Onto week 2 of transfer 7

Hey y'all!

This week has been HOT...REALLY RIDICULOUSLY HOT. But other than that, really good. :) Sister Santos and I rode our bikes two days this week, and we walked one. And then we had a member tell us that this is the hottest weather he's felt here in 30 years. All I can say is...joy to the stinkin' world. :) We survived...somehow. Biking in a skirt is NOT easy...especially when the only street you can go on to get to your investigators' house is the crazy big main street of town. Then you have to wait at stop lights, and try not to DIE as cars go whizzing by you, AND try to maintain modesty. But thanks to the many blessings of our Heavenly Father, we survived to see a new month...and more importantly, NEW MILES! HOORAY!!! ;)

We've dealt a lot this week with people who have been affected by deaths. It's given us a great opportunity to share the Plan of Salvation with people. The Spirit has really been strong in so many of our lessons. I feel so lucky to be able to be with these amazing people here in Houma. We are teaching some truly incredible people, and it's been amazing to watch them grow to love the gospel more and more. We've got an amazing ward who really welcomes people in with open arms. What a tender mercy from the Lord.

We've also been blessed to have some awesome training experiences with our mission president. I know without a doubt that President Woods is inspired by God, and that if I will do my best to follow his instructions with exactness, we will see that tsunami of miracles promised by Elder Kikuchi. I'm trying to be more obedient, and I'm quickly discovering the areas where I am the weakest. I can't help but think of President as our Captain Moroni---fortifying our weakest points against the advesary, and strengthening our hope and faith in our Savior.

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!! There is nowhere else I'd rather be. Nowhere.

I love you all. Thank you for your prayers. I know I've seen the blessings from them. Keep those letters coming!

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister Pedersen

Onto Transfer #7!

I'm trying to keep things short and simple...because, as usual, I'm ridiculously low on time.

So, transfers are this week. Sister Santos and I are staying in Houma. HOORAY!

My amazing experience of the week---remember me telling y'all about the Parfait family and their faith? Well, it paid off BIG TIME. We got there to teach them on Thursday, and they told us about how they'd been praying and reading the Book of Mormon and Bible as a family, and Tuesday night, when they were about to lose hope, they had a miracle! They were able to get the money to pay the taxes on the land their home is on, and they didn't lose their trailer. As they were telling us the story, Chris (the dad) started to cry. The Spirit was so strong! I cannot express my love and gratitude for my Heavenly Father and my Savior. There are simply not words. I love Them with all my heart, and I KNOW, without a doubt, that They hear and answer prayers. How blessed am I to be a part of this work!

I love you all! Keep on keepin' on! Do good, work hard, TRUST GOD, and don't worry!

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister Pedersen

SERIOUSLY...I swear I JUST got here!

Time moves too fast. That's all I'll say, because I know y'all are probably sick of me saying it.

This week has been bittersweet. I said goodbye to Sister McKay; she flew back to Temple Square on Wednesday. I did get to go on exchanges with Sisters Boulter and Horan, which was a lot of fun. And I picked up my new companion, Sister Santos from Sao Paulo, Brazil. She's awesome, and we're going to be rockin' it down here! ;)

We had an amazing surprise yesterday. Kim and Chris Parfait came to church! They were part of that family of nine that came last week. Because of the chaos of dropping off Sister McKay and picking up Sister Santos, we didn't have a chance to see them before Sunday. We weren't expecting to see them at church. But they came on their own, and they really liked it, and the Spirit was so strong, and we committed them to prepare to be baptized on July 11th! We had an AWESOME lesson with them yesterday about the Plan of Salvation, and they really liked it. We challenged them to read Moroni 10, and to take Moroni's challenge. Our only worry with them is their financial situation right now. It's a long and complicated story, but through no fault of their own, they might be out of a place to live on Wednesday. We're praying for them so hard. They are such an amazing family, and they have such strong faith in Jesus Christ. Kim told us that, "We know that God loves us, and He'll make things work out." That was it. No complaining, no comments of doubt or worry. Just pure faith in Christ. So I'm determined to do my part, and add to their faith mine.

I know that we were supposed to meet this family. There is no doubt about that in my mind. I know that God is very aware of them, and that everything will be okay. And I'm going to do everything in my power to help them. I'm going to pray harder than I ever have before, and I know that God answers prayers. Look at what He did for Alma the Elder----Alma prayed an angel to his son. I don't expect an angel. All I expect is an answer, and I know that He will give one. He loves this family more than I do, and that's what matters most.

I love y'all, keep those letters coming, and I'll talk to y'all next week!

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister Pedersen

P.S. Enjoy the pictures! That's Sister Worthey's BEAUTIFUL red Camaro that I'm sitting in. Oh yeah, it was amazing. ;) Also, a picture of us with the Wortheys (Sister Worthey was goofing off---she probably won't be too happy about me sticking that picture on here...oh well), and a picture of the Thibodaux, or "Thibodizzle," district. :)

New companion, many miracles, no time!

Tomorrow Sister McKay and I drive to Baton Rouge, and we'll spend the night in the mission home. Wednesday she flies back to Temple Square, I'll spend some time with the sisters in Gonzales, and then pick up my new companion, Sister Santos from Brazil.

Miracles! We had *11* investigators at church on Sunday. The Lord is truly amazing! We have been so blessed here in Houma, and we're working with some incredible people.

I'm sorry this is so short, but I really REALLY have no time---we've got to get back to the pad so Sister McKay can pack. Blech. :)

I love y'all, keep sending those emails and letters, the gospel of Jesus Christ brings us all the peace and joy we could ever desire and more, and I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister Pedersen

Onto week 4...

I promised myself today that I wouldn't say the same things that I always say in this email. So here it goes...

This week was normal. We did normal missionary things, we taught some lessons which were normal, and we met some normal people.

Okay, that's enough of that. That is proof that 'normal' is BORING. :)

This week was AWESOME! Sister McKay and I worked our butts off. We walked a good bit, and somehow survived the INSANE heat. We talked to some CRAZY people, who told us some very INTERESTING stories. We also taught some INCREDIBLE lessons, thanks to the Spirit.

I think my highlight of the week was sacrament meeting yesterday. As we sat in PEC, there was an enormous BANG. A transformer had blown, and we were left in a pickle---no power for the building. And yet, these faithful Saints just went forward. They made phonecalls and got ahold of generators, lights, flashlights, and determined that we'd just have sacrament meeting this week. They posted us missionaries by the doors to inform people, and they even got ahold of a big fan to keep the chapel at a decent temperature.

But that's not the reason why sacrament touched me so much this week---well, not entirely anyway. They could have just cancelled church; they could have just made some phonecalls, and no one would have really blamed them because there was nothing they could do to remedy the situation. But they recognized that the sacrament is so important, so they made sure that all who wanted to come and partake would still have that opportunity. There was just this feeling of peace there, more so than usual. I watched as the sacrament was passed, and was reminded of why I came to church. It wasn't for the classes, or the social aspect, though those are two benefits I enjoy about church. But the reason I go is to partake of the sacrament, and to renew those sacred, holy covenants that I made when I had more pure faith than I do now. I'm not saying I don't have faith; but when I was eight, and chose to be baptized, I had no doubts. My faith was truly that of a little child's, and it was as clean and pure as I became that day. I was reminded that my faith can become that clean and pure if I am really focusing on what the sacrament is and why we take it.

I'm out of time, so I'll end with that. But just know that the sacrament it more important than we sometimes realize, and I challenge everyone to do some digging and find out why it's important---why it's REALLY important---to them.

Love y'all!

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister Pedersen

I'm already in week 3? THIS IS RIDICULOUS!

Why does time insist on moving so fast? WHY???

Anyways...hey y'all! It's been a crazy week, so let me see if I can recap some of the highlights for y'all. We've definitely had ups and downs, but God triumphs over all, so we're doing good!

Tuesday night, we got dropped by a family that the elders who had previously been in West Houma were teaching. Normally, being dropped is a little frustrating, but this was different. We had an awesome lesson with them; we talked about how the Savior knew everything we were going through, and that He'd always be there to support us. We shared some scriptures from Doctrine and Covenants sections 121-123. Sister McKay and I sang a song. The Spirit was so strong. And then, as we were leaving, the mom told us to never come back. I didn't hear her at first, and Sister McKay was in shock, so Denise said it again...and again and again and again. We were blown away. I was angry, Sister McKay was hurt, and when we got to our apartment, we poured out our hearts in prayer. Comfort flooded our souls, and we knew that we'd done our best, and that it was accepted by the Lord. To this day, I don't know what made Denise pull a 360 on us like that, but she has that choice. Hopefully she'll listen someday. If not, then maybe her kids will. Sister McKay told me that statistically it takes 7 contacts with the Church before someone starts investigating. If nothing else, we knocked off one of those contacts for that family.

Thursday, we received a media referral off of a pass along card we'd handed out. That hardly ever happens! And this family is AMAZING. The Parfaits are so humble, and they love God so much. We got to talk with them about the eternal nature of families, and about how we go through trials to strengthen our faith and ourselves. We're super excited to teach them; plus, Chris (the dad) speaks French! CAJUN French. It's INSANE. I can pick out a sentence here and there, but it is SO different than normal French. But I love it, and I hope I can pick it up!

Last big exciting event of the week happened on Friday. One of our investigators, Brittany, got married, and we got to help set up for her reception. It felt so good to see her take a step closer to her Savior. She'd been living with her boyfriend for a long time, and she knew that in order to be baptized, she had to either move out or get married. She wants to be baptized, so she took the steps neccessary to qualify herself for those blessings. It was awesome. And her family was really impressed by all the work we willingly and lovingly did. We think this might have really opened their hearts, so we're going to take a shot at it and try to teach them. :) YIPEE!

Houma is such an amazing place. I LOVE IT!!! And seriously, I have been spoiled rotten with companions---Sister McKay is incredible. I wish I didn't have to lose her in a few weeks; she goes back to Temple Square June 10th. I'm already dreading that day.

Oh! One other exciting thing. We're teaching this lady named Holly and her daughter Paige. They are really cool. But the exciting part was talking with Holly's husband John, who is kind of anti. We had a really good talk with him on Saturday about temples; he says that his biggest hang-up with "the Mormons" is that they won't let non-members into the temple. God is amazing, and blessed me and Houma with a sister missionary from Temple Square. Sister McKay gets this question all the time there, and she did an amazing job explaining why. We've got a return appointment on Wednesday (tomorrow??? OH MY GOSH, time goes WAY TOO FAST!), and if he brings it up again, we're going to emphasize that the temple is meant for everyone, but you have to meet certain requirements. We didn't come up with the requirements, God did. We're going to bear our testimonies, and let the Spirit do what it does best---testify of truth. Who knows? He may listen, he may not. But the Spirit will be present, and Holly and Paige will feel it, and it's all because our Savior is AMAZING. The End!

Okay, now I really have to go. I love you all! I think I may have mis-typed my zipcode, so here's my new address again, just in case:

Sister Morgan Pedersen
485 Grand Caillou Apt. E
Houma, LA 70360

LOVE Y'ALL!!!

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister Pedersen

Houma, BLESSED HOUMA!

Hey y'all!

Again, no time....big surprise. I arrived safely in Houma, Louisiana, after playing follow-the-leader out of Mettairie and taking the scenic route back (meaning that it was the blind leading the blind) on Wednesday, and I've loved every minute of it! Houma is AMAZING! The people here are so friendly, and so willing to talk to us---of course, making progress with them is often difficult, but hey, I'll take what I can get for now!

My companion, Sister McKay, is AMAZING!!! I love her guts. We are loving life down here. Our motto thus far is, "The Grand Adventures of McKay and Pedersen..." because really, everyday is an adventure of some sort. Neither one of us really know where we're going, and that's half the fun of things! YIPEE!!!

The weather continues to heat up...I'm surviving, suprisingly enough. The scenery down here is SO different from Prairieville---different colors of green, the clouds seem lower/closer to the ground, and the town itself is SO much smaller. But I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I'm hooked on Houma.

We got to see a baptism on Saturday, which was so much fun! Dosheeka is an amazing girl, and she's so solid. I also got to bear my testimony to an investigator about why I came on my mission. No investigator has ever asked me that before, and I was blessed to have an "ah-ha!" moment. The Spirit touched my spirit, and I knew without a doubt that I was out here for the right reason, and that gave me such comfort and assurance. God FREAKING ROCKS!!! :)

Well, I'm outta here y'all! Oh! Before I forget, here is my new address. SEND ALL MAIL HERE, because the mission office is no longer three minutes away from my apartment. :)

Sister Pedersen
485 Grand Caillou Apt. E
Houma, LA 70363

I love y'all, and I'll talk to y'all later! Keep on keepin' on!

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister Pedersen