Final thoughts...

Unbelievable. Probably the best word I can think of at the moment to describe the last eighteen months of my life. I can honestly say that I have had more joy in the last year and a half than I've had in my entire life. I've seen more blessings, more heartaches, more frustrations, more sorrows, and more excitement.

As I've expressed before, it almost feels like I've cheated somehow. I went into this, knowing that I would be teaching others. I always knew that a change would come into their lives, but I never thought that it would change mine that much. (Thanks, Elder Vaki, for that sentence.) I have grown closer to my family, to my friends (new and old), but most importantly, I know that I have a deeper understanding and love for my Father in Heaven and for my Savior Jesus Christ. I've been allowed the tiniest glimpse at Their emotions, and it has overwhelmed me. They have SO much in store for us!

Truly, the gospel of Jesus Christ is the way to real and lasting joy. It's pure and simple, and "sweet above all that is sweet" (Alma 32:42). Faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, endure to the end. That's it. The simplest formula for eternal happiness. We can learn of the gospel in its fulness by reading the scriptures, the Bible and the Book of Mormon. We can know of the truth that each contain by comparing the teachings found within, and then taking our thoughts and feelings to our Father in sincere prayer (Moroni 10:3-5). As we do this, the Holy Ghost speaks sweet comfort and peace to our souls, and we can know of a surety that these things are the way, the path back to our heavenly home.

I testify, as a servant of Jesus Christ, that these things are true. The Book of Mormon is the word of God; it is as it claims, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. I echo the promise of modern day prophets that as you sincerely study the Book of Mormon, you will call down the powers of heaven into your very lives, and you will reap the rewards that your Father in Heaven has in store for you as you learn and abide by the precepts taught therein. I testify that God has not left us in darkness---He has called a living prophet to guide us through the chaos of our world today. He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever, and therefore loves us just as much as He loved His children anciently. That is why He has called Thomas S. Monson to be His prophet---it's because He loves us, and wants us to make it back into His loving arms. I also testify that Joseph Smith is indeed a prophet of the Lord, and that the Lord, through Joseph, restored all of His truth to the earth, to bless the lives of all of us here. The principles and ordinances of the gospel have been restored in their purest forms, and they allow us to tap into the powers of heaven to bless not only our lives, but the lives of all those around us.

I know God lives. I know He loves us. I know He listens, and answers when we pray. I know our Savior Jesus Christ stands at the head of this, His church. His arms of mercy are outstretched towards all of us, if we will only keep His commandments and follow Him.

I cannot express my gratitude to my Father and my Savior for this chance I've had to serve Them here in Louisiana. I am leaving a big chunk of my heart here. Someone I met on the street once asked where I was from, and finding out that I lived across the country, she asked in shock, "Well, why are you here in Louisiana then?" I replied, "Because God has some really special children here, who He loves so much, and He's sent me to tell them how to make it back to Him." I know that is true. I love the people here so much, despite their imperfections; most of that love is inspired by the fact that they have loved me, despite all my imperfections.

Now I'm off on yet another grand adventure----LIFE, post-mission style! Everything I've learned here will help me get through the trials that lay ahead of me. The mission really IS the MTC for life! :)

Well, I love y'all! Thank you for all the support and the prayers you've given me.

2 Timothy 4:6-7
"For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith..."

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister Morgan Pedersen

The FINAL Countdown! The second to last email....(Duhn duhn duhn!!!)

Hey y'all!  Well, believe it or not, I've only got one more of these emails left!  It's mind-boggling, if you ask me.

 

This week was a rough one.  Being "sans voiture" (without a car) stinketh.  I don't mind walking, but the nearest city to Oakdale is like 20 miles away, and there's no way we can walk that in enough time to get there, tract, and get back before dark.  And riding our bikes wasn't an option...we'd be riding down Interstate 10.  Needless to say, there were much frustrations.  I told President in my letter to him, "I know there has GOT to be people here in town who are being prepared to accept the gospel.  I just don't know where they are hiding."  The good news?  We got our car back Friday night, so Saturday we spent the whole day out in Mamou, and found some promising potential there.  And we've got things planned thus far for this week that we'll only be in Oakdale one day this week, and we've got a few appointments already set up, so that makes things a lot better.

 

Joanna disappeared on us.  Sigh.  We saw her briefly on Wednesday, and then lost contact with her for the rest of the week.  She doesn't have a phone (BOO), so the only way we can get a hold of her is by dropping in on her.  We think she may have gone out of town for the weekend.  How is beyond me, seeing as how she doesn't have a car, but that's beside the point.  She didn't make it to church, so she can't get baptized this weekend.  BLAST.  But she's still progressing, which is a miracle.  She'll get baptized soon...she's just got to make it to church once more, and really commit to coming EVERY week.

 

We had to drop the Darvonnes on Friday.  That stunk.  I was REALLY frustrated.  Chris told us that he'd decided that he didn't want to be married anymore, even though he still loves Elizabeth.  (Long story short---they both were not faithful; Elizabeth just was unfaithful first.)  But because he won't commit to sticking it out and making things work, Elizabeth is now up the creek without a paddle.  She's 7 1/2 months pregnant (Chris is the dad), she has no job, and nowhere to go.  She can't just get up and leave.  So even though she WANTS to progress, she doesn't want to be the only one trying to make things work.  It was a rough day.  We told them that we loved them, and that they could call us whenever they needed our help, or when they were ready to give this another shot.  Elizabeth was crying as we left, Sister English cried when we got to the car, Sister Thomas was frustrated, and I alternated in between being so angry I could spit nails, and being absolutely heartbroken.  Danged free agency!  Sigh.  It's really hard to watch people make the wrong choices, and know that there is nothing you can do about it, because it's their choice.  Oh, the protections living the gospel brings us!

 

The good news?  We found and taught a really sweet girl named Micah in Mamou on Saturday.  She just had a baby girl a couple of months ago, and she's made some big changes in her life to make sure her little girl will grow up right.  We have an appointment to see her again this next weekend, so we're super excited.

 

Well, I'm outta time, and I love y'all lots.  Keep Oakdale in your prayers.

 

Your Friend in the Faith,

Sister Pedersen

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Culinary adventures galore....

Hey y'all!

  Well, yet another week has gone by, and I'm still shocked at how quickly time is flying.  We had a good week this last week; I think we had our interviews with President Woods...was that this week?  DANG.  It doesn't seem like it.  Anyway, President and I had a good talk.  He asked me if I was nervous about going home; I told him that I was a little.  We talked a lot about Oakdale, and what can be done to continue to help the area grow.  Sounds like they'll be keeping a trio of sisters here as long as they can.

 

What else happened this week?  We had our investigator, Joanna, make it to church!  Tender mercies from the Lord!  And thank heavens for Sister Sherwood!  She had gone to pick up Joanna before church, and when Joanna didn't answer, she came without her.  But after sacrament, Sis. Sherwood told us that she was going to go back to check on Joanna, because she felt very strongly that she needed to.  And lo and behold!  Joanna was ready, and they made it to the last half of Sunday School, and all of Relief Society!  We were so excited.  Joanna is working towards being baptized at the end of the month, so everyone, keep her in your prayers!

 

We also had a good lesson with the Darvonnes on Friday night.  We talked about the power and importance of prayer.  Sister English and I shared the story of the brother of Jared with them.  We helped them see how God expects us to put in the legwork sometimes before He gives us an answer.  We challenged them to come up with multiple plans to help themselves quit smoking, since just praying about it wasn't enough.  We also firmly committed them to pray as a family.  I really felt an urgency to help them see how vital prayer was, and how much protection it provides us.  I got teary-eyed, and bore my testimony the very best that I could.  I felt the Spirit, and I think that they did as well.  They promised to have family prayer every night, and we promised them very specific blessings for their family if they would do it.  I asked Chris, "Do you trust this promise because it's coming from me as your friend, or because it's coming from me as a servant of Jesus Christ?"  It made him think a little bit, and he answered, "Well, both, but mostly the second one."  Hopefully he really understands that.

 

I love being able to tell people that it's not me promising them that their lives will be better; because, seriously, what do I know?  I'm just a 23 year old kid!  I know basically nothing about how almost anything works. And yet, I know that when I promise blessings to someone for following the Lord, I know that they'll be fulfilled.  Why?  Because I am His servant, and He promised me that He would use me to help His children.  I have been called by the prophet of God, and set apart to serve Him here.  What greater joy could I ever know?  I only get to have it for a little longer, and then It'll be time for a new stage of life.  But as for right now, I'm using that power that has been given to me to help as many people as I can, and to bear my testimony as often as I can, because I know that's what my Father wants me to do.

 

The gospel really does bring us joy.  I promise it does.

 

I love y'all!

 

Your Friend in the Faith,

Sister P.

 

P.S.  Oh!  I almost forgot to tell y'all why I titled this entry, "Culinary adventures galore..."  Hee hee hee.  I love the South---specifically their cooking.  We stopped to grab some grub at a little cafe in Oberlin, and Sister Thomas, Sister English, and I about gave ourselves a heart attack because of what we ate.  Fried okra, fried pickles, fried shrimp poboy, and for dessert: fried Twinkie and fried Oreos.  Yup.  Bring on the clogged arteries.  I can pretty much guarantee you that I will never eat all of that at the same time again.  And that is the first and last time I eat the fried Twinkie and fried Oreo.  They tasted so good, but ugh.  I felt just gross afterwards.  :)  So, yup.  Add that to my ever growing list of interesting foods here in Louisiana.  See y'all later!

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Oh, the hilarities of missionary work! (Is that even a word---hilarities? Well, if it wasn't, it is now.)

So, as usual, time is short....but it's not entirely my fault this time!  I had to transfer email accounts, because they're updating MyLDSMail.net, and blah blah blah.  Long story short...it ate up my time.  So, now, y'all get the short end of the stick.  SORRY!

 

We had stake conference this weekend.  Bishop Richard C. Edgley, first counselor in the presiding bishopric, was the visiting General Authority.  He spoke a lot about "The Rescue" program that Pres. Monson has made his priority.  He counseled us, "Don't jump off the ship."  He talked about how many people find one thing that they don't agree with or don't understand, and because of that, they leave the Church.  His remarks reminded me of a conference talk not too long ago called, "It's True, Isn't It?  Then What Else Matters?"  He asked us to think about our own testimonies.  Will we ever need to be rescued?  It made me think a lot, and I'm really grateful for the chance we had to learn from him, as well as from President Woods, and the members of our stake presidency.  We also got to hear some great talks from members of the congregation---yup, they got called up to the stand without any prior notice.  And yet, the talks that they gave were just awesome.  Surprisingly enough, I like having stake conference like that.  Of course, that's probably because I didn't get called on.  Oh well.  :)

 

Funny story of the week: Sister Thomas and I were tracting in Oberlin, and as we were walking back to our car, we met an inebriated man called "Pappy", and his sober friend, Trey.  Pappy first tried to shake my hand across a really wide ditch, and when I told him that I couldn't reach, he leapt across the ditch and about fell in.  Then he rambled on for about 7 minutes or so about all sorts of things.  As we started to leave, Pappy told me, "I'm in lub (love) with a beautiful woman.  And guess what?  I'll even go to church!  I'll be a Pentacostal."  I smirked, and said, "Well, that's great, except I'm not Pentacostal."  He looked puzzled, then said, "Well, I'll be Jehovah's Witness then!"  "Strike two," I replied.  (Trey was laughing his head off in the background the whole time.  He'd met someone who was LDS when he was in the military, so he knew who we were.)  Pappy paused, and looked and us for a minute before guessing, "Catholic?"  "Strike three.  We'll see y'all later," I said, and walked away.  Pappy was still guessing religions after us---"Baptist?!"  It made us giggle quite a bit.  Go figure...I attract all the drunk guys.  Sigh.  Well, at least I won't have to worry about that at home.  :)

 

Love y'all!

 

Your Friend in the Faith,

Sister P.

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Zone Conference, Birthday, and other exciting stuff!

Hey y'all!

Okay, so we had zone conference on Thursday, and as usual, "it....was....AWESOME!" (Anyone ever seen that episode of Reba? No? Okay, well, moving on!) President Woods talked to us about becoming Preach My Gospel, not just using it as a manual. That's definitely something I can improve on; I know that Preach My Gospel was definitely inspired---it was written in heaven, and compiled here on earth. President also talked to us about how to be more bold in declaring the truths that have been restored here on earth today. We've been given some new pass-along cards that are REALLY cool; they have questions of the soul printed on one side, and as we ask people to read the question to themselves, we know it's making them think about these deep questions that will lead them to sincerely seek the truth. We know that this new way of contacting people is going to do SO much good, because Satan is already fighting hard against it. But we know that as we roleplay and have the faith to open our mouths to all we see, we'll be put the path of those who are ready to progress closer to Heavenly Father.

President was also pretty funny this zone conference. I was leading the music, and we'd made it weakly through two verses of "Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise" when he stopped Sister Thomas at the piano. He encouraged the elders to really sing, and had them stand up. Then he said, "You know, Sister Pedersen is doing such a good job up here, elders, and she's nice to look at too, so look up!" I'm pretty sure I turned beet red. I laughed. Hee hee...it still makes me laugh as I think about it.
President Woods made another funny comment a little later on---he said, "Sister Pedersen is what I like to call sophisticated country." Not entirely sure what that means, but again, it made me and everyone else laugh. Good old President.

The only part I did NOT enjoy about zone conference was giving my "go-home" testimony. As I stood at the pulpit, I told the other missionaries that this was the day I'd been dreading since the beginning of my mission. I love being a missionary so much, and I know I'm needed at home, but it's still going to be hard. Anyway, I bore my testimony of the vital importance of the work that we are doing. I shared an experience that I'd had earlier this week.

Sister Thomas and I were out tracting, and we were invited into a home. As we came in, the man on the couch seemed to ignore us, and there was a definite hostility in the air. He told us to "share the word," so we started slowly into teaching him about how we knew that God is our Father, and that He cares about us. As the lesson went on, the hostility was still there, and I thought for sure that he was about to start pulling out anti any second. But as Sister Thomas shared the First Vision, and as I bore my testimony after her, the Spirit came in, and the feeling in the room changed dramatically. I then got to teach about the Book of Mormon, and bore my testimony of it. The Spirit touched me so strongly; I told the man how much I loved the Book of Mormon, and how it has helped me know my Savior better. It has helped me draw closer to Him, closer than anything else ever has. By the end of our lesson, the man's countenance and attitude had completely changed. He told us that he was an apostolic pentacostal preacher (BIG surprise....NOT), and that he'd heard the story of Joseph Smith before, but that there was something about the way we told it that made it different than before. We told him that the difference was the Spirit, telling him that this was something he needed to pay attention to.

As I finished sharing this story, I bore my witness that I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I bore witness of the Prophet Joseph, and of President Monson. I told the other missionaries to cherish every day, because it goes by faster than you know, and that now is the ONLY time we'll ever have this chance to change peoples lives in this way.

It probably wasn't the most eloquent of testimonies, but I felt the Spirit as I testified, so I know that it was okay.

Um...oh yeah! I am officially 23. Weird. But fun. Fun, because I have some pretty incredible friends here in Louisiana. Two AMAZING gals from Baton Rouge drove up to Oakdale to bring me a birthday cake on Saturday night. I was SO surprised! I loved it! Seeing Brandie and Leesa was so much fun, and even though they didn't stay long, they made my day! Then, on Sunday, my AMAZING companions surprised me with little gifts---a red velvet cake mix, a box of macaroni and cheese (Yum!), two candy bars, and an INCREDIBLE poem and drawing of me! If only I looked as good as Sister English drew me. :) We ate TWO dinners too...oh so good! The Vances cooked, and made me a mandarin orange cake...HEAVENLY! And they got me presents too! They were too sweet! And THEN we went to the Neumeyers, and Christine made the MOST AMAZING BISQUE I'VE EVER HAD!!!! Corn and crawfish bisque...oh my heavens to Betsy, it was so good! And THEY made me a cake too!

Moral of the story----CELEBRATE YOUR BIRTHDAY WITH THE INCREDIBLE PEOPLE I DID. :) It was probably one of the best birthdays I've ever had. Oh yeah, and the other moral of the story is share your birthday cake, because when you have four, it's really way too much. ;)

I am so incredibly lucky. I love the people here SO much. They are truly incredible. They are such good examples to me of Christlike love. I am honored and humbled to call them my friends.

As for the OTHER exciting stuff...
We've had a good week this last week. We found a FAMILY to teach!!! YAY!!! I love families. We've got an appointment on Thursday with Mosatye and her four children. She's met with missionaries briefly before, so we're excited to find out what they remember. We met her tracting, and she invited us right in. We also met a cool guy named Josh. I gave him a pass-along card as he was standing outside his friend's house, and we got to talking about the importance of families. He told me that he'd lost both his parents growing up, and that the thing he wanted most in this world was to be with his mom again. We've got an appointment to teach him later this week; I'm really excited. He's got a lot of potential.

Well, I think that's about it! I love y'all! Keep on keepin' on! And I'll (gulp!) see y'all soon!

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister P.

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One less week in Louisiana....BLAST.

No time for intro...we've had an okay week. Sister Myer was sick, but is feeling better. Here is the update from our zone conference with Elder Condie!

We had our conference with Elder Condie on Thursday...can I just say, WOW?!?!!!! It was awesome. He is an absolute riot. Seriously, you don't get to see that side of the General Authorities very often. Did you know he can play the piano? Yup, and he's good too! That part was a little nerve wracking, because we were asked to do the musical number, and since Sister Myer had been sick, we hadn't been able to practice as much as we would have liked. But it went really well. She played her own arrangement of "Behold A Royal Army," and Sister English and I sang. Anyway, we talked about a lot of different things; we'd written down questions last zone conference, and Elder Condie chose a few to answer. He talked to us about doing our very best where we are---bloom where you're planted. He talked about Elder Kikuchi---he's the fourth longest serving General Authority (Elder Packer, Pres. Monson, Elder Perry, and then Kikuchi), and he's so humble and kind and loving. He told us about when Pres. Marion G. Romney was conducting the GC session where Elder Kikuchi was sustained. Pres. Romney's eyes were pretty bad, and he couldn't read Kikuchi's name, so he simple called him, "that Japanese fellow." When Elder Kikuchi got to the pulpit, he said, "President Romney, when I die and go to celestial kingdom, I change my name to Smith."

We also talked a lot about the Spirit, especially about how we can invite it more strongly into our lessons. He told us that if our investigators won't keep commitments, they won't keep covenants, and that in order to help them do so, we had to bowl them over with the Spirit. He talked about seven simple ways to bring in the Spirit into a lesson, and just as he was ending, describing the beauty of the scene, he said, "Take that, you Southern Baptists." He is seriously hilarious! Just the way he said it---just threw it in there.

His wife, Sister Condie, gave a really good talk too. She said something that hit me really hard. She said the greatest gift her parents had given her was a knowledge of the Gospel. I have to agree with her. There is nothing more that I could ever be more grateful to you both for than teaching me about the gospel of Christ. Thank you, thank you!

Elder Condie gave us some things to talk about with stubborn people, which was REALLY helpful. He pointed out that Christ's original church had 12 apostles, temples, prophets. He then told us to sweetly but boldly ask them, "Does your church have these? If not, then how can it be Christ's church?" He also gave us some response to the whole Revelation "none shall add" thing. He told us to sweetly but boldly ask them where to find the Nicean creed in the Bible. He also talked about the prophecies in the Bible about the Book of Mormon, and about the Greek root of the word 'baptize' means 'immersed'. He told us to ask, "Where did the founder/leader of your church receive his authority?" He told us to bear powerful testimony of the First Vision, and how the keys of the Priesthood were restored. He said, "When you tell them in a humble, forthright manner, the Spirit will bear witness that what you are telling them is true."

Elder Condie talked about how we can have the power that the sons of Mosiah had, that Alma and Amulek had, that Nephi and Lehi had. He read Alma 17:2-3, and talked about the process found there. He told us that the spirit of prophecy tells us WHO to talk to, and the spirit of revelation tells us WHAT to teach. He told of an experience he had as a mission president in Austria (I think). He received a phone call from man who wanted to complain about two of the elders. The man said that the elders had told him that the reason he wasn't getting the answers he was seeking was because he was homosexual, and they told him that he needed to repent. Elder Condie asked, "Well, are you?" The man said, "Yes." Elder Condie then told us an expression in German which means, "The rock hit the barking dog." :) If we are doing what we're supposed to, the Lord will give us the information we need, when we need it. Our job is to call people to repentance, and to teach them of the gospel so they will understand and desire to be baptized. Elder Condie told us that if we wanted our investigators to get it, we need to close the gap between where they are right now, spiritually speaking, to where they need to be. He gave three examples from the Savior's life where He had to do the same thing---once with Nicodemus, once with the woman at the well, and once with the apostles themselves. He told us that we need to teach the concepts of our lessons multiple times, because this is new to them; they can't be expected to soak it all up the first time. He then demonstrated this by teaching six elders phrases in Hungarian, and asking them to repeat it back to him. He showed us the importance of repetition, in person, and in several scriptures.

Elder Condie encouraged us to be our best selves. He told us to rely heavily on the Book of Mormon. He quoted Elder Carlos Asay, "You'll never be involved in a Bible bash if you teach from the Book of Mormon." He told us that the Book of Mormon is how we invite the Spirit into our work. He told us, "You're in the whitest field there is, and you've got to be really, really sharp." He bore his testimony of Joseph Smith, and told us that there is a tight connection between the prophets of old and the prophets today. He told us that he believed Joseph Smith was still heavily involved in this work on the other side, and that we must keep up our work as well. He gave us his blessing, as a servant of Jesus Christ and as a representative of the Quorum of the Twelve. He said, "I bless you with greater love, a greater ability to repent, with greater courage, with greater patience, with a greater ability to see through the Father's eyes. I bless you that as you lose yourself here, things will work out at home. I bless you to have radiant, Christlike countenances."

I loved every single second of it. The Spirit was SO strong! I wish everyone in the world could have been there---they would have felt the Spirit, and would have KNOWN that the words which were spoken were true. I knew it then, I know it now, and I will continue to know it for the rest of eternity.

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Zone conference with Elder Condie!

Hey y'all! Not too much to report on from down south, sadly. We're struggling to get members and investigators to church here in Oakdale. If y'all could keep the following people in your prayers, that'd be amazing! These are all amazing people and families we're working with, and they have incredible potential, which means that we're really ticking Satan off here in Oakdale, and he's stepped up his game a notch. Well, I say if he wants to play like that, that's just fine with me. I'm calling in the calvary. :)

Will you please pray for:
Mike and Christine Neumeyer ("New-meyer")
Chris and Elizabeth Darvonne ("Dar-vohn")
Ronnie and Amanda Cormier ("Core-me-eh")
Joanna Carpenter
Troy and Angela Hubbard
Robert McKenzie
Dustie Thibodaux ("Tib-ah-dough")

Also, any prayers for our little Oakdale branch would be greatly appreciated as well. The work is SLOWLY moving along, but it is moving, and we've got BIG plans for 2010!

"Make no small plans; they have no magic to stir mens souls."---Pres. Spencer W. Kimball, "The Vision of the South"

I love y'all! Keep on keepin' on!

Love,
Sister P.

P.S. We get to hear from Elder Condie of the Seventy on Thursday! He's coming to tour our mission. This means I'll have LOTS to tell y'all about next Monday.

P.P.S. For anyone who knows my family, we have some big exciting news! Stacia is officially engaged! She'll be getting married to Jake in May. If you want more details...well, tough, because I really don't have any. ;) Just teasing...but seriously. If you really want to know more, get a hold of my sister. :) Love y'all!

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hope everyone's holidays were good! I'm down to mere seconds, so I just wanted to tell you a little bit about what we did down here in the south. :)

We had a really great Christmas, but I think my favorite part was Christmas Eve. We went with Sister Vance (the senior sister missionary) to go sing Christmas carols. We picked a handful of our investigators, and some people in the ward that we thought might need a boost. And then, we went to the hospital and sang to the 9 patients there. That was REALLY something. I really felt the Spirit, and I know they did too. Everyone asked us who we were, and told us we sounded like angels. I'd been thinking a lot about that lately---about what an angel's job is, and how we can be angels here on earth. The Book of Mormon is chock full of information about angels, and it's been really incredible to read about them and see how we can be angels of the Lord as well. My favorite scripture I've found about angels thus far is Alma 13:22-26. Alma mentions the 'glad tidings of great joy' and 'joyful news' a good handful of times---and what is that message of great joy? What are those glad tidings? Look at D&C 76:40. "And this is the gospel, the GLAD TIDINGS, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us---" And again in D&C 79:1---"...proclaiming GLAD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY, even the everlasting gospel." And last of all, in D&C 128:19-20---"Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have recieved? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy...And again, what do we hear? Glad tidings from Cumorah!...declaring...the dispensation of the fulness of times!" What greater joy can we ask for than to know and have the Spirit of God bear witness to us that Jesus is the Christ, that He still lives and loves us, and has proclaimed His gospel in its fulness so that we can make it back to our heavenly home and family?! I love this work. I love getting to share this news with everyone I can. I'm so grateful that I have been able to serve the Savior here in Louisiana. I have learned so much, and I have seen the hand of the Lord more clearly in my life and in the lives others than I ever have before. This gospel is true! This is Christ's church, and He stands at the head of it, beckoning us to come follow Him.

I love y'all! Keep on keepin' on!

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister P.

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Happy Thanksgiving/December!

Hey y'all! It's your favorite sporadically-writing missionary here! How was y'all's Turkey Day? Ours here in Oakdale was good...much turkey, ham, cornbread dressing, rice dressing, pecan pie, sweet potato souffle...oh so yummy! Plus, we got to share the gospel! HOORAY! Best Thanksgiving EVER!

Work-wise, it was a tough week this last week, but we dug in our heels, and came out with just a few bumps and bruises. Our car, on the other hand, did not fare so well. We came out of our lovely abode Sunday morning, and found the scandalous scene unfolded! The culprit, a big orange pumpkin, lay carelessly a few feet from the victimized Malibu. We almost got out our sidewalk chalk to draw outlines on the asphalt of the broken pieces of the driver's side tail-light. There was mucous-like orange entrails above the damaged light, and even a seed stuck to the trunk of the car. Needless to say, we were shocked and amazed. Apparently Oakdale is smaller than I thought---or the people here are REALLY REALLY bored. Either one... :)

Well, that's all I've got time for folks! I love y'all! Keep on keepin' on! Do good, TRUST GOD, and don't worry.

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sista P!

Sorry it's been a while!

So, I just realized I hadn't sent out a mass email for a couple of weeks now. Oops...my bad! Sorry!

This is probably my first email since transfers. So...I got transfered. I'm in Oakdale, Louisiana, and I am a lucky stinker and get two companions!!!! YIPEE!!! Sisters Bunker and Myer and I are having an absolute BLAST. We're tearing it up up here, and loving every minute of it. Sister Bunker and I have discovered that we are long lost twins seperated in the pre-mortal life. Seriously, we are so alike, we creep Sister Myer out. It's AWESOME. :) And Sister Myer is so much fun---she's a riot. She has only brothers at home, so Bunkie and I are slowly breaking her in, and getting her used to sisters. Needless to say, we are all sleep deprived and very giggly. I love it.

Funny story of the week:
we're participating in the Oakdale Community Christmas Pagaent. I was Mary for one rehearsal...then we found out that our director, Mrs. Bradley, wanted a more...um...lively pagaent than most Christmas pagaents. Let me put it this way---Sisters Bunker, Myer and I, along with the senior missionary couple here (the Vances) are the ONLY white people in the entire cast. Yup. It's pretty entertaining, to say the least. So yeah, I was Mary...til I discovered that Mrs. Bradley expected me to really sound like I was going into labor. Moaning, groaning...and the more of it, the better. Needless to say, I couldn't do it without laughing, and since I'm pretty sure those kind of hysterics aren't a typical part of childbirth, we decided to let the Vances be Joseph and Mary. Which of course is even more hilarious because Elder Vance and Mrs. Bradley have very different views of how things should be done, and both keep trying to undermine each other. Yup---never a dull moment in Oakdale, that's for sure. :)

Well, that's it for me for now! Love y'all. Keep on keepin' on! Fight the good fight!

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sista P!

Goodbye Houma, Hello Oakdale!

Well, you guessed it...they're moving me out of Houma. I've loved this place so much, it's hard to leave. But I'm leaving this part of the Lord's vineyard in truly capable and loving hands---Sister Thomas and Sister Schultz are going to be AMAZING down here.

As for me, I'm headed to Oakdale with Sisters Myer and Bunker. Yup, I'm going to be in a tri-panionship. It's going to be SO much fun. I've been dying to serve with these two stellar sisters, and I never thought I'd get to. And now, BLESSINGS FROM HEAVEN and TENDER MERCIES, I get them both! HOORAY!!!

We did have a baptism this weekend---Sister Dana Rutledge is the newest member of the Thibodaux ward! HOORAY!!!! She's still struggling with smoking, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE keep her in y'all's prayers. She's going through some rough stuff right now, and could use all the extra prayers that she can get.

Um...let's see. Not much else to report on, really. It's bittersweet, leaving Houma. I've learned SO MUCH here. I can honestly look at myself and see the growth that I've made because I came here. I've been so blessed. I've had amazing companions and good areas my entire mission, and I am only adding more to that list. God works in mysterious ways. I know that it was He that called me to Oakdale through President Woods, and when the call came, the only answer I could give was, "Here I am, send me."

We are led by men of God, who are inspired by Him. What joy and relief that brings me! We will never be led astray by them, and as we hold true to the promises and teachings of Jesus Christ, we will see so many tender mercies! I love y'all! I'll get my new address up here next week. Until then, send stuff to the mission office address:
Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission
12025 Justice Ave.
Baton Rouge, LA 70816

Keep on keepin' on! Do good, TRUST GOD, and don't worry.

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sista P! ;)

Hey y'all!

So, I'm being forced to say goodbye to Sister Santos...sigh. She's been a blast and a half, and I'll miss her like crazy. If any of y'all are going to be visiting Temple Square between now and March, find a Brazilian sister and ask her to find Sister Santos for you so you can give her a big hug for me (if you're a girl, at least!).

I'm probably not going to be in Houma much longer...droga. (That's 'dang' in Portuguese.) We had to push Dana's baptism back again...she went through some major stress, and picked up smoking again. Keep her in y'all's prayers, okay? We've got our fingers crossed for this weekend.

Um...I can't think of much else. We've been working our little hineys off, and have been seeing so many tender mercies, I can hardly keep track of them! I love being a missionary! I love being able to tell people, "This is how you can have eternal happiness!" The gospel really is the answer---and the fulness of it is found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's true. I know it.

Sorry so short...down to mere seconds!

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister P.

No time...sorry!

This week has been really good. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED GENERAL CONFERENCE. We are truly led by men and women inspired by God. Anyone who missed Elder Holland's talk in the Sunday afternoon session NEEDS to find some way to watch it. WOW. I now know how to better bear my testimony of the Book of Mormon.

I know that Jesus Christ lives, that He loves us, and is still guiding us today. He has set up one way of doing things (see Ephesians 4:4-6, 11-14), and it is our duty and privilege to always be striving to find that way, that path. I know that the Bible and the Book of Mormon are the words of God, and when used together, bring us more peace and assurance in this life, and the promise of life eternal in the world to come. If you have ever doubted the veracity of the Book of Mormon, know that you are not alone. There is one simple way to find your answer concerning it's truthfulness. Read it, ponder its message, and then ask your Heavenly Father. I promise you, as a servant of God, that He does hear and answer our prayers, and that if we ask with "a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto [us], by the power of the Holy Ghost." (Moroni 10:4)

"Hearken unto these words, and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words, believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good." (2 Nephi 33:10)

I love you all! Thank you for your prayers! Please keep the new members of the Church in your prayers as well...they need your love and your support.

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister P.

Lovin' Life in Lousiana!

Hey y'all...
So, I know I didn't write last week. My bad...I took too long writing my other emails and debating which pictures to include, and the computer booted me off. Sad day, huh? (Okay, not REALLY sad, but still...)

This week has been good...we had zone conference on Wednesday, and it was AMAZING!, as usual. President Woods taught us about charity, which was truly inspired, because I'd been struggling feeling patience, let alone love, for some people lately. It was a good reminder of why I am really out here, and who I need to BE and BE LIKE to invite people with the power that is neccessary. I love being led by inspiration!

We got to see the General Relief Society broadcast this weekend, and OH BOY WAS IT GOOD!!! I loved Sister Thompson's talk, "Mind the Gap." I loved all the talks, but I really related to Sister Thompson's. It was really REALLY good.

I've got some names for y'all to keep in your prayers---April Scott, Nancy Bonvillain, Rita Hebert, Jeff Outhouse, Dana Rutledge, and Day. They're all trying to quit smoking, and we're trying to help them. But that tobacco has a really REALLY strong pull, and they need all the strength they can get.

I love you all! Keep on keepin' on! Remember---trust God, do good, don't worry!

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister P.

Transfer time again....

So, I'm staying in Houma (YAY!) with Sister Santos (YAY!) until she goes back to Temple Square in October (YA....wait a second...that's not a good thing!)

We were asked by the assistants to type up a little note talking about the miracles we've seen here in Houma. I know we were inspired while writing it, because it's better than anything I normally can come up with. So I'm including that in here, because it's fitting.

""But behold, [we, Sisters Pedersen and Santos], will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance." (1 Nephi 1:20)

What an outpouring of tender mercies we are truly seeing here in our beloved Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission, elders and sisters! We cannot begin to express our amazement and our love and gratitude for our Heavenly Father and our Savior. Remember that tsunami Elder Kikuchi promised us? Well, seeing as how we're closest to the coast, we want to let y'all know that the gargantuan wave of spiritual blessings is headed your way.

Every day, our faith and our trust in the Lord is being tested and tried. We've been given the weapons we need to "fight the good fight," and as we use them boldly and with the power that has been given to us as representatives of the Savior, we ARE seeing miracles. As we strive to continue to be exactly obedient, our Father cannot help but shower us in a multitude of blessings. Our Savior cannot help but walk beside us as we push forward in our ministries. They ARE with us, elders and sisters, and we testify of that with great joy!

"Be not afraid," our Master has assured us, "but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee...for I have much people in this city." (Acts 18:9-10). The people are out there, and we are humbled at the tender mercies and miracles we have seen. All of you helped bring these souls to Christ---it is because of our increase in obedience and faith and diligence as a mission that this tidal wave is being brought to pass.

Get ready, everyone...the wave is coming your way! Let us all continue to be obedient, to be more like our Savior and Redeemer, and prove ourselves to be disturbers and annoyers of the advesary's kingdom. We love you, and pray for every one of you each night.

Your Friends in the Faith,
Sister Pedersen and Sister Santos"

The world is getting scarier and scarier. The Savior needs us to do our part so He can come again. Let's work our hardest so that He can come soon, and bring that promised peace we're all so desperately seeking! I love you all, and I'll talk to y'all next week!

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister P.

Hymn #266

What a crazy week! We were blessed to see two more baptisms! Chris and April Scott are the newest members of the Thibodaux ward, and we couldn't be happier. Especially since they were originally committed for baptism on September 5th. :) We had a lesson with them last Monday, and Chris had everything about his baptism all planned out, and asked us if there was anyway he could get baptized sooner. I felt like I had to clean out my ears. It was AWESOME. :)

We've been working hard, and we're loving life down here. We've got interviews this Friday, which I'm excited for because I've got some questions I want to ask President Woods. He's seriously the COOLEST guy ever. I know pretty much all missionaries think that about their mission presidents, but it still is true! He's absolutely amazing, and so in tune with the Spirit, it's just AWESOME.

ANYHOOT...um...that's it for me, I think. Keep on keepin' on, everyone. I love you all. Remember this sage advice from a wiser missionary than myself: "Tip #1----trust God. Tip #2----Trust God. Tip #3----It's all good. And when all else fails.....TRUST GOD!!!"

Do good, trust God, and don't worry!

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister Pedersen

Still more blessings...

We got to see two more people come closer to the Savior this weekend! Hallelujah! Truly, GOD ROCKS!!!

We also had a really neat experience with an investigator named Chris. He's Falon's (a recent convert) brother, and has been listening to what we've been teaching his family for quite a while now. He came to the baptisms on Saturday, and then got to be present when McShane was received the priesthood. He pulled me aside right afterward, and told me that while he was watching McShane, he felt this overwhelming peace and love flood his system. He said that he almost started to cry. He'd been praying and reading the Book of Mormon, and trying to decide if this is what the Lord wanted for him. Saturday night, he got his answer. He told me that his heart felt different, and that he knew that this was God's way of telling him what God wanted for him. I had goosebumps all over my arms, and chills running up and down my spine. I bore my testimony to him that I knew what he felt was the Spirit, and that God was indeed answering his prayers. So now, Chris and his wife April are preparing to be baptized on September 5th.

God is really there. He really answers our prayers. He loves us, He is our Father, and He asked our Brother to pave the way for us here on earth. Our Savior lives! He stands on the right hand of God, and is rooting for us every step of the way.

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister P.

Bonsai!

Elder Kikuchi, when he toured our mission in February, told us that the word 'bonsai' meant 'hallelujah'. He also told us that if we would be 100% morning schedule missionaries, and read from the Book of Mormon 30 minutes every day, we would experience a spiritual tsunami and that the number of convert baptisms in our mission would double. I thought it was appropriate to title this email/blurb 'Bonsai!' because of the blessings and tender mercies the Lord has poured out upon us here in the Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission.

In July, we saw the beginning of the fulfilment of that promise from Elder Kikuchi. We were blessed to see 41 people enter the waters of baptism for our entire mission---five of which Sister Santos and I were personally able to see. As for August, we're still seeing many miracles, and we have three investigators with baptismal dates for this month so far. Elder Kikuchi also promised us that if we would contact at least 80 people a week, our teaching pool would be full. I have personally seen this blessing in the work here in Houma, and can humbly add my testimony of how it's affected me as a servant of the Lord. There really are good people out here, searching for the truth. And they aren't just in the poorer parts of town. There are good people everywhere, and they all deserve the chance to hear the gospel.

This last week we had our zone conference, and I cannot express enough gratitude to the Lord for the inspired messages we heard there. I don't know what everyone else got out of them; it felt as though President and Sister Woods and Elders Broadley and Nnah were talking directly to me. Seriously, every single thing that was said was an answer to a struggle or question I'd been having. I am in awe and amazement at how merciful our Father in Heaven truly is. I am so blessed! And I deserve absolutely none of it. How tenderly our Savior loves us! It truly gives us reason to rejoice, to shout, "Bonsai!" I am so grateful that I get to be a servant of the Lord here in Louisiana.

I love you all! Y'all are just awesome! Keep on keepin' on, and know that the Savior yet lives! He loves each and every one of us, as does our Father in Heaven. They desire only the very best for us, and as we listen and follow Their instructions, we will receive so many blessings that "there shall not be room enough to receive [them]." (Malachi 3:10) The power of prayer is very real---Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees. I know God lives, I know He loves me. I know He hears and answers prayers. I know that because of His tender mercy and the power of the priesthood, our families are united for all eternity. It is my privilege to bear this witness of our Father and of our Savior, and I do so in the sacred name of the Savior Jesus Christ, amen.

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister Pedersen

Having a blast here in Houma!

Yup, that's right folks! Transfers have come and gone, and BLESSING FROM HEAVEN, I'm still hanging out in heavenly Houma! HOORAY!!!!

Sorry I didn't write last week...surprisingly, I was crunched for time with emails! (I know, BIG shock, huh?) ;)

Well, we're doing great down here---surviving the heat, and finding awesome people to teach the gospel too! We found a couple cool new families that we're really excited about---the Fanguys (pronounced "fungys"), and the Jacksons (and they actually do have a son named Michael!). We've got an appointment with the Fanguys tomorrow, so we're super excited for that. We taught the Jacksons about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ on Saturday, and we're going to call Sharon tomorrow to find out when we can come over again---that's when she'll have her work schedule.

The Parfaits are hanging in there. As usually happens when we make a firm stance against the advesary, they've been hit with some heavy burdens. Any prayers in their behalf would be awesome. I think I'm starting to get an idea of what it feels like to be a parent----it hurts. I felt like screaming at the devil yesterday, "Just leave them alone!!!" when the Parfaits were telling us about their struggles. But at the same time, I know that they NEED this test of faith so that they can have the strength to face the rest of their lives. They're doing great, faith-wise. They understand why life all of a sudden got tougher. But it still hurts to see them suffer. My love and respect for Heavenly Father has grown even more---I feel like I understand Him a little better. What strength He has! He has the power and the capability to take all our pains and struggles away, but He does not because He knows we need it. Ugh. I couldn't do that. I'm not that strong. Thank heavens He's in charge!

McShane and Falon are doing great. McShane got things worked out with his boss so that he can come to sacrament every Sunday, which is a total blessing! They're hard people to catch at home, so we haven't been able to have a sit-down lesson with them this last week, but we're going to set something up for Thursday, probably. If I remember right, they both have at least part of that day off.

AND...we are working with an awesome part-member family, the Naquins. Brett and Sandy are so much fun, and Brett comes to church every week. You'd never guess he wasn't a member. But anyways, we had a good lesson with them and their two cute little boys yesterday. We talked about the power and protection that prayer and the scriptures give us. Then Sister Santos boldly committed Brett to prepare to be baptized on the 22nd. He said he would, so we're planning another baptism for this month! I was a little hesitant to commit him, because I know he's been pushed in the past, but I also know that he'll let us know if he isn't ready. Until then, we're going to shower them with as much love as possible, to show him that we're asking him to do this because we care, and not because we're just trying to get him wet.

We've got zone conference this week---President Woods is switching the schedule around. I'm helping the sisters in Metairie do a musical number. We decided to pick a hymn that people aren't familiar with---that way, when we mess up, no one will know the difference! Sister Riddle thought of that one...pretty smart, huh? And, as I like to tell people, the scriptures tell us to "make a joyful noise" (see Psalms 81:1, 95:1-2). They never say it has to sound good. :)

But in case I get called on...which, knowing Sister Woods, is more than likely going to happen...if anyone has any good arrangements of hymns or EFY songs that they'd like to send me, I would be most grateful! You can mail it to me (485 Grand Caillou Apt. E, Houma, LA 70363) or you can email it to me, and I can print it off at the library (morganjpedersen@myldsmail.net).

I love y'all! Congratulations to Adam Wilcock! You're going to do wonders in Texas! And congrats to Daniel Worwood, who definitely returned with honor from Indonesia. Way to go.

Keep on keepin' on, everyone!

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister Pedersen

Bah...last week of the transfer ALREADY?!

So, this week has been AWESOME. McShane got baptized on Wednesday, but he hasn't been confirmed yet, so please keep him in y'alls prayers. He NEEDS that extra protection, especially now. His wife, Falon, is planning on getting baptized on Thursday, so by Sunday, the ward will have two more new members! HOORAY!

Um...this week has been hot and sometimes rainy. Um...I'm down to like 5 seconds, so I love y'all! The Church is true! Pres. Monson is God's chosen Prophet! Jesus Christ LIVES, and is our Savior and our best friend! And last, but not least....GOD FREAKING ROCKS!!! ;)

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister Pedersen