -- read it is my favorite scripture of the day!!

 

Love,

Sister Pizzey

September 1, 2014

Hello so this week has been an amazing week!!

I am just so happy to be a missionary, to be building the relationships with the people I am, and to be learning so much life changing lessons. haha I have just learned soooo much this week, I have just learned so much this summer, in Cole Harbour, just these past 18 months it is crazy!! I LOVE IT! 

 

So I have some pretty fun and amazing experiences that I am excited to share with you all about this week and Debbie will be getting baptised this week! But first off, I logged on facebook this week to message a investigator.  I was at the library on a computer where "facebook purity" was not installed, therefore when I first logged on I see news feed until I click on my profile and I saw dads post, it was the first post that popped up.. haha it was so cute!  Not something that is expected coming from Talman but wow I am just so grateful to be raised in a family with parents that love one another so much. Being the youngest of 5 kids and basically living with just mom and dad, I have come to see how I want my marriage to be but as well how my husband should be, you both still flirt with one another and I love it! 

I am happy you like those talks mom! And say hello to everyone as you are all hanging out at the Pizzey resort today.

 

Coming to this point of my mission I am just continually and continually seeing weaknesses and ways to improve, we are to be refined in this life, I love learning, changing and growing and see who we become and can be shaped and moulded into as we actively chose to rely on Christ to change us.

 

So I am going to copy and past my letter to President Leavitt and share some pretty great experiences we have been blessed to have this week!

Not I kind of wrote a novel to President this week haha :). 

"Self: This week has been a good week, I am happy to be serving here. Ever since serving with Sister Echols, I have been really working on not being on the end of a extreme fanatic and finding myself in the middle area of that line you always draw out for us. It really has been an adjustment for me, to learn how to understand success and whether or not I am being hardworking and consecrating myself without having to be an extreme fanatic. I feel these last few transfers I am learning so much where I am in a position to understand that the work is far more than just the "work" it is the people!

I love being a missionary, I love working hard, and giving everything I can to the Lord and seeing miracles everyday, it is a comfortable thing for me to give my all in work, and just work, work and work but it is out of my comfort-zone to come off in a way that is inviting to others not intimidating, and to inspire others not "scare" in a way.. haha.
I am very grateful to be learning so many important lessons that have a eternal value on them, I look back on my mission thus far and see how my efforts have been and I see that I was just doing my very best with everything I could understand at that time but now I have come to gain a testimony that humility is really the mother of all virtues! I desire to be one who serves others, puts others first and thinks of how I can help instead of thinking what they can do differently. I have come to learn this week that I don't need to change my passion for the work of salvation and my intensity I just need to change how I come across so I don't come across too strongly. Serving in Cole Harbour around the missionaries I have throughout my time here at times was not easy but I am so grateful for the person I have been shaped into. I feel I am coming to see things in a different perspective with having more patience and compassion for others. I hope this makes sense but I just wanted to take some time to "try" to "briefly" explain the amazing lessons I am learning here; being a Sister Training Leader learning how to work well with others and serve others has been such a blessing, it has changed everything for me! Thank you for how patient you have been in training and teaching me on how to be a leader and better servant of the Lord.

Area: We will be having a baptism for Debbie Lloyd this Saturday which Debbie, the whole ward and us as well are quite excited for! We are teaching some amazing people and as well working with a LA family that desires to come back to church which is quite exciting. We are seeing small movements that are allowing the work to progress in this area which is miraculous.  

 

So that just about sums up my feelings and learning this week! Sister Sandberg and I have decided to read the Book of Mormon for the last month of our missions.  We decided to do this before we knew we were extending together, so the time of reading 17 pages a day will go from August 26 to Sept 26. I started in Alma 57 and will be reading to Alma 57 and then from Sept 27- Oct 13 I will read Alma 57 till Moroni 10 (aka: the end of the Book of Mormon). It has been great to read it in such a quick time.  We are highlighting all references to the Savior in our scriptures! I just LOVE studying and feasting on the scriptures on the words of Christ, there is just so many ways to study, learn and expound. The Book of Mormon is key to turning off the natural man, without the Book of Mormon in contact in my life I am just not a pleasant person, the Book of Mormon just adds so much light and happiness, I love it! My favorite scriptures of the day today is 

3 Nephi 9:13-14 "be converted that I may heal you... verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me and ye shall have eternal life. Behold mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive, and blessed are those who come unto me." I just love it! I love it because it is Jesus Christ speaking, and as I was reading those verses it just became to clear to be that Jesus Christ is pleading for us to come unto Him, he just so badly desires for us to, because He loves us so much. The other favorite scripture for the day is:

3 Nephi 10:10 "and the mourning, and the weeping, and the wailing of the people who were spared alive did cease; and their mourning was turned into joy, and their lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer."  ~ I love that verse as well because that is the beautiful power of the atonement it turns all bad things into GOOD!

So this week has been great, I want to share a couple memorable experiences we had this week:

1) So on Friday after our weekly planning we were headed to the church to go on facebook and send and contact a few people through it and as we were walking past the chapel there was a group of 8-10 people sitting down in the chapel as the Stake President was standing up in front of them all speaking to them. As we were walking by the stake President called us in and said these are a couple of our sister missionaries.  We introduced ourselves and it turns out this group is a group of people who have organized themselves from different faiths and what they do is every summer they go around to different church's and basically just ask questions. This group consisted of; two Catholic members, a Jewish man, a non denominational Christians, and a few Pentecostal's haha it was crazy! So literally they get together and talk about some incorrect things about LDS church and as well correct and come and debate in a way. So we stood up there for 45 minutes with the stake President answering questions back and forth and as well bearing testimony BOLDLY it was sooo great, afterwards Sister Howell and I just were like that was legit! Pretty cool experience, the age range was from 20s-60s I would say. It was an amazing moment. They were all pretty hard in heart, but it was amazing to see how no one can argue with testimony. President Evans the Stake President is a pretty humble man, and it was amazing to see the spirit that was felt as he bore his humble testimony nothing can deny that!

So with the Philippine family we are still teaching them, and it turns our Bio's name is actually Pio not Bio haha so we actually have been calling him the wrong name by a accident :S oopsy. We have a great member in the ward who serve his mission in the Philippines's so he is teaching them with us!

We also are teaching the Chatam family they want to come back to church which is exciting, they are a young family of 3 kids and they both were raised in the gospel but went LA growing up.  Both their mothers are active so I am sure us teaching is a answer to many of their mothers prayers! 

We also had a former investigator who Sister Keeler and I taught back in April text us randomly, asking us when church is, the address and time.  His name is George he is a single dad raising a son and daughter on his own and him and his kids showed up for church yesterday, which was nice to see.

So there is this town in our area called North Preston it is Canada's largest black community literally driving into the town there is a sign that says that. And the elders got invited to attend the only church in North Preston that on average gets 600 ppl out apparently, so after ward council Sunday morning at at 10 AM, we decided to go attend their church before our church at 11:30 AM.  As President Leavitt said "we are in the peoples business" so we thought it would be a good idea to get involved in the community, and yea "up" the profile of mormon missionaries ... and let me tell you that is the last time I will ever attend another church haha. Throughout my mission I always thought it would be interesting to attend different churches just to see what is like to be nosey I guess. haha and well let me just tell you this Baptist Black church was just like the movies depict it to be.  Like hahah everyone shows up in their flashy outfits bit fancy hats the ladies wear, and the church is just bumping with music. There was drums, electric guitar, and as the pastor was saying the opening prayer the drummer was drumming and banging the drums as he was like screaming "oh and Lord LOrd lord and LORD and lord" and everyone would yell "thank you Jesus" and get up and dance, haha us 4 missionaries were the only white ones there and we all just sat there stunned.  We definitely stood out haha so we ended up leaving and I just looked at Sister Howell and was like never again. It was quite nice to go to our church service after and see the worship the way Heavenly Father would like us to.  I believe they are confusing emotions with the Holy Ghost. It was interesting it reminds of of the great and spacious building in Lehi's dream.

That whole experience though made me think of "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven" Matt 7:21

But yea I learned from that experience that attending different churches for me is like playing with fire, I know the truth, why be curious about anything else, take the church and just run with it. So yes I love the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and I just know it is true :)

I am working on giving my full heart and mind to Christ and His work, I am working on improving in Charity, increase of Charity leads to increase of desire to share the gospel. I find as I come to the end of my mission satans temptation is strong to have me doubt myself and question if I have served fully giving my whole heart and mind. I know I have and I know I have many mistakes made but that is all for our growth and learning. 

We had an amazing ward picnic this week, Debbie was able to come and a family was able to invite a former investigator of ours to come.  It was a combined picnic with the Dartmouth ward. The ward mission leader Brother Hudson and his wife were able to come from the Kentville ward and him and I were able to reminisce on good ole' Kentville days.  We talked about the Recent Converts there and it was assuring to hear they are all doing well! He also informed me that a guy who Sister Aslett and I found in Wolfville ended up getting baptised a couple weeks ago which was so exciting to hear!! There is great joy doing the Lords work, and I just love serving others. As I express the same type of love Heavenly Father feels towards His children, that is the best kind of way to grow closer to Him!

A LA couple the Thompson's we have been working with the elders and the ward ended up coming to church this week for the first time in a year!! It was amazing! His wife has MS and is in a wheel chair! 

This work is amazing I love the gospel of Jesus Christ!

I love you all and have a great week!

Love,

Sister Pizzey 

xoxo.

August 25, 2014

This week has been amazing, I just love being a missionary and I just love working hard and doing the work of the Lord.

I have had many amazing opportunities this week that I would like to share with you all, and I hope and pray I will be able to put my thoughts in to words so this all makes sense, so I can have these experiences documented but as well so this can help you and strengthen you all.

First off before I forget I would like to answer the questions mom has asked me, sorry I always forget to!! :s.

I was just wondering when you start the travelling around the mission and what is your role for that assignment?

I will be most likely after this transfer so the week Emily gets here that Thursday I would move out my apartment in Cole Harbour (which is like my home now haha ) and Sister Sandberg and I would, we are thinking move in the Mission home in Dartmouth leave our stuff there then take a suitcase, and most likely I will be placed in NFLD and travel and train the sisters there. It is to train the STL's in the leadership and help serve other sisters that President Leavitt feels would be best. We aren't 100% sure or know of the details yet but that is what has been spoken off. I will be finishing in Cole Harbour ward like this is my last transfer then travelling.

Also do you think you will see Emily, or even work with her? 

Tara wants you to train her, ha!

I asked President Leavitt today in my weekly letter to him, and I will hear back tomorrow, I asked him if I could serve with her for a day as I am travelling around lets hope he feels it would be a good idea!! Most likely I won't be training her haha too bad!

 

Ok so this week was absolutely amazing, I just this is the Lords work, I wake up every morning just so excited to go out and have hope; hope with an expectation of fulfillment to go out and find and gather the lost sheep of the house of Israel. It was a week where we just saw many blesses and grew in a greater desire to sacrifice and serve our hearts out!

 

We were blessed with the opportunity to clean the temple this morning that would be why my emailing is so late, as we were cleaning our hearts out the first endowment room I just was loving it. I just did not want to take any short cuts as we cleaned I just wanted to clean everything I could to the best of my ability I know the temple is the Lords house and I just owe so much to our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ we are just so indebted to Them both and I just am at the point where I am willing to do anything and everything they ask of me.  As I was vacuuming the altar and wiping down the lights on a ladder, and vacuuming all the chairs, I just quite simply was thinking in my head of how much I truly just "stand all amazed for what my Savior has done for me, to rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine." Never in my wildest dreams in March of 2012 when I decided to come back to church did I think I would be so happy, never did I think my life would to so clear, that my life would be filled with so much light; the path as been paved for me the path is so sure, my perspective so clear, and to stand in the midst of so many amazing people: the missionaries, members from Kentville and Cole Harbour ward as we all cleaned with one another smiling and loving one another it was amazing and never 2 years ago would I think this joy and these wonderful people in my life could ever exist. My mission has truly pulled me out of a completely different life, and put me on a whole new level of learning, new level of serving, and new level of fulfillment, and it is all because as the scriptures say : "He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. " Matt 10:39

We attended zone conference this week and it was my last zone conference, at the start of the meeting as we sang the opening hymn tears definitely were filling my eyes, but as the meeting went on I just was learning so much and excited to apply the things we were being trained on. It is also reassuring to know that I will still have one more zone training :D.

So each time we have a zone conference President Leavitt has started something new where he has all the missionaries prepare a 5 minute talk on a certain principle of the gospel, and he will call upon two missionaries to speak and 1 senior missionary, so guess who he called first.... ME. Lol. I thought for sure I would not be called upon because right after the talks, I was bearing my testimony as at each zone conference they have the departing missionaries bare their testimonies.  At our zone conference there was 7 of us, and I was the first of the 7. So the talk was on repentance and it actually went really well, I just love repentance it was a topic I feel very passionate about and was able to speak very passionately about. I spoke about 6 minutes haha oops.  After the person speaks everyone gives comments as well things we can improve on and do better, so it literally is to train us all to be better speakers, it is really great!! I explained on how Jesus Christ and Him asking us to repent daily is for many reasons, how we truly are practicing for eternal life as we repent daily.  I explained how its like a mother who pays for their childs piano lessons, how the mother would ask the child to practice and they don't ask the child to practice because practicing would pay the parent back, they aske the child to practice because it would help the child make the most out of the wonderful opportunity  the parent has given to the child; and how this is the same way for Jesus Christ- He does not ask us to repent because as we repent it will give back what He has sacrificed for us, He asks us to because it will enable and allow us to make the most out of this great and marvelous opportunity Christ has given us through His atonement. I really emphasized how if we are declaring repentance D&C 15:6 which is of most worth; how much shall we feel the song of redeeming love and feel godly sorrow for our mistakes and see the amazing grace Christ can bring in our lives and change guilt and sorrow into peace and hope as I closed I read a quote from a great talk that I am going to copy and paste at the end of my letter that mom you can read as you clean the dishes!!

"Throughout the teaching experience, missionaries must bear testimony of the Savior and His gift of salvation to us. Obviously you should bear testimony regularly of all the principles you are teaching, but it is especially important that you bear testimony of this central doctrine in the plan of our Heavenly Father.

There are several reasons for bearing testimony. One is that when you declare the truth, it will bring an echo, a memory, even if it is an unconscious memory to the investigator, that they have heard this truth before—and of course they have. A missionary’s testimony invokes a great legacy of testimony dating back to the councils in heaven before this world was. There, in an earlier place, these same people heard this same plan outlined and heard there the role that Jesus Christ would play in their salvation." Elder Holland- missionary work and the Atonement

"So the fact of the matter is investigators are not only hearing our testimony of Christ, but they are hearing echoes of other, earlier testimonies, including their own testimony of Him, for they were on the side of the faithful who kept their first estate and earned the privilege of a second estate. We must always remember that these investigators, every man, woman, and child, were among the valiant who once overcame Satan by the power of their testimony of Christ! So when they hear others bear that witness of Christ’s saving mission, it has a familiar feeling; it brings an echo of truth they themselves already know." Elder Holland- missionary work and the Atonement
A life impacted by grace begins to look like Christ's life.
It was funny afterwards President Leavitt got up and said Sister Pizzey must of had made a lot of mistakes in her life because boy does she understand the atonement, haha it was funny but it is kind of true ;).
So afterwards a greeny missionary spoke and a senior sister they each spoke for 3 minutes so my 6 minute talk balanced it all out. So afterward I bore my testimony I got quite emotional as I was talking about my gratitude for President and Sister Leavitt.  I just love them so much and they have done so much for me. President Leavitt is an amazing man. I am so grateful for them and really so indebted to them. I was able to talk about how my mission has helped me see my natural man and learn how to turn that off MSH 3:19.  I explained my reason for serving a mission to bring others to the change and truth that I experienced two years ago as well how now I have come to learn that missionary work is not just about the work but it about the people and loving all we serve and serve with,many other things but I don't have the time to write it all. It was a powerful experience. I just felt so grateful to be around so many noble and great ones it is such a privilege.  Sister Echols was there and it was nice to see her, she actually was bearing her testimony as well as she is going home a transfer for early and she is doing a lot better!
So as you see that picture of me on facebook with the Phillipeano family !! that is Merry and Bio they came to church on Sunday!! Bishop Rodriguez is on the right of the picture! Merry was so excited to be at church she took a picture and posted it instantly!!
We are seeing miracles with that family I just know Bio will be a member and he will be a amazing member he is filled with so much faith, and he has so many questions but he recognizes the answer he is getting as he reads the Book of Mormon.  We gave them a church tour after church and Bio asked us what is the importance of the temple, we explained temple marriage his eyes got all big and he smiled we just love the Capablanca family sooo much!! here is a little explanation from my letter to PL about them; We are teaching a family who the mother Merry is LA and the father Bio is a NM; they moved here from the Philippian's, Merry has mentioned it is a miracle that her husband is meeting with us, her family is all temple worthy members back home with RM siblings, and they are all in shock as well, they both came to church on Sunday, and he is just so humble he has a lot of questions but they all are being answered through reading the Book of Mormon! It is such a blessing and honor to be teaching them I know we are teaching them in result of many prayers from their family at home, I know God hears and answers our prayers and the way we met them was truly heaven sent!
We will be teaching them on Wednesday with a member who served their mission in the Phillipeans!
Debbie is good to be baptized on Sept 6, it is funny at church she is just like a member like we don't even sit with her there anymore she has friends and what not she is becoming really good friends with Janine Kidd. She already has home and visiting teachers. Carlene we are still working towards her baptism there is some complications there but we will be seeing her tomorrow. We passed Leroy over to the YSA elders in Halifax. We picked up 3 investigators this week and we stopped by a LA family who has 3 kids and the mother told us they want to come back to church so we will be seeing them this week!
A LA family had a death in their family this week, a 44 year old dad with 3 boys we went to their funeral this week and it was quite sad this life is real and death is real. It was amazing hearing the speakers speak, there was some non members speaking and they were so destrought and there was a feeling of desolation as members spoke.  The spirit was just so strong witnessing of truth that this life is temporal and that those who pass are keenly involved still, as if they were living amongst us here. I bear testimony of that.
I love you all and mom and dad there is a great talk that talks about light in this months ensign you should share for fhe tonight!
I love you all very much have a great week! and increase the light in your life and don't hide it in a bushel let it shine to all!
I wish I could share more but this is all the time I have
Love you!!
xoxo Sister Pizzey