An Incredible Week

I knew that when last week started off by meeting very interesting people in Wal-Mart, it was going to be a great one... and it was.

One reason was the fact that I was able to Skype my family on Christmas!!!!! And although it wasn't nearly for as long as I wanted it to be, it was one of the best Christmas gifts ever! I so look forward to seeing them again on Mother's Day. I love them!

Christmas day was good. :) We were able to feed some old folks in an Adult Family Home where several elderly people live. And we sang Christmas Carols with them and it was just really sweet. The cycle of life is incredible... seeing people heading towards the next life is humbling and hearing of their experiences is incredible.

So, I cut my finger this week... with a butter knife. It's possible.

And Sister Allen and I have had some scary experiences in the dark streets at night where we end up bolting into the car and locking the doors. Haha. I think it's just in our heads most of the time, but it's still scary. Haha!

We had an incredible lesson with a husband of a member in our ward. Selena was a member who hadn't been to church in a long time until earlier this year. Her husband Pat and her are completely in love and it's the cutest thing. He always calls her "my love" in the most genuine way, so you know by the time you leave their house that she is not just his wife, she is HIS LOVE. Haha. I have been corrected sometimes. ;P Anywho, we had our first lesson and he is feeling the Spirit so strong and everything we teach connects to his heart immediately. He will be baptized in on February 8th. He's working on changing his work schedule so that he can attend church on Sundays.

Last, but not least SAM WAS BAPTIZED, RECEIVED THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST, AND WAS CONFIRMED A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH THIS WEEK! :D

Sam is incredible! He has progressed sooo much and is blessing his family tremendously! It was amazing to see his desire fulfilled as he was baptized on Saturday. The room was full of everyone who loved and supported him, so big that we had to go to the chapel instead of just the room. Then on Sunday he was blessed to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. He is now excited to receive the Priesthood so he can bless pass the sacrament... something he has wanted to do since he came here. Miracles can happen with 14 year old boys.

Welp, transfers are already happening next week. :0 We'll see what happens this time. I really have no clue... but then again... I never do.

I hope everyone has an awesome day! And a great new year. Let's all make some New Year's Resolutions that we will remember and ones that actually matter in the long run... I really am going to try.

Matthew 6:19-21
19 Lay not up for yourselves ^atreasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves ^bbreak through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves ^atreasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor ^bsteal:
 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

OH! Here's a message I love about Fathers on earth and our Father in Heaven. It definitely puts a perspective on God's role in all of our everyday lives...even if we don't realize it. I seriously cry every time I see this. Bahaha!

http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=2119328537001

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

Love,

Sister Pearson :)

Happy December :)

Hmmm. The past several days have been pretty unique. Not like anything else since I've been on my mission... for multiple reasons, of which I'm not even completely sure... they just felt different.

One reason is probably because I've been hit with the responsibility of training a new missionary. Which is proving to be awesome. We will both learn so much from each other. :)

Another reason was simply the schedule. We had a Thanksgiving activity (I had never been to an activity where all the missionaries come together before) and we had our normal schedule switched up because Sister Allen was just getting into the field and we had to go to a new missionary meeting and do some of our Preparation Day things on a different day and whatnot, so it was a bit scrambled up... nevertheless, we are back on our feet and ready for the next 5 weeks of the transfer. :)

Because of the weirdness of the week, I forgot to take note of the things that happened so I'll just try to mention a few that I remember.

Well, a member answered there door with a handgun. That was interesting... Sister Allen said she's lucky she didn't see it or she would have ran... she's already a little apprehensive about all of the dogs around here.

Oh, Thanksgiving. We had an interesting Thanksgiving. The first part of the day we got together with half of the missionaries from the Federal Way mission and played basketball, volleyball, ping pong, board games, and had a little choir practice for the Christmas program that we are having on the 13th. That was pretty fun. :) And then the Graneys always put on a little Thanksgiving thing at the church for anyone who wants to come, so we went to that and it was nice. We later realized only a couple random people said they would feed us dessert and so we didn't really have a place to go for dinner. But the brother who said he wanted us to try his cheesecake made us some plates of food and sent us on our merry way.... then we had 3 hours of planning. Woop-woop. Happy Turkey Day. :) Hahaha!

I'm realizing now that I actually have to drive, that the darkness really gets me lost even with a GPS. Thank goodness for U turns and curbs that you can drive on. Haha:)

I told Sister Allen that she came at a unique and awesome time in the field. We were able to attend a small wedding of a couple that we are starting to teach. It was the couple that delivered their twins extremely early and lost one of them. Well, the surviving twin is now with them at home finally and he is ADORABLE! And they were married on Saturday and we are now teaching them tonight... at President Eaton's home! No pressure. Haha. :) No, it should be amazing. We have so much hope for this sweet couple. They are examples of how a little nugget baby can truly change people. God has definitely had His eye on them and has a lot in store for them.

So yesterday we walked up to a couple who was putting up Christmas lights. We said hi and walked up, started talking about their lights and then said "Oh, there's a Nativity even happ..."  "Don't hand that to us, we will reject it. We are Atheists." *door shuts* Hmmm. We were taken a little off guard with that one. Haha! It was a tad confusing, but all is well. They were nice.

It's supposedly going to snow today. We had to scrape our windows for the first time the other day. This is going to be good. Haha:)

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is enjoying this awesome time of year. :)

Love,

Sister Pearson :)

I am thankful for...

Well last week was pretty awesome. And both Sister Hopkins and I knew that that was probably a hint that something was about to change during transfers. We were right. My trusty companion of 12 weeks, Sister Hopkins has now moved to a new area in Federal Way. I remain here in Kent. To my surprise, I was also called to be a trainer to a brand new missionary. My hands are full and I would be lying if I said I wasn't a tad bit overwhelmed.... BUT we all are going through our own refiner's fire. The fire is scary, but luckily we know that there is a good outcome in the end if we're trying our best.

Wow. So many things have happened in the past week I'm not sure I will be able to write about them all, but I will try.

We taught a woman who said her first vocal prayer. It was incredible.

We made Sam a cookie, guitar cake for his birthday. It was priceless.

We sang some hymns at an old folks home Sunday morning. It was awesome.

We got ushered into a house of only Chinese speaking people. It was hilarious.

The other day we were walking down a neighborhood street and there was a small group of Hispanic kids and man probably in his 20's with them. The kids called at us saying "We're Catholic!" And we walked up to them. The man was super excited and was trying to speak to us, but only knew Spanish. (I poorly attempted to communicate with him with my broken Freshman year Spanish skills.) With the help of the little boys translating, we found out he was in a missionary position for the Spanish branch in Enumclaw. He excitedly grabbed his phone and showed us pictures of him with three people that had been baptized recently. He was glowing. He had only been here I think 3 months. Him and his parents are the only members in his family and they are from Mexico. It was just awesome to see someone so excited about serving the Lord.

We also knocked on the door of a woman who told us she was almost baptized when she was in high school. She said she had been taught everything and had a testimony that it was true, but her mom wouldn't allow her. She had 6 months to wait until she was 18 and in that time lost her way and was never baptized. She seemed pretty excited when we talked to her, but now her husband isn't too keen about everything. So we just wait and pray that she will be able to do what she wanted so badly to do earlier in her life.

Awesome service experience:

We had just finished helping a man load some wood in his truck, but it only took about 30 minutes to do it. On our way home we passed a Lutheran church with some people who seemed to be digging in the dirt alongside it. We drove into the parking lot and asked if they wanted some help. They were thrilled. We helped them dig and fill holes to plant trees in for a couple hours. It was sweet. :)

This week is going to be somewhat weird. We've had transfers and then new missionary training meetings and then Thanksgiving and everything. It's wild. And come Saturday there will be a small wedding between a couple that we are hoping to be able to teach soon. They're baby just got home from the hospital today after being there for about a month. We are super excited for them.

My new companion is Sister Allen from Cedar City Utah. So far all of my companions have been from Utah. She is super sweet and I look forward to these next 6 weeks with her. I know she will teach me a lot.

Welp. I think miracles are in the forefront. I love you all and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I'll be doin' it the Federal Way.

Love,
Sister Pearson. :)

4 Months and Counting...

That's right brothers and sisters.... I've been out a whole 4 months, now just a measly 14 to go. Hahaha! Time sure flies. :P

SOMEONE LET US SERVE THEM FINALLY! Sister Hopkins and I got the pleasure of raking up leaves at Sister Morse's house the other day! We were SO excited! Most people don't take up our offer when we ask to do service for them... even though we truly absolutely 100% want to! (We get to wear jeans when we do service.) So that was nice. Then she showed us her husband's bee hives and gave us some full on organic honey from their bees. :) Can't beat that.

Man, I have a lot to look forward to on my mission, but also because I am serving a mission I have a lot to look forward to afterwards. Our Bishop invited us to go boating with him when we get back and the Moons offered to take us to Costa Rica! Ah, blessing from the Lord. It's true... no matter how much we try to serve God, He will always bless us even more. Our service will never amount to the things God gives us.

Somewhat embarrassing moment. Beginning a lesson with a family, I prayed for the family using what I though was their last name because that's what the records said... after, the wife asked, "What did you say was our last name?" I replied. Turns out that is her last name from her previous marriage. Her current husband was sitting right next to her. That made me feel good.

Low and behold, I have some grand news to share.... OUR GARBAGE DISPOSAL IS AGAIN FULLY FUNCTIONING! :) And we left the maintenance worker some cookies with a sticky note and he wrote back. :) That was fun.

For some reason, I seem to have adapted a bad and painful habit of getting excited and opening doors on my knees. I think I will have continually bruised knees for the next 14 months.

The work has been pretty hard the past several weeks, I'm not going to lie. But there are always blessings when we are serving the Lord. We have been a part of reactivating two members who had fallen away for some time and it is wonderful to see that happiness and hope restored to them. We also were able to find 4 new investigators this weekend! We have high hopes for the next couple weeks. :)

I have realized to every negative thing we have a choice of a positive or negative reaction. I am trying to acquire a habit of gratitude still and boy is it hard. I have to realize that God doesn't just give us something without some effort on our part. When we pray for gratitude He gives us opportunities to be grateful. When we pray for patience He gives us opportunities to be patient. It's really up to us if we get what we are asking for a lot of the time.

Well, I don't have too much else to say. :) I love you all and hope all is well.

I have also been SO excited to hear that Martin MacNeil has been officially charged guilty for the murder of my aunt Michele! I am sad that I wasn't there to hear it announced, but to all of my family I give a big hug. Heavenly Father heard all of our prayers and now we can all find a little more peace knowing justice has been served.

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

Much Love,

Sister Pearson. :)

Well Howdy!

Another week, another week, another week.

Well, I hope you all had a fun Halloween. We had to be in our apartment by 5:30, so it wasn't to festive of a holiday. Although, we did have ONE knock on the door. It was three little girls who in their squealing excitement decided I really looked like Hannah Montana. Don't think that one is ever going to die out... a member that just moved into the ward told me the same thing. Still counting the tallies on that one.

To our disappointment, our garbage disposal broke last Monday and maintenance hasn't come to fix it yet. It's smelly and gross, but I suppose we'll appreciate it a lot more once it is fixed. Also, we woke up to find a present on our porch from the neighborhood car that has been named Socks by former Sisters in the apartment. A cute little mouse... with its throat bit out. We still haven't moved it, I'm not sure why. But he's been there for days now. Maybe we'll try to get rid of him today.

The weather has been surprisingly pleasant over here, except for one day. It was super windy. Made me feel like I was at home. Only difference is you would hear big cracks and trees and branches would all be falling from the skies. The roads turned completely brown from all the old pine needles and stuff and then green on top from all of the branches. It was pretty sweet. A lot of the members' electricity went out.

Last night we had a fun little experience. It was 8:30 and we work until 9 everyday so wanting to use all of our time, we decided to go visit someone. We parked on the road and it was, as usual pitch black darkness. The driveway was a little longer than most and we made our way to the door. The lights were on in the home so we thought we might be in luck. We knocked. All the dogs went crazy in the house. No one answered. We look back over our shoulder and notice a truck going SUPER slow past our car. Frozen we thought of all the possibilities. Then the truck reversed back past our car again. There we were sitting on some stranger's porch who wasn't going to answer. The truck proceeded to pull into the tip of the driveway making it so if we were to walk back to our car we would be walking straight into its headlights. We didn't really have any other option than that, so we walked into the lights of the truck and a man was outside of it. He lived there apparently and was a little freaked out... I don't blame him. Seeing a car parked outside and two people's shadows on his porch. Anywho, he said, "You know you're cute, but seriously you can't be doing this. You can't go out at this time or after any of the Seahawk games okay? You just can't." We apologized and shook his hand. He wanted to know our first names, but we didn't give them. He said, "You need to loosen up." He told us he just went hunting and got some birds, so I asked if we could see them. He was kind of excited to show them off and they were pretty good birds. Then we said a prayer with him and right after his son who was in the house when we knocked came out and he made us say a prayer with him too and then he sent us on our way. Fun night.

So this week I tried being creative to talk to people and it didn't work out. We started talking to this guy who was cleaning his garage and I related it to how we have to clean out our lives sometimes, that's why we go to church. And his immediate response was, "Honestly, I don't care." He turned his back to us and walked away. Haha! Nice try Sister Pearson!

Yesterday Sister Hopkins almost lit our apartment on fire. She has been playing with this candle for weeks and it finally gave in and the glass started cracking. The flame was growing a little because throughout the weeks she had been throwing the matches into the candle. So I look over last night and see a huge flame go up into the air taller than he head and hear a little scream from her. She put water on it. Haha.

Yesterday, I got a slap in the face at church. The lesson was on gratitude. Seems simple enough doesn't it? Not really. I just realized how ungrateful I've been for the past couple weeks. A lot of the time we focus on things we don't have or that we're bad at... whether it be material things, personal characteristics, talents, etc. Or out in the mission for example, how many lessons we teach or whatever it may be. One of the things that was mentioned was that if we live our lives with gratitude we will be able to endure our adversities with a happier disposition... and eventually we will be able to be grateful for our challenges. Gratitude is being grateful for what you have now. Right now I am a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and I am grateful to be. Gratitude is more than saying thank you... we show our gratitude through our actions. I just realized I really need to work on that more. Ah, life is a journey.

Random Fact:

(Don't know if this is really accurate, but someone told me it) This area, I don't know if was just Washington or this area in specific, is noted as the most unfriendly in the nation.... I think they mean the most reserved or something, but hey who knows. Hmmmm...

Either way miracles are happening. Whether their big or small. And God loves every single one of us. And I love you all too!

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

Love, Sister Pearson:)

P.S. For those of you who don't know too much about the LDS church or our beliefs I strongly suggest Our Search For Happiness by M. Russell Ballard or check out mormon.org  :) You can actually chat with missionaries online to ask any questions! :)

Well. It is true.

Missions honestly warp your sense of time. The days feel like months and the weeks feel like days. I don't know how it works, but that's literally what it is. This transfer has been extremely slow, but terribly fast. I cannot believe that I am already at my 5th week here in Lake Sawyer. It just doesn't feel real.

The true Washington has revealed itself to me. No more sunshine or heat. Just rain, rain, and more rain. Cold rain. It's sometimes annoying, but doesn't bother me much really... not yet anyways. We'll see how I feel about it next year.

Some interesting things have happened this week. I love that about missions. Always interesting. It's awesome. Aside from the fact that we watched a spider spinning it's web at a doorstep, we witnessed a crow attacking a squirrel, and I made Sister Hopkins the first PB&J she's eaten since being on her mission (I don't know how that's possible. My first week I had PB&J for breakfast, lunch, and dinner multiple times), there are a couple other things I will remember.

We got out of our car to begin tracting... we've been doing A LOT of that lately. And I cat came to greet us. Turns out the cat liked us and decided to follow us for 30 minutes. It would go up to all of the doors and listen to the dogs sniffing on the other side. I accidentally shut it in a few of the screen doors. It was tripping me. I tried shooing it away, but Sister Hopkins couldn't resist. Sooo, we get to a door. And a soon as the door cracks open BOOM! Two dogs bolt threw the doors to attack the cat. Their frantic, shoeless owner was running behind them until she realized she needed shoes. I threw my bag and tried getting the dogs. I asked her if she would like me to pick the one up and bring it inside (somewhat expecting her to say no). She said yes. That thing was a lead ball. Surprisingly enough, she wasn't to upset. Although she did say "I knew I shouldn't have answered the door." Welp, that always makes you feel loved.

Another one. One house had a little mud room type thing in the front of it and we didn't know whether we should knock on that door or the actual door inside. I started going inside to knock on the actual door when the door swung open to reveal a lady inside. A voice in the background  yelled "WHO IS IT?!?!?!" And the woman looking at me yelled back at her "It's some WHITE lady!" I quickly left the mud room and we talked to the woman who was cooking dinner at 3 PM outside. Looks like I'm still the white girl here in Washington too.

It was Sister Hopkin's 5 month mark this week and she had never had a Jack in the Box taco. That was unacceptable, so I bought her some in celebration. Don't worry I got her some Cold Stone too.

One story I forgot to mention last week was about an awesome lady in the ward who had me and Sister Hopkins cracking up the whole time we were at dinner. She is from Poland. Went to school in England. Her friend from Peru was talking the missionary lessons, and being raised Catholic I believe, the Polish lady joined her friend to make sure she didn't join the Church. The Polish woman ended up getting baptized before her friend. Looks like her view turned around a bit. Anywho, she is a married woman with three kids and she's literally in love with Jacob Black. That is probably common and it wouldn't entertain me half as much with anyone else, but it is just so much funnier hearing her talk about him in her awesome accent. That night, her teenage son farted across the table while we were all eating and she said in her accent "Goo to yhour rhoom yew deesgustin vittle boy." It was great.

So we have been offering everyone we see to mow their lawns and help them in their yard and everything. I guess they honestly don't think girls in skirts can do much. Sad, sad, sad. Everyone underestimates us. Even after promising them that we are being serious they just laugh at us. Maybe someday they'll let us.

I was soooo happy I was able to attend Kayden's baptism from my last area on Saturday. Kayden was a 9 year old boy who has some form of Autism I believe. Maybe Asperger's..? I'm not sure. I just know he is a genius and he's incredible. He was so well behaved and wonderful that day and he definitely knew what he was doing. You could tell that he really wanted his sins washed away and he wanted to try to follow Christ. The first day I met him he told me how much God loved him because he saved him when he was born really sick.

Also, the Relief Society broadcast was on Saturday and it was amazing. Crazy to see all the Sister Missionaries in the choir. I saw two girls from BYU in it. One going to Texas, the other to Tahiti. Anywho, I absolutely loved hearing from President Monson. It's incredible to hear a Prophet of God. I know I haven't taken full advantage of it growing up because I never really took the time to think about it. Someone like Noah or Abraham or Moses speaking to us. Telling us, as they told the people of their time, things that we need to hear. Things to help us. President Monson talked about how God has an infinite love for each and everyone of us regardless of position, status, or personality. Which sounds cliche, but it is soooo true. It's the small things like that that are repeated over and over because we constantly need to be reminded. Ah, we are just so human sometimes. He also talked about prayer and how we should turn to prayer whenever we have feelings of doubt or discouragement or anything really.

I am so privileged to be out here serving the Lord. I seriously can't believe that I have 18 months to try to forget myself and love everyone else. There are amazing people in this world. I know that I'm doing what God wants me to be doing right now because I still love all these people who are slamming their doors on me. I even love whoever is sitting next to me here in the library who smells like old cheese and mold. :) Ah, life is wonderful.

Miss and love you all! 

Love,

Sister Pearson. :)

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. :)

Papaya Salad

Ahhhhh! This week has been insane, but every insane thing makes me happier and happier. Life is just good. :)

Well let me begin my letting you know one of the sources that has brought me the utmost joy this week... I got a hold of a guitar!!!! Woooohoooo! My callouses have already disappeared so even playing it my fingers are sore all over again. I am going to be singing at a Junalyn's baptism this Saturday. I'm going to sing the same song medley I sang at my nephew Payton's baptism a while back. Sister Cox is really throwing me under the bus with the singing thing too because now I'm singing at our District Meeting on Tuesday. Haha, I don't mind. I need to do that. A big aspect that President Eaton (my Mission President) has been focusing on is using your talents. So that's what I'm gonna do. Although, I will probably have to return the guitar back after the baptism. It's a teen in the wards and I told him I'd teach him some chords. He's a funny kid. So often on my lunch breaks Sister Cox and I have been making up so pretty incredible songs. Bahaha! All about mission life and inside jokes that we have along the way. It's great.

We had yet another exchange this past week. I got to spend it in my area with Sister Hill. She is from Utah... like most of them have been. It was good. She has pictures... I don't. So I don't know if I'll ever see those again. Haha. During the exchange we were able to teach Carol. A woman we've seen once a week each week for the past like 4 weeks. Every time we see her I'm on an exchange so it's always me and another Sister. It's interesting. She is amazing. She has the best questions and she is slowly, but surely progressing. The teaching circumstances are a little confusing, so it's kind of a difficult arrangement, but I've got nothing but faith in what's to come. :) It's incredible to watch people change.

Soooo... like I said before the week has been pretty crazy. Pretty dang peculiar actually. Some of it I will not put in this email... just due to lack of time. But let's just say there are creepers in ALL areas of the world. Haha. :) The rest I will mail to my mom. BUT although there are creepers, there are many brilliant people on this earth and it's a beautiful thing really. I LOVE meeting every one. So many unique people. It's awesome.

Sooooo.... we haven't been having to much success with finding people who actually want to meet with us again.

Ha. Sweet, right? Yup. So we decided we'd tract (go door to door) for 8 hours on Saturday!!!! Woohooo! ;) I actually loved it. We went to a slightly more rural place and started knocking. From there we met some potential investigators and one actually wanted us to come back next Sunday so we're on for that. At the end of our road the most friendly guy was like "HEYYYYY! SISTERSSS! How are you doing?! Are you thirsty? Can I get you some water? So you're Sisters does that make me Brother?" He. Was. Awesome. So he got us some water. We actually caught him as he was unloading some trailer thing. He told us he sells stuff at the Farmer's Market somewhere and we were like wow cooooool. And he excitedly offers for us to sample. (assuming it was fruit or something) We were quick to accept the offer. It was not fruit. It was a Philipino "Papaya Salad" of some sort. His special recipe. It had like papaya noodle things and lime peels and tomato chunks and peppers and some sort of fish oil juice stuff all saturated in it. So he grabs a fork and wraps it around it and gives it to us. (of course my fork had the much larger bite on it) I turned around so I could fit the whole thing in my mouth and I almost DIED! It was horrific! I literally was gagging and thought I wasn't going to be able to handle it! Not only was it super spicy, but something about it was just awful. I turned around and tried to muster up a small grin... and probably a thumbs up. All the while making small eye contact with Sister Cox expressing my feelings of "I'm going to die." Of course he suggested we take the small bowl of it. We went to the apartment, took a couple pictures, and sadly had to dump it. Ahhh. Every day I am more grateful to be in Washington. I just don't think I could eat Papaya Salad one more time... one more bite of it for that matter.

Aside from the papaya salad, yesterday we were making a right turn (Sister Cox drives) and some impatient man behind us is on our tail. We literally couldn't go yet and he HIT OUR CAR! ...and then flipped us off. We motioned to pull over to the side to be safe and there he went. Speeding away into the distance. Luckily the car had no damage, but our day was made a little more interesting. Gotta love it. :)

During our tracting endeavors, we went to some apartments. I just think it's really funny when the person answers the door and immediately after we introduce ourselves he says sorry, sorry, sorry as they slowly inch the door shut on our faces. Sir, there's no need to be sorry just tell us to leave. Haha, people crack me up. :)

We have been trying to meet a lady, but haven't been able to catch her. However, her dad is there everytime. They are Hindu or Hindi (I don't know which term to use) and where formerly living in Fiji. It's amazing how praying with someone at their doorway can help them. We had seen him a couple times and this week we went back and he told us how much we had been helping him. We are getting him a Hindi Book of Mormon and meeting him next week. He's awesome.

So Junalyn is super excited for her baptism this Saturday. So am I! It's soooo amazing to see someone so ready! She was definitely someone God had been preparing. She will be the first person I have taught her entire time up to her baptism. :) Something I will never forget.

Life as a missionary is so strange. Time is definitely weird. I can't believe the first transfer will be happening on the 2nd. I don't know what it holds. I am terrified. Haha. :) But we will see. What I do know is with hard work, God will help. Prayer is real and we are ALL on our own timelines. What's my best won't be someone else's best. What's someone else's journey won't be mine. Luckily, God is the judge. :) What I am continuing to learn is there is ALWAYS hope. No matter what situation someone is in there is always more. More room to progress to have a better life, to be happier, to know more. I love that about life. God never wanted us to settle for anything. He always wants us to become more. That's something I love about the gospel. It's never about being complacent about where you are... it's about going and doing more and becoming more! :)

A couple weird things for everyone...

The clouds seem so close around you over here, you feel like you're in a snow globe.

Everyone picks black berries over here. Everyone. In fact the first person I ever approached on my own was picking black berries... too bad he didn't speak English.

It is SO diverse here! I love it. I have prayed with Muslims, Christians, Catholics, Buddists, Athiests and many more.

Welp, life keeps moving on. Before I know it, it will be 2 months. Time moves fast. I just keep trying to be a little better each day. :)

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

Love you all!

Sister Mikayla Pearson :)

MTC and 1st week in Washington

Saying bye to Uncle and Cousins

Saying bye to Brian

Companion (next to Mikayla) and 2 other Sisters at the MTC

Bed at the MTC 

Mikayla and Companion

Flight to Washington

Standing behind a really tall guy

A member's home in Washington

Room in Washington

Room in Washington