Quick email

"Just a quick email, I'm a little out of time today. I had so many things to do. I have some favors, but I'll write today. I love you and miss you!!" That was literally the entire email. At least she is alive and I'm guessing well. Next week is transfer week.

Hoppy Easter

"What an amazing week this has been!! I am so excited to tell you about my week!!"

"So this week, we went on exchanges with Blacksburg again, and I got to go there, again! I learned a lot of amazing things- including, if you want God to change and build your area, he's going to do it to you first, so that you will be a pliable medium through which he can bless the area. On this exchange we found two potential investigators and we picked up one as a new. We finally have a new investigator! She's older, but has wanted to learn for years. We are so grateful!!!"

"So this entire exchange was super humbling, and I have had to make a lot of changes to my spiritual aspect of life. I have grown a lot in the past 4 days. When I got home from exchanges, we checked the mail, and there was a letter in it from the mission office for me. It had a return service thing on it, and from the transparent window it had, I could see that it was a form of some variety. Then it hit me. These were my "trunky papers"- the papers you fill out at the end of your mission for the office, that you have to send in before they give you all your flight information and release stuff. It's like, 2 pages worth of stuff to fill out. I shoved it in my drawer and refused to look at it. At lunch time, Sister E. crashed on the couch. I decided that I needed to face this one day. Teary-eyed, and so full of emotion, I pulled the envelope out of my drawer. I was struck with nostalgia and started listing off all of these things in my head that I needed to accomplish spiritually before I went home. I started thinking about how I wasn't ready to come home, I still had tons the Lord needed me to do before I could complete my service. I slowly tore open the envelope. Tears streaming down my face, I pulled the pages out of the envelope, and started to read "Sister Peck, we are updating our information for our driving records, and can't find this form for you. Please fill out the following form, and send it in with a photo copy of your driver's license, front and back. Thanks!" .....I burst out laughing. I couldn't stop. I laughed the rest of lunch. I learned a valuable lesson. Never judge a piece of mail by the return address. I also learned that I have a lot to get done before this event really does happen..."

"So I started running over spring break. There's a high school down the street and we go run on the track on warm, dry mornings. I love running, and it's so good to run after a long winter. I feel like my lungs are opening up and my body is stretching and "resurrecting" so to speak after a dreary winter on the east coast."

"Speaking of resurrection, I'm sure you have heard of or seen the new Easter video the church put out. BEST. MORMON. MESSAGE. EVER. Pretty sure I have seen it 15 times in the last 48 hours. We've been showing it to everyone. http://easter.mormon.org/ Also, one of my favorite bands, Neon Trees, is a band based out of like, Provo or AF or somewhere down there, and they are all members of the church. Their drummer is a girl, and she has an "I'm a Mormon" video out. http://www.mormon.org/elaine

"I was asked May 4th to sing a musical number. Yay! Thursday night, the ward got together and made Easter "baskets" for the missionaries. It was this huge box, and they presented it to each companionship at the beginning of Relief Society. They pretty much have fed us for the next month. It was such a tender mercy. The ward is really looking out for us. I'm really starting to love the people here. (just watch, I'll getting transferred in 2 weeks...)"

"Our investigator is doing well. She couldn't come to church Easter Sunday, so her baptism has been moved to May 4th. (star wars day (: ...) Keep praying for her, she's been really getting hit with the adversary lately."

"Have a good week, I can't wait to get mail from ya'lll soon (:"

Baptism postponed

"I can't believe its Easter already. This week has been glorious, in weather and in miracles."

"Our investigator had to move her baptism date back because she couldn't come to church one of the required weeks in order to be baptized. We're shooting for the 27th (my 14th month mark btw...). Her friend isn't totally progressing. In fact, none of our other investigators are progressing at this point. We are trying to focus a little on our members and the ward. I believe that if we aren't taking care of those we already have, the Lord won't bless us with as much more as he wants us to have, or we want to have. We had a meeting with the stake mission leader, Brother P. (Brother P lives in Christiansburg, and  I grew very close to his family while serving there, so being able to see him again was such a tender mercy. I'll get to see his wife on May 4th for ward conference!!)"

Spring and General Conference

"Another week in Bluefield, and spring is well on its way! I am so grateful, mom, that you told me to seek for signs of spring. The dogwoods are starting to bloom, and we have had rain and thunder showers all weekend. Luckily, its supposed to be in the 60s and 70s the remainder of the week (:"

"CONFERENCE!! AHH!! It was so amazing, I am so grateful that I received so much revelation and answers to prayers through the talks given. My top 5 favorites:
5- M Russell Ballard
4- Gary E Stevenson
3- Russell M Nelson
2- Elder Bednar
1- Elder Holland

I need to go back and read Elder Oaks talk. I have heard it was incredible, so add that with Elder Nelson's at number three. I hope you all enjoyed conference as much as I did (: I wish it was every weekend."

"Yesterday we had zone meeting, district meeting, and president's interviews (his last ones...they go home in June!) so today is our p day. It's been nice to catch up on a lot of the love that sits in my inbox. Only having an hour sucks."

"I will write more about our investigators and such in a letter. I love you all, and I can't wait to hear from you soon!"

I did get a letter from her last week and her investigator is set on date for baptism on April 20th and her friend is now taking the discussions.

SPRING!!!

"Another week in Bluefield! Just a short update, I don't have a whole lot of time, but I wanted to let you know that I am alive (:"

"Our investigator is doing well, we are still looking for other people to teach. She has a friend we might start teaching if we get the chance to meet with her."

"It snowed AGAIN yesterday, and its supposed to be in the 70's the rest of the week. Hopefully my plea for spring has been heard, and the weather will start warming up soon. SPRING!!!!"

"Nothing really new this week, just still working with the bishop on how we are going to change the ward here. We have been listening to the spirit, and we are really excited for the ward to pick up here."

"Thanks for the love and support!"

Staying in Bluefield

"Funny story, so me and Sister E got a text from our zone leaders Saturday saying that if we invited 5 people to learn randomly that night, he would tell us if one of us was leaving. Our zone leaders called and said  "Sister Peck, you are staying...and Sister E, you are..going...NOWHERE!" So we are staying together in Bluefield yet another transfer. We are both really excited!! Lots of good things are going to happen this transfer, we can feel it. We have a couple of really hard working elders coming into our ward (we share the ward with two other sets of elders) and we have high hopes that they will be ready to work, cause this ward has officially become a project, not just for the missionaries, but for the members of the ward council and hopefully the remaining ward members."

"Spring is around the corner. I am so sick of the weather. Snow. 40 degrees. 70. Snow. 30 degrees. 64. Snow. I swear, I am done. I just want to send my winter stuff home. Everyone keeps saying "oh Spring is here, the harbinger has spoken, blah blah..." yeah, tell that to me when it snows again next week."

"One of our investigators is on date for April 12th. She is so amazing, every lesson we have with her the spirit is so strong. Yesterday we taught her about the temple. Her favorite temple is the Salt Lake. She is so excited to come to Utah to go through the temple next spring. I am constantly amazed at her faith and testimony. We're gonna baptize this girl!! She's so ready!"

"I am way excited for the meeting on Saturday, and I am SUPER excited for general conference. Well, that's pretty much all for this week. I am so grateful to be on a mission!! Thank you all for your love and support. Y'all are FANTASTIC! (: hope to hear from you soon."

I absolutely LOVE the Book of Mormon!!

"This weekend was our stake conference. It was broadcast out of Salt Lake, so we were privileged to listen to L. Tom Perry. He gave a wonderful talk on missionary work, and that sharing the gospel to all the world is part of the covenant we make at baptism. We also got to hear the first counselor in the general Primary speak, and her talk was really good, It was on sharing the Book of Mormon. We also heard Bruce A Carlson and he said a lot of things about sharing the gospel that really hit home for me."

"Tuesday last week was Specialized Training for our zone. We talked about the Book of Mormon, and studied every page possible in PMG about how to use it and share it. Whenever I think about the Book of Mormon, or am asked to share an experience or testimony about it, I tell the story about how my dad and his companion changed the Belgium Mission just by offering the Book of Mormon to people to have in their homes. That's something I feel like our mission needs to understand. In Bedford, our zone leaders issued a challenge on the day that it was 11 degrees outside. We had a competition to see who could hand out the most Books of Mormon. The Bedford 4 got together and we handed out 30-some odd books to people that day. I love the Book of Mormon. We as a mission were challenged at our zone conference 2 weeks ago to read it again by June. I'm going to see if I can read it twice by June. My new year's resolution was to be able to read it 2 more times on my mission and then once at home...it has increased, and I'm going to see if I can read it at least 3 more times as a missionary, and then maybe twice more when I come home. I absolutely LOVE the Book of Mormon!!!"

"After training, we got to go on exchanges with our sister trainer leaders.They are serving in Blacksburg, which isn't even a "far-see" away from Christiansburg. So for exchanges I went to sunny Blacksburg. I had the privilege to go through Christiansburg again. Oh the memories!!! I had a really good time in Blacksburg. That area of Virginia is very beautiful- but I'd still put Bedford first (:"

"I am really grateful to be on a mission. I wouldn't ever trade this time that I have to learn and grow the way that I have as a servant of God. Thank you so much to all you who have supported me in my endeavors to be the best that I can be! My scripture of the week- Mosiah 23:24. I am grateful for the Savior's amazing grace, and promised blessings of redemption as we plead with him to deliver us from bondage."

"Hope y'all have a great week! Can't wait to hear from you soon!"