Things Fall Apart

Well, everything fell through this past week. Literally every single appointment we had was either cancelled or the person wasn't home (with one exception where we were able to reschedule for the next day). I'm pretty sure Heavenly Father is blessing me with a sense of humor, because I honestly think that is hilarious. What are the odds that the 10 or so lessons we had scheduled wouldall fall through? Apparently 100% in this area.  How bizarre is that? Sister Bobbitt and I are both amazed that that actually happened. 

Despite everything falling through, it was a pretty good week! We went out with our Relief Society President a couple times to try to see less-actives (surprise, surprise, no one was every home). There were a couple people who we were able to see (but not teach) and it was really good to help the RS president get in touch with these people.

We have also been working really well with the members. Sister Bobbitt had this idea a couple weeks ago that we are putting into reality. She of course, any time she tells people about it, says that 'we' came up with it. For the record, the idea was all hers. I had absolutely no part in the idea, I'm just helping it become a reality. Her idea was that we should start teaching members similar to the way we teach investigators. The lessons we teach investigators are set up in such a way that we teach principles, extend commitments, and follow up to help them progress. In order to help members with their own missionary work, she felt that we should do the same kind of thing. She came up with about 6 things that are vital to being a full-time missionary and we adapted them to fit members who are not full-time missionaries. The first lesson we teach members is about obtaining the Spirit early in the day. (For those of you who are curious, the others are receiving revelation, gaining gospel knowledge, answering questions, starting gospel conversations, and extending invitations.) We just started this week, so we haven't taught anything but this first lesson to members, but it has been awesome!! The Spirit has always been really strong in their home when we are there. We have gotten about 3-4 times the amount of referrals we normally get from members and we are really hoping that some of them are interested. Apparently the boss of one of the young women has a (really fancy) copy of the Book of Mormon on her nightstand, so we are really excited about that one! 

OH! Another cool story! Sometimes when everything falls through, you end up being led to exactly where you are supposed to be. We were trying to contact potentials investigators and, of course, no one was home or interested. We realized that we were close to a less-active that we had tried to see earlier in the week with the Relief Society President. She hadn't been home that time (noticing a pattern yet?) but we thought maybe she would be now. So we stopped by and she was home!! She is from the Dominican Republic, and doesn't speak too much English, so it was a very simple lesson, but the Spirit was definitely there. She told us that the night before, her mom (who we are pretty sure is not a member) had a dream about us. She told her daughter about it the morning before we came over. Her mom said that she had a dream that missionaries were coming and that she 'needed to make room to receive them'. How cool is that?! We gave her information to the Hermanas so that they can teach her and her family. I know that we were supposed to be there at that time and that we were led there. It took everything else falling through, but hey, the Lord truly does work in mysterious ways. 

I know that this gospel and this church are true. I wouldn't be here in the humidity, surrounded by hardcore Baptists if it wasn't. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that it stands alongside the Bible in bearing witness of Jesus Christ. I know that He lives. The Savior who died for each of us lives. His resurrection is real and eternal. I know that repentance is possible because of the Atonement. I am so grateful for the knowledge that Christ suffered, died, and rose again for me. His Atonement is infinite and individual. It is available to every person who has ever lived and every person who ever will live. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is truly His church established once again in its fullness. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the Lord's chosen prophet and that revelation has not ceased. I know that God has not left us alone or in the dark. He will always reach out in love to His children. All He asks is that we seek Him. Pray. He is there. He hears you. He loves you. 

Love y'all

Sister Pyper

Reasons I love my companion

 After getting a scratch somehow, she insisted on cleaning it for me and giving me a band-aid. With a light saber. 

She also looks super cute when she makes faces when we take pictures <3

Sister Bobbitt has a green thumb

She put half an apple in the fridge and ta-da! The seed started sprouting! 

Apparently I take lots of pictures of bug-related things??

So, there are these webs everywhere and they are huge. It looks like they are made by some kind of caterpillar? 

Look at this ridiculousness

I did absolutely nothing to my hair this morning. Thank you NC humidity for making it curly all the time. 

The Mystery Mobile: Apocalypse edition

​I feel like this is what Scooby Doo & Company would do in a zombie outbreak. 

Miracles beyond description

Oh my goodness this past week was AMAZING!!!! When I first got here, the average number of lessons per week was 4-5. This past week we had 12! And we found 10 new investigators! That was double our goal. The Lord is definitely hastening the work in this area. I honestly don't even know what we did this week to have so much success, but whatever it was clearly worked :)

Well, I guess I kind of know what we did. We were really trying to follow the Spirit more this week. We went on exchanges and Sister Peterson and I both felt like we should try to find apartments/town homes to tract. We made a list of places that looked promising and prayed about where the Lord wanted us to go. We both felt good about a particular street, so that's where we went. We found 2 new investigators and got 7 referrals! Whoever said Wake Forest is a dead area has clearly never come to this street :) The work has grown so much in this area since I have been here and I am so grateful to play a small part in it. Following the Spirit is key in everything we do. We were trying to contact some potential investigators when I realized we were near an investigator we haven't been able to get up with. We decided to stop by to see if she was home. She wasn't, but her neighbors were just getting home. Sister Bobbitt turned and knocked on their door before we left. Hello 4 new investigators!!

Lynda continues to be amazing!!! We had explained that she needs to come to church the two Sundays before her baptism in order to get baptized on the 20th. Yesterday, she was feeling sick in the morning but really wanted to come. When we saw her, she told us that she had prayed that morning for the strength to go to church so that she can get baptized on the 20th. Even though she was dizzy and kind of nauseous, she came. What a trooper! After Sunday School, the elders gave her a blessing. She said she instantly felt better. I am so grateful for the priesthood and that we have access to the blessings that we need. Oh! We also set a baptismal date with Lynda's son Jonathan!!

Sometimes we have days where we find lots of people, and sometimes we have days where no one wants to talk to us. Saturday was the latter. We had an appointment with a less-active member of the ward. We go to her house right on time and knocked. No answer. Rang the doorbell, no answer. Rang again, we heard someone come to the door. *click* Yep, that was the door being locked. So we decide to call her. After leaving a voicemail and knocking again, we decide to just go eat our lunch. We parked on the street near her house and started eating. Not even 5 minutes later, the person we had gone to see pulls out of the driveway and leaves. To me, that was just hilarious. PSA: Missionaries will not egg your house if you tell them you don't want to talk. Promise. Personally, I would much prefer someone to just flat out tell us they aren't interested rather than trying to hide. Although I did think it was hilarious. A similar thing happened with someone else that we stopped by. We knew they were home, but no one answered the door. We left a card, and 5 minutes later it was gone. Sometimes I think I have been blessed to not care. Not in the sense that I don't like people, but things like this don't offend me. I honestly just think it's funny. 

Hmmmm, what else happened this week? I can't think of anything specific, so here's a list of some of the ridiculous things that happened

-while talking to someone, a girl in another room kept shouting random things to the girl we were talking to. maybe they were drunk, maybe not?

-someone we talked to referred us to their neighbor who is a member of the ward

-almost got the cops called on us (for something that isn't even illegal)

-a kid answered the door and immediately said "don't come back" when we apologized and started leaving, he said "wait, who are you? I thought you were one of my friends" After we explained that we were missionaries, he told us we would have to come back later :)

-after a lesson fell through, the members who came with us took us to dinner. The dinner that they were originally planning on being a date. Yep, they practically begged us to crash their date

I can't even begin to describe how incredibly grateful I am to be serving the Lord as a missionary. I know that this is His work. For some reason, He trusts me enough to allow me to play a role in it. I am reminded every day that I am not the one who can convert people. I am merely the one who provides an opportunity for people to hear the truth. I know that this church is true. I know that Joseph Smith did see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I know without a doubt that the priesthood is real and that it is found only in Christ's restored church. I know that my family can be eternal through that priesthood authority. That is the greatest blessing I could ever ask for. Knowing that my family can be mine, forever, makes me happier than anything else in this world. That is why I am here, to help others to experience the joy that I have found. 

Love y'all

Sister Pyper

For some reason, we have a tortilla press in our apartment. After getting a recipe from a member, we made tortillas! 

So apparently cicadas are huge???

So, on exchanges, Sister Peterson noticed a dead cicada on someone's porch. So of course we picked it up. I had no idea they were this big. 

Who would have thought I would ever be grateful for Pokemon??

I'm not sure if y'all are aware of this new app called Pokemon Go! The fact that I am aware of it, as a low-tech missionary, is a good indicator of how huge it is. It's an app where you can walk around and hunt for Pokemon. There are certain places that have lots of Pokemon, places like parks and downtown Wake Forest. Sister Bobbitt and I thought it was funny that it took an app to get people outside :) But it is surprisingly really good for us as missionaries. We try to go to the park near our house about once a week to contact people. We went last week and there were so many people there! We couldn't figure out why at first, until we noticed that just about everyone was on their phone. Thank you Pokemon for getting people outside. Especially in Carolina humidity. Most people are slaves to the AC, but apparently Pokemon hunting takes priority. What a weird reality shift. 

Oh! Tiny but impressive miracle from Saturday. We had biked to a neighborhood near us to go tracting. While we were talking to people, I could hear some thunder in the distance. It wasn't close enough that I worried about it, but I could tell the storm was coming in. We biked back home when it was time to go back, getting home right at 9 pm (curfew for missionaries). Sister Bobbitt had unlocked the door and was taking her bike inside and I had just gotten on the porch when instantly it started pouring. Literally right after I got under cover. The Lord definitely blesses us when we are obedient. The storm was still going on after we finished planning, so I prayed that our home would be protected and that we would be kept safe. Not even a minute later, the storm started dying down. So prayers definitely work, even in the smallest details. 

Lynda (our golden investigator, the one with a baptismal date) said something really sweet this past week. She told us that "being friends with y'all makes me want to know God more". Awwwwww! I love being able to play a small part in this daughter of God coming to know her Father more and receive the blessings of the gospel.

It's amazing to see how the Lord prepares people in ways we can't imagine. A former Baptist Seminary student is not who I would have imagined would be ready to hear the restored gospel, but clearly that is why I am not in charge of this work, the Lord is. I am so very grateful for that. This truly is His work and He is very much involved in it. I know that I could not do any of the things I have been able to be a part of without His hand. He does everything from stopping storms to inspiring someone to make an app to get people outside is :) I heard someone say that all of the technology we have access to today has a divine source and was created so that more of Heavenly Father's children can hear His gospel. My testimony of that has increased this week. We have been able to use lots of different methods to teach this past week. We had phone lessons, text lessons, and a couple Facebook lessons. It is amazing to see how much good can be done with the tools we already use every day. 

Love y'all

Sister Pyper

Our trio's down to two (post this one)

Yes, that was a Lion King reference. It is perfectly applicable. We got our mini missionary Tuesday night and she went back home yesterday. Her name is Sister Andrews and she is from another stake in our mission. She is only 18 and is already planning on going on a mission! She is just about the sweetest person I have ever met. She is not even 5 feet tall and she has a super soft voice. It was impossible to get frustrated with her around (which was a great blessing. We met a lot of anti people this week and got dropped by some investigators. More on that later.). Being in a trio was very different at first, but I got used to it quickly and now it feels a little strange to only have one companion. Sister Andrews has a great desire to learn and to serve and she sincerely loves people. It was really sweet to get to know her and to remember what it was like to be a brand-new missionary. I think I could totally handle being in a trio for an entire transfer. 

So....sometimes as missionaries you find someone who seems really prepared and you fall in love with them. And sometimes those people end up dropping you. That happened to us this past week. We had been teaching an older couple named Larry & Donna. They are super sweet and were so open to listening. Donna had read about 14 chapters of the Book of Mormon in a week and we were so excited! Last time we saw them we committed her to pray to know if the Book of Mormon was true. When we went to see them on Friday, we sat down and Donna says "So I prayed. I got three different answers. I don't think they are the answers you hoped for". *cue Sarah McLachlan music* She wold us that she prayed three times and got a different answer each time. Each time she felt drawn to a verse in the Bible that talks about Christ and how He is the only way to Heavenly Father. To her, that was her answer that she is good where she is and that her path is different than ours. It was so sad to see that she had prayed for an answer with an answer already in her heart. Hopefully something will change in the future and they will want to meet with missionaries again. We were kind of bummed about it until we talked to our district leader. He said that, even though it's sad that they dropped us, we have that time that we would have seen them to find those who are ready. That helped us a lot. We are going to work hard to find a lot this week and pray that we will have the Spirit to guide us. 

Missionary work isn't always depressing though!! There were so many wonderful moments this week where we knew that we were in the right place at the right time. One of them was Nancy. Nancy is being taught officially by the elders, but we sit by her in Relief Society and she will often ask us questions. She wanted to take us out to dinner this week, so we met her at a local pizza place. She had had a baptismal date for this Friday, but that isn't going to happen this week. At dinner, she told us about how she had 'cancelled her baptism' and explained why she felt that she isn't ready yet. We were able to listen and help her resolve her concerns. She really understands how importance baptism is and she does not want to take it lightly. We were able to help her understand the commitments she is asked to make and helped her to feel less worried. I couldn't love her more if she was actually our investigator. Although we weren't the ones to find her and we aren't the ones officially teaching her, I know that Sister Bobbitt and I are both meant to be here to help her. In district meeting, someone said once that each of us has a purpose in our area and that we each have a specific person we are in our area for. Sometimes that person is an investigator of yours, sometimes it is not. I love seeing how the Lord puts in where He needs us to be and allows us to be His instruments in blessing the lives of His children. I know that He is intimately aware of each and every single one of us. 

Love y'all

Sister Pyper

Our mini missionary :)

I miss Sister Andrews already :( But she promised to keep in touch and let us know when she gets her mission call!!

And I'm.......staying in Wake Forest!!!

Guess who's training? If you guessed me, you would be half-right. Sister Bobbitt and I are hosting a mini-missionary this coming week!! I had never heard of mini-missions until I was a missionary, but it is an awesome idea! Priest/Laurel age youth (at least in this mission, not sure if other missions do this) can spend a week with full-time missionaries and do everything with them. They have to follow all the same rules and standards that we do and they get to participate in every part of missionary work, from district meeting to weekly planning. I'm really looking forward to meeting whoever she is and giving her a taste of missionary life! The best part is that I totally joked that Sister Bobbitt and I could be trio training, and we kind of are! We didn't get transfer news until Sunday morning (we usually get it Saturday night), so we were both a little anxious. A member of the mission presidency called us and said that we had been recommended to host this mini-missionary and asked if we would be willing to do that. Of course we said yes! We are both excited to stay in Wake Forest and stay together.

Remember the miracle investigator we found a couple weeks ago by calling a wrong number? We were finally able to meet her in person this past week! Her name is Keisha and she is amazing!! She is a single mom of 3 and sets such a good example for her kids . She has never been baptized before (that alone is a miracle!!) and really wants to come closer to God and learn more about him. Good thing we can help her with all of those things :) 

Wise quote from my companion: "Walk towards God, don't just face Him" We have to do more than simply claim to believe, we must live our lives in a way that shows our belief. Just like we don't plan a vacation and never get on the plane, we can't be prepared to live with Heavenly Father if we don't practice now. We show our faith as we take a step forward, not knowing exactly which way the path is going to take us. Having faith in the One who marked the path allows us to move forward into the unknown. 

We had a great lesson with our investigators Larry and Donna (I kept mixing up their names and saying "Darry". Luckily it was only in front of Sister Bobbitt)  this past week. Donna has been reading the Book of Mormon and read about 8 chapters in 4 days. That's better than I can do right now! She read in 1 Nephi 13 about the different churches and asked us what was meant by 'the great and abominable church'. Oh boy, that was a slightly scary question. I really did not want to offend her, but I also knew that it is my calling to testify of the truth. We were able to explain to her that there are ultimately only two churches: Christ's and the devil's. We explained that only Christ's church has His authority and the fullness of His gospel. She was really humble and wanted to learn, which meant that she was able to feel the Spirit as we testified of the Restoration and the priesthood. 

Love y 'all

Sister Pyper

Yep, another day, another storm here in NC. It's almost like clockwork how often it storms. Of course, that meant that I had to go outside to enjoy the rain. Everyone thinks Seattle gets lots of rain, but it is nothing compared to here. 

Once upon a time, Sister Bobbitt decided to pick out my outfit. I love not having to decide what to wear :)

Exchanges with Sister Macrum

Can I use the scriptures to banish bugs?

Well, summer has definitely hit here in NC. Thunderstorms are a regular occurrence now. At one point, I was keeping track of which days there was a storm. For about a week and a half, there was one every single day. The storms are a nice way to bring down the temperature, but they also increase the humidity. And bring all the bugs out of hiding. Some days I wish NC was one of the missions that allowed pants to keep the bugs away:) I came home one night with 35 bug bites (probably because that was the one day I forgot to put on bug spray). Poor Sister Bobbitt though. For some reason, the bugs like her better. She has consistently had double the amount of bites I have. Another fun side effect of all the storms: the roads steam. It is a bit strange to see steam coming off the roads after a storm, I'm not used to it that warm after it rains. It looks pretty though. 

I have spent a lot of the past week trying to memorize scriptures. The mission recently created a list of scriptures for us to work on memorizing. The purpose is to help us be more familiar with the scriptures, be more prepared for lessons, and be able to teach better. As I looked through the list of 187 scriptures, I realized that there were a lot that I had memorized in seminary that I still remembered. Take seminary and scripture mastery seriously, kids! It is a huge blessing to be able to have the words of God immediately come to mind. There have been multiple times when I was able to remember a scripture in the middle of a lesson, and I was only able to do that because I had been trying to memorize it in my studies. Memorizing is a great way to do as it says in D&C 84:85 and "treasure up in your minds continually the words of life". I have found that as I ponder and review the scriptures that I have memorized or am trying to memorize, I feel the Spirit more. 

I don't know if I've told y'all about Nancy or not. Nancy is someone the elders are teaching, not one of ours, but she is incredible! She comes to church every week and has a baptismal date for the 29th! I couldn't be more excited if she was one of my investigators. I kind of feel like she is because we get to sit with her in Relief Society. She has amazing questions every week. Yesterday the lesson was on the importance of studying the scriptures. Nancy asked how we would respond to the scripture in Revelations that says "If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book" and how the Book of Mormon can be valid. Well, luckily for her, we get asked that question all the time :) We were able to explain to her how the Bible as we know it today came about and that John was speaking about the book of Revelation, not simply the Bible as a whole, partly because 'The Bible' didn't exist at the time he was writing. There were very sweet testimonies borne as the other women listened to her concerns and helped her understand. I had the distinct thought that this lesson was exactly what she needed. Heavenly Father was aware of her questions and gave her that opportunity to ask them. She felt safe enough to express her concerns and was given a greater understanding. The rest of us in the room benefited, but I feel that that lesson was divinely guided for her as an individual.

I guess that's it for this week. I can't think of a whole lot that happened this week, so I will end with the wise words of my hilarious companion. "I can't wait for the zombie apocalypse when there are no more speed limits"

Love y'all

Sister Pyper 

Welcome to summer in NC. Yep, 102. At 6 pm. So. Hot. All the time. And humid. The humidity is worse than the heat. Luckily, there was a big storm later this day that brought it down to 72. 

​

I may have killed Sister Bobbitt.... This is what happens after a long day of tracting. It takes too much effort to stay awake :)

I wonder if Noah sang on the Ark

There were many times this past week when we saw the Lord guiding us in His work. One in particular stands out. On Tuesday we had planned to go tract a street near our apartment, but the weather was bad enough that we didn't feel comfortable going out. We decided to go through our area book and call former investigators and try to set up appointments with them. We called one and it was a wrong number. A few people later, we came across the same phone number listed for another person. Sister Bobbitt and I both felt like it wouldn't hurt to call the number again. The second time, the woman on the other end asked us if we were from a church. When we told her what church we were from, she asked us if we could pray for her and her daughter. She told us that her 12 year old daughter has a rare form of cancer and has to go in for chemotherapy every week. We were able to pray with her over the phone and bear our testimonies about the Plan of Salvation. We asked if she would be interested in hearing more about God's plan and she said yes! When we got her address, we realized that she lives in our ward and so we can teach her! I know that Heavenly Father led us to her and that we were in the right place at the right time. 

I am in Alma 52 of the Book of Mormon and I am learning so much more than I thought I would. I don't usually enjoy the war chapters, but I have been learning a lot about how important preparation is. I had the thought this week that the war chapters were included through revelation and are necessary for our day. We might not be physically at war, but we are fighting a battle every day against Satan. Our battles are more spiritual than the ones the Nephites fought, but the lessons are the same.Our leaders today are just as inspired for our protection as Moroni was for the Nephites. Our families are still the most important thing we can fight for and we should protect them with everything we have. 

I got to see a Polynesian show, for free, 3 times this past week. The Ahuna Ohana (they performed in the 2002 Olympics, look them up) came and toured our mission. The family is from Hawaii and the grandma is President James' sister, which is how they picked NC. They tour all around the world and put on these shows in different missions. It was an awesome show! There were dances from different parts of Polynesia and the whole family is incredibly talented! They do this as a missionary opportunity and have found a fun way to share the gospel. At every show, they bore their testimonies about families and shared what they do to strengthen their family. Not only was it fun to watch, but they brought a very sweet spirit with them. It was cool to see how they have taken something they love to do and made it into a way to share the gospel. 

Their first show was sadly cut short due to a storm that broke. Everyone in the audience ran for cover in the garage of President's house and all of us missionaries were frantically trying to get the equipment inside and dry. Of course, in the process of this, we all got soaked :) While we waited for the rain to stop, we all sang hymns in President's garage. The Spirit was very strong and it was wonderful to feel the love that was there. (This is where the title of my email comes from)

Something that I realized on Sunday was the importance of individuals. During testimony meeting, our bishop talked about home/visiting teaching and he said that "ministering is one to one" and that really struck me. I thought about that and the program the church has to minister to the needs of each individual. Home and visiting teaching are inspired and directed by a Father in Heaven who is aware of each of His children. I know without a doubt that that God I worship loves and knows each of us personally. He knows your name, He knows the things you have never told anyone, He knows your hopes and fears, and He loves you perfectly. He sent His perfect Son to suffer for each and every single one of us. Christ knows and loves you just as much as Heavenly Father does.You are engraved on His perfect hands. In the eyes of God, you are not just another face in the crowd. You are divine and glorious. You are worth the blood of the Son of God. You matter. The things that you care about are important to the Creator of endless worlds. Never forget that. 

Love y'all,

Sister Pyper

Fire dancing. Don't worry, this isn't me :)

​This past week we were able to see a Polynesian show put on by a family from Hawaii. The highlight of each show was the Samoan fire-knife dance. So not only is this man dancing with fire, there are knives at the center of each flame. And I thought dancing over swords was impressive....

Warning:bug ahead

​I have dubbed Wake Forest "the beetle area" for this reason. There are tons of these Japanese beetles everywhere and they seem to really like me. Seriously, I have found a beetle in my hair or on my clothes almost once a week. Luckily they don't bite or sting, they just sit there.