Hellooooo everyone! :)

I hope you all are doing well. I'm pretty dandy myself. Can't complain. Hmmm, I wanted to start off by telling an sweet story I forgot to mention last week.

A High Councilman from Auburn was driving down some road when he saw a pregnant lady walking down the street crying. He passed and then had the prompting that he should turn back around and find her. He prayed so he could know where she was. And found her in a Starbucks. He bought her some food and they talked a lot. Turns out she's pregnant with twins. Neither her nor her boyfriend have jobs and naturally, she was overwhelmed by life. He got her information and found she was in our area. She is now someone we are going to be teaching. A sweet woman with hard circumstances. The Lord really knows what He's doing though. Luckily that man listened to the Holy Ghost and went back to find her. Miracles can happen.

So. My companion sleep talks. It's been pretty fantastic entertainment since I've been here. At various times in the night/early morning I just lay in bed, listen to her little conversations with herself, and then go back to sleep when they're over. At 2:10 AM the other day I heard some mumbling and upon closer listening, I found that she was praying. In her sleep. Ah, what a dedicated missionary. Haha, I love Sister Hopkins. :)

We had an exchange this week. I went back to Fairwood for a day. It was such a weird feeling. I felt like it wasn't even my area anymore... because it's not. Lake Sawyer is where I'm supposed to be at this time. For some reason or another... I'm trying to figure it out. Anywho, we had some pretty funny door knocking experiences there. We were going around apartments at the time and we knocked on some door to hear an old man literally screaming at us "COMEEEEE INNNNN! JUST COME INNNNN!" We ran up the stairs and hid. Holding our breath, we heard him come and open the door and then shut it again. Also, it was my first time talking to someone without them opening a door or having any windows. Slipping the card under the door status. Don't know why she didn't want to face us. People are curious.

So the weather is really kicking in. We've been warned of upcoming storms and have been sleeping to the sound of thunder. Not that I hear it too much. When I hit that pillow, I'm out cold. So anyways, I don't plan on having dry feet for the next 8 months or so. All is well. I'm loving it. The leaves are falling (from what trees actually

change colors up here) so that's been fun. I love the fall.

This Sunday I had a pathetic introduction to the ward. Apparently they forgot to announce last week that I was the new missionary in the ward, so they tried to remember this week. He ended up saying "And for all of you who don't know we have a new missionary in the ward... Sister Hopkins." Then those in the congregation who actually have met me started saying "No, Sister Pearson!" It was a mass confusion and I stood up and raised my hand because he didn't know where I was... and yeah. So it was awkward. Just my luck. Doesn't surprise me. Haha. :) I just bask in those kind of moments. They seem to follow me.

Also, Sister Hopkins has gotten into the routine of thinking I have stolen her food. From sandwiches to granola bars she always looks at me with a "What did you do with it?" kinda look. Funny thing is, I've never touched her things. We always just end up cracking up. She's such a funny gal. Honestly, the sweetest girl. I'm lucky to have her as my companion.

One of the most wonderful aspect of missionary work is meeting SO many of God's wonderful children. A specific couple we met as really just opened my eyes lately. This couple was on the street watching their grandson jump his bike when we stopped to talk to them. The wife has MS and is completely paralyzed besides the movement of her face. The husband stays by her side and helps her. He was warming her legs with his hands as it was getting a little cold outside. What Christ like love! And the woman. Seriously, she was completely happy. Saying Jesus has my back and everyday is wonderful. We talked about how because Christ was resurrected, we all will be too; in perfect physical conditions. All who suffer from physical ailments will be restored to a perfect state. She agreed. It is incredible how much focus we give to our problems and challenges that we forget to look at the bigger picture. This woman knew that this life we have right now is but a moment. When we can see things like that, how much more positive we can be! I have met them only twice, but have such a love for this couple.

UNCOMFORTABLE MOMENT AWARD GOES TO... the man in the ward who tells you that you remind them of their ex-girlfriend. This man is literally like 50 and married. Uhhhhh.....

 

Random Things of Washington:

- Apparently Washingtonians are known for their pure english. As in, they don't really have an accent... not sure if I've really come to find that that is true or not. I haven't noticed it.

- There are power outages every year. At least in the areas I've been in. Flashlights and candles baby. Flashlights and candles. So stoked.

- Oh! Their ice-cream trucks are either mini-vans with a giant freezer and a mom driving it around or they have these teeeeeny little like electric cars that look like golf carts kind of that just roll all around town. It's hilarious. Not sure I would trust them or not though. I haven't gotten too close.

What I have been thinking a lot about recently is priorities. In Matthew 16:26 it states "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" It just hit me. How many times to we put worldly things above spiritual things? A LOT! When we die, we only have so much we can take. Our memories, knowledge, personalities, talents, and relationships... things like that. It won't matter how much money we make. It won't matter how many episodes of some show we've watched or how many football games we devoted our Sundays to. I think I might start asking myself the question "Am I progressing towards God... or towards the world?" Bettering my family, my friends, and myself is what's truly important. Sometimes that's hard to remember.

Well, I better be off! Life's good in Kent. I'll talk to you all later!

Love, 

Sister Pearson. :)

It finally started raining in Washington

I had a dream this morning. I dreamed that for some reason I spent away my whole P-Day doing nothing and I forgot to email and write letters and I was freaking out and started to write them in the evening and was breaking the rules and feeling guilty and dying inside.... luckily it was a dream. Shows you how much us missionaries value our P-Days though, huh? Haha. SO here I am nice and on time, breaking no rules, and typing happily away. :)

One thing I have learned this transfer is to NOT taste any of the foods in the cupboards. Several times last week I found myself eagerly grabbing a Wheat Thin or a Graham Cracker only to find it had either been affected by the humidity. Everything is soggy and chewy and tastes of wet cardboard. On top of that, for some reason missionaries like to keep random things in the fridges 15 months after their expiration date. Not cool. I have been working on clearing it out. I told Sister Hopkins that she must try things before I do now.

Well, it hit 90 degrees this week. Let me just say that wet heat feels 100 times hotter than dry heat. I was dying.... kind of. Speaking of the desert, I apparently need to get a printed out map of where I live. I guess I just don't know my geography too well and after many failed attempts of trying to inform people where I live I think a visual would be my best bet. Can't just pull out my iPhone anymore.

Our Ward Mission Leader's birthday was last Monday... or Tuesday. We bought some random stuff from the Dollar Tree and decided to hide it in his milk box. (Yes, people have milk boxes here.) It was dark. We parked way out on the street. We tip toed through the crunchy rocks. Got to the front of his house and could see him watching TV with the window wide open. We crawled, most unladylike might I add, under the window so we could be seen. Got to the door. Put everything in and upon closing the lid... he opened the door. Yeah, we scared him pretty good. I can still imagine his freaked out face and little jump. Haha! Turns out he was actually just going outside to put his flag down. Rotten timing.So much for the surprise. Oh well, we still got him in some way. They are the Graneys by the way. And they are an AMAZING couple and such a help to us. Love them.

We got smoothies from Jamba Juice on the 10th for my 2nd Click Day. Two months out. Woohoo. Jamba reminds me wayyyy to much of my BYU days. So weird to think I'd be there right now if I weren't here on my mission.

So my apartment grosses me out. I wear shoes in the bathroom sometimes because the smell of wet plastic disgusts me. And I just don't appreciate laying on the floor and feeling your clothes get damp. Bleh. Don't think it bothers me too much though, I'm EXTREMELY grateful to have my little soggy apartment. I truly am. :)

Our Zone Leaders told us a statistic. In order to talk to everyone in our area, my companion and I would have to meet 14,000 people. Haha! 7,000 people per one missionary. I don't know why, but that made me laugh. It's crazy!

Hmm, the other day I woke up with a pulled armpit muscle. It hurts so bad. I never realized how much you use your armpit... you use it a lot.

We were able to do the Day of Service as a Zone on Saturday. It was so much fun! I felt like I was back in my community service days at HJH or HHS. I got to wear a big neon yellow vest and roll around a trash can along the street. We had those little clampy poles to pick up the trash. I've always wanted to do that honestly. Dreams are coming true out here.

Goodness, I love music. If I hadn't brought my little used iPod out here I would not be as happy as I am. Every song is a Tender Mercy from the Lord. :) On top of that, I am sooo glad my brother Donald told me about the band NeedtoBreathe... I think he may have heard of them through his girlfriend... not sure. But I have some of their songs and I just absolutely love them. Never was a big fan of Christian Music, but they're worth a listen. They sure know how to uplift you when the goin' gets rough. Plus, their songs always seem to fit the moment. A song Washed by the Water happened to play as the rain began to pour on us. And These Hard Times... well that's always a good one. ;) Haha!

Well, I am having a blast meeting all of God's children out here in Washington... even if they're not having a blast meeting me. :)

An Awwww Moment: 

We knocked on a man's door. He was obviously not interested and let us know. So we crossed the street and knocked on that door. And as we were waiting that man came out of his house and told us they weren't home so we didn't have to wait. Awww. Look at people doing nice things for us.

So I have been reading the New Testament during personal study and I am loving it. Just starting from the top at Matthew. You can never read through Christ's life and ministry too many times.

Here's a couple versus I liked.

Matthew 10:16

"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." ----> Hahaha! This one just made me think of myself thrown out here to the wolves. Gotta be smart... but harmless. ;) Haha! And I'm trying to be. The harmless one isn't too hard. I won't even let Sister Hopkins kill a slug.

Matthew 10:39

He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

I really love that commonly quoted verse. I'm trying to lose my life for His sake. When I do that, I'll have everything I need. :)

Random thing of the week:

THERE ARE SLUGS EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!

Almost like Harry Potter status when Ron is puking up slugs in the bucket... well, they're a tad bit smaller. But yup.

Okay that's all folks! I love you all! 

I'll be doin' it the Federal Way!

Love,
Sister Pearson! :)

And the legend of Miley Cyrus lives on

Man oh man, this week has been pretty crazy. Had my first transfer. Now I'm in a new area with a new companion. Meeting new people. It will take a while to get used to, but I'm going to love it... I already pretty much do. Well, I'm starting to anyways. Haha. :)

I don't know if I mentioned in the last email or not that I am in Kent now. Specifically the Lake Sawyer ward. My companion is Sister Hopkins. She's 21 and like 5 inches shorter than me. She's a crack up. She loves to read, play the violin, and she's from Provo UT. Yeah, we're pretty much opposites in a lot of ways, but we make a good pair. We're going to work so good here it's going to be sweet. :)

Welp. To begin, I met the Bishop the first or second day of being out here. And... he completely reminds me of my second cousin DJ. I think DJ is in 7th grade or something. Haha! But everything about him... the way he speaks and his mannerisms! It's crazy! Then again, just about EVERYONE you meet while out on your mission reminds you of someone or looks familiar and sometimes you can NEVER pin point it. And it drives you crazy!!!! Mission folk say it's because we met all these people in heaven before we came here. I believe it.

This ward is awesome. They are so friendly. They had an activity the second day I was out here. Milk Carton Boat Races. Apparently it's an annual tradition. They build boats out of milk cartons and race 'em. Sweet huh? Haha! I didn't get to take any pictures because I forgot my camera, but maybe I'll get some from Sister Hopkins so you can see. The area is BEAUTIFUL.

To tie in the subject of this email... at one of our meetings a guy raised his hand and said "Has anyone ever told you that you look like Miley Cyrus?" Yup. Guess that's not going to die out. And two days ago we were out a' knockin' on random doors like we always do and we had a really good conversation with a woman and she said "You know what, you remind me of that... what's her name... Miley Cyrus." Welp, I guess the name tag can't even disguise my obvious Disney character look alike.

That same lady was telling us that we both looked so young. She told me I looked young and Sister Hopkin's didn't look old enough to be out here. She was a little surprised when we told her our ages. Funny stuff.

So, I go my first "Stick a sock in it!" That was wonderful. Especially considering I hadn't even said anything yet. People are strange. Oh! I also got my first "I'm a happy Agnostic." *Throws me the peace sign and shuts the door.* I think that may be the first and last time I'll have had the chance to literally peace someone out at the door. Ah. Life is good.

I also, found out that it is possible to get 10 ties in a row playing Rock, Paper, Scissors. Sister Hopkins and I managed to do it. I don't know how... oh, we also managed to get kind of chased by a chicken. Many of you probably don't know, I'm kind of afraid of chickens. They creep me out with their lifeless, brainless eyes that just stare you down. So naturally, I threw S. Hopkins in front of me and ran for it. I guess I could have been a little more Christlike with that one. Maybe next time.

Mom, I got your cookies on Friday. Thanks! They weren't even stale this time. Haha. :) But seriously, don't send me any more cookies. This ward is not lacking in the "let's feed the missionaries" department. :P

I'm still getting used to everything. Transfers are weird. I try not to think about all the people I'm not teaching in Fairwood and think about all the people I've yet to teach here in Lake Sawyer. I can tell there is so much potential here and I'm way excited to keep working! As of tomorrow I will have been out for 2 months. Honestly, the strangest 2 months of my life. Yet, the most rewarding. When everything doesn't really make sense and you think uhhh what am I doing... God gives you that peace and let's you know you're where you're supposed to be. I know I'm doing what He wants at this point in my life or else I wouldn't be gettint up at 6:30 everyday, knocking on doors and getting rejected all day, and going to bed thinking let's do this again tomorrow. I read a quote from the Ensign the other day that I really loved.

"So much in life depends on our attitude. The way we choose to see things and respond to others makes all the difference. To do the best we can and then to choose to be happy about our circumstances whatever they may be, can bring peace and contentment."

- President Thomas S. Monson

RANDOM STUFF FOR THE WEEK:

1. EVERYONE here loves the Seattle Seahawks. Literally, you'll be in someone's house and their coasters are the Seahawks. Another person's doormat. And the best one yet, and one you can see the picture of, a huge mailbox. 

2. Tons of people here work for Boeing (spell check) and Microsoft.

3. There are garage sales EVERYWHERE. Seriously on every street there are garage sales. Every day. It's gnarly.

Well, I hope every one is doing well. When life get's rough, look back and count your blessings. Satan has a way of making us focus on that percentage of negative in our life, let's try to focus on the positive. We can try it together. :)

Until next time I'll be doin' it the Federal Way.

Love,Sister Pearson  :)

So Long Fairwood

I literally do not know where to begin.

Well, I guess I can start a little backwards.Sunday night we got the call. I am getting transferred. At 2 today I will be leaving the Fairwood area. Sister Cox is staying. I'll find out at that time where I'm going to be and who I'll be with. Man, it's so surreal. It's a somewhat freaky, but something I have found is that God definitely blesses me with a certain calmness when big transitions like this happen, so I'm kinda just like "Alright. Let's do it." I'm sure reality will slap me in the face once I'm there, but as for now... I know it's what's supposed to happen, so we'll just have to see.

Anywho, this past week has been CRAZY! (somewhat like every week, huh? sorry to be so repetitive... but i'm really being honest) We had two exchanges this week. The first exchange Sister Taylor came with me. She was awesome. She goes to BYU too and actually only has one more year left to get her Bachelor's. She is from Texas and she loves volleyball. Her dad is a college coach.

The next exchange was when Sister Dudeck. Funny story, she's a vlogger and YouTuber and I definitely watched one of the videos she made before I came on my mission. When I saw here I was like "Ahhh, I know you from somewhere." Yup. Turns out I saw her video. Throughout the day we came to find SOOOO many similarities and random things between us so I'm gonna list some:

-are from California

-have YouTube accounts

-I saw her video before I knew her

-play ukulele

-sing

-one of our parents is a convert

-lived in Provo for a little

-have Daisy Rock pink electric guitars

-loved David Archuleta and watched his American Idol journey

-also loved Casey Abrams (spell check) from American Idol

-love roller coasters

(and a couple more)

..but we had so much fun. We recorded a hymn together on her camera and decided we will start a band when we get home. She'll be home 4 months before me. Oh and pretty sweet story of the week comes here:

A random storm decided to errupt. Lightning and all. And the rain just dumped for like 10 minutes at a time. Well, we were knocking on doors and whatnot. Doing our missionary thang. We get to a door and ask if we can pray with a lady. She accepts and I begin to say a prayer. At the same time she speaks through my prayer "Hallelujah. Praise Jesus. I love you Jesus. Hallelujah!" Alright, well that's not too bad... although I was a little distracted. Well, I finished... she kept going. She was somewhat trembling and she was bawling! Her tears were all over the glass of the door and then she proceeded to grab our heads and speak in some different language very intensely. It was awesome. I really didn't know what was going on, but the rest of the day Sister Dudeck and I were wondering if she blessed us or cursed us. Not sure, but I feel pretty darn blessed. So we'll leave it at that. :)

Junalyn's baptism was Saturday! And confirmed Sunday! It is incredible to watch someone you've taught get make that first step. She was glowing as they all are. She was so ready. She is incredible and I'm so sad I won't be able to stay and watch her progress even further in the gospel. We're gonna be pen pals. She is the first person and possibly only person that I have taught and seen through baptism. I have been so blessed to have that chance.

One thing about transfers that is hard. I fell in love with every one. From the members to the investigators to the random people on the street. And those people I began to teach. Ah, I LOVE THEM!!! So that's hard. Especially because we haven't been having too much success with having people to teach until this last week of course right before I leave.

We were beginning to teach a 9 year old boy with Autism and I was so excited. We were going to have to try all different kinds of approaches and ways of teaching and I was really looking forward to it. Also, the family there totally reminded me of Duck Dynasty! Seriously, the dad was awesome and the little kids had camo pants on and everything. They (not the kids) had the beards and everything. Man, it was great. Not to mention all of their stuffed hunting prizes all over the house. Gosh, it was great.

Well, for some reason we were fed mounds of Asain food this weekend. A Philipino lady we met wanted to feed us lunch. It was really good despite my former fear of what I might be eating. However, she insisted we take all the rest home. It was probably 30 pounds of food. 30 pounds. It was ridiculous! You should look at the pictures if you get the chance. They explain everything.

Mom, thanks for my first package. It was sweet. :)

MIRACLE MOMENT!!!!

On Saturday, Sister Cox and I both felt inspired to go see this woman we met for like 3 minutes randomly one day. She lived kinda far from where we were, but we still felt we should go. We went. She opened the door bawling and completely distressed. My heart immediately ached for this lady as she told us why she was afraid. She also told us that God works in mysterious ways. We knew we hadn't gone to her door by accident. I am so sad that I won't be able to see where that goes, but it was definitely a testimony to me. The Holy Ghost does speak to us.

So we aren't teaching Terrance anymore, but I got a picture with him. Trying to get him out of his house he said "Don't you leave or I am going to KILL you." Uhhhh, yeah. We took the picture then left.

Random thing:

- I don't know why, but for some reason there are hardly ANY light posts on any of the streets. It's incredibly dark outside here too. Doesn't make much sense.

-Apparently, Washington or this Seattle area in specific (not sure) is like one of the Top 8 Not Religious areas in the world. And I'm a missionary here. Hmmm.

-I had a few other ones throughout the week, buuuut I forgot them. Sorry.

Okay, enough with those. Oh! Earlier this week we learned how to make Tamales! Guatemalan Tamales to be exact. Pretty fun. And then my last dinner in Fairwood was amazing. We got taken to a Mexican Restaurant. Felt like home.

Well, I have been able to become great friends with Sister Cox. We have too many inside jokes to count and it will be so weird parting from her. She truly loves and protects the people she cares about and loves being a missionary. She has taught me a lot and will always be my trainer. :)

It's comforting knowing that God makes,my mission what it needs to be, in order to make me the person He wants me to become. I have loved this area and these people and I have worked hard. Let's see what this next Transfer holds....

Until next time, I'll be Doin' it the Federal Way.

Love you all!

Love,

Sister Pearson. :)