Tuesday, September 2, 2014

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

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