The church is SO true!

Dearest friends and family, 

This week I am just so grateful for how this gospel blesses families. I talked about Alice being baptized a little over a month ago. Yesterday two of her sons, Emmanuel and Kelvin, entered the waters of baptism. Teaching this family has been such a blessing to me. I've been able to see how this gospel has blessed this family and has changed their lives. Alice was able to get work off through fasting. When their car broke down the day of Alice's baptism Kelvin was able to pray and say "Heavenly Father, if my mom is supposed to be baptized, then let us get to church and back safely." and the car worked perfectly! And I think the sweetest of all, I was able to be there when Emmanuel struggled as his mom and brother knew the church was true when he didn't. I was there as he prayed each and every night and I saw the change happen in him the day that he ran upstairs and with a huge grin on his face said "I got my answer." And I got to see all three of them be baptized!! And the best part is, they were telling their cousins about the gospel and telling them that they should be baptized so that their sins could be washed away and so they could make promises with God. They know. They know they made the right choice and they know that they're coming closer to Christ because of it and I'm so grateful for their example. The church is so true!! We're snowed in today and can't go to the library, but I'll send pictures of them next week. :)

This week was a good one! We were dropped by a super solid investigator(one who actually lived in our area), which was rough, but he'll get there one day. Keep him in your prayers. :) We found three new investigators that are all rock stars!! They're just not for us...hahah. They live in the areas of other missionaries. One is a YSA and the other two were at our investigator's house when we met and taught them but they'd be in the other ward, but that's okay! They're awesome and we even invited two of them to be baptized so work is getting done!  

I've had a lot of moments this week where I just looked around as we were driving or walking and I thought "I'm across the country in Pennsylvania. I'm serving a mission right now." I'm still sometimes just so amazed that I'm so lucky. I remember all of senior year I told everyone that I wasn't serving a mission, I just didn't think it was for me, but now I can't imagine doing anything different. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father knows what I need better than I do and that He gave me the experiences that I needed to help me choose to serve. I have not once regretted this choice. I've already grown closer to my Savior than I knew was possible, and I have learned so much in these three short months. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the one true church on the earth today and I know that Heavenly Father restored this church through Joseph Smith and that he translated the Book of Mormon. I LOVE the Book of Mormon and I'm so grateful that I've developed the habit of reading it everyday. I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and I sometimes still can't believe that I'm lucky enough to share that message with those around me. We ALL get to share that message! We have been given such an amazing gift and I wish I had learned to love sharing it much earlier in my life.

Thank you for all the love, support, and prayers. They mean more than I could ever express. :)

Much love,

Kwetta

(Because that's my African name)

The time I ended up at the airport in my pajamas...

Hello all!

So this week church was extra crazy. It was supposed to be Ward Conference so we had a HUGE African feast planned for our stake guests. Because of bad weather conditions (The Utahn in me is using the word "bad" very loosely. It was a rain storm. No biggie.) Ward Conference was cancelled Sunday morning. So church was kind of thrown together. But it really was so great! The Ward Council all bore their testimonies during Sacrament, and Davidson was confirmed! After sitting back down he turned to me and said "You're still going to come visit me even though I'm member, right?" It was the sweetest thing! So cute. Second hour was fine, and the third hour of church ended up being our African feast. Watching all of the white people eat the African food was probably the funniest thing I've ever seen! (I realize that coming from me that comment does not mean a lot) I just love this ward so much!

And it was kind of a slower week so I only have one more story to tell. On Wednesday night we got a call from our Mission President. He told us that there was a Sister Missionary stranded at the Philly Airport. She had finished her mission in Reichman(?) Virginia and was on her way home. But her first flight was majorly delayed so she missed her second flight and was stuck in Philly. So we went and picked her up, which was an adventure in itself. It ended up being such a tender mercy though! We cancelled the appointment we had with a member that night to go and get her and since we had time after picking her up we stopped by an investigator whose heart had hardened majorly. We were able to teach her and it was the first time in a long time that she's been receptive to our message! It was amazing! So Sister Clonts spent the night in our apartment and we dropped her off at the airport at 5am the next morning. We didn't want to get dressed that early so Sister Ririe and I put skirts and jackets on over our pajamas and just went out like that. Hahahahah. It was crazy. We got back to our apartment before it was even time to wake up.

The church is so true! And I'm so grateful to be out here sharing the good news of the restored gospel! I love you all! I would like to make a request - no one sends me pictures! I miss seeing all of your beautiful faces! So, send me pictures please! :)

I hope everyone has a good week!

Love,

Sister Rachel Petrick

-- 

Sister Rachel Petrick
700 Darby Road #201

Havertown, PA 19083

COVENANT WITH THE FATHER, BORN AGAIN HIS SONS AND DAUGHTERS

Note from mom:  I am assuming P1 is referring to the ward.  I know PPM is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mission.  Oddly, it took me a while to figure that out!

Hello!

DAVIDSON IS BAPTIZED AND I'M A LITTLE EXCITED. Davidson is really just the best kid ever and his baptism went so well. That day Sister Ririe and I were asked to teach Gospel Principles and Relief Society with less than a day's notice so with that and the baptism, we were a little stressed. But everything was amazing! There were so many people there to support him, our whole district came because they've all fallen in love with him, and it was the most reverent I've ever seen ANY P1 event. His mom was able to come to church for the first time and I have never seen someone so excited to be baptized before. He had a huge grin on his face the entire time and even giggled when he came up out of the water. It was amazing! And one thing about Davidson, even though he's nine, he absolutely understands all that's being ask of him and all that he's promising. The night before we were asking him about African food and he said "I don't eat it every day. Sometimes I have pizza or ice cream or tea..." And we looked up feeling really confused and concerned and he said "GOTCHA!" And did the little finger gun things. This kid. He is just such a good example to everyone around him and has taught me so much. 

Fun fact for everyone, this week I was told that I look like Selena Gomez. I was also told that I look like I'm a Mexican/Puerto Rican mix. That is spot on. 

We also had an AMAZING lesson with a more recent convert. She's been a member for about a year and a half and hasn't been to the temple. She was able to open up to us and said that she's afraid to go because then if she messes up she'd feel like her sins were worse. I was able to bear my testimony of the temple to her and the spirit was so strong as we helped her. We helped her realize that along with making more promises, she's also receiving more protection. She said that she's going to begin working toward the temple again and asked if I'd be able to go with her! She's already taken all of the prep courses, so depending on how long I'm in this area and when she's ready, I'll be able to go! I sure do love the temple and I'm so grateful for how much Heavenly Father loves us. :)

I love The PPM. I love Philly. I love Havertown. I love being a missionary. :)

So much love,

Sister Rachel Petrick
-- 

Sister Rachel Petrick
700 Darby Road #201

Havertown, PA 19083

That one time I lost my trainer...

Beloved friends and family,

So I had a lot of questions about what I did on New Year's Eve. Well. I shared the gospel!! What more could I ask for? :)  Nothing was different on New Year's. We didn't even come in early. It was regularly scheduled day, which I was grateful for. I hope everyone else had a wonderful New Years and that everyone set goals that will help them focus on coming closer to Christ! Whether it be praying every morning and night, making your prayers more heartfelt, reading from the Book of Mormon every day, or doing all you can to share the good news of the gospel with those around you, setting goals is so extremely important to our progression and the beginning of the year is the perfect time to set these goals in motion! I invite everyone to turn to our Heavenly Father in prayer and honestly ask about what He would have you do to come closer to Him this year. I know that if you pray to Him and ask He will give you an answer. :)

I'm so excited to share with everyone that one of my investigators is getting baptized on Sunday!! His name is Davidson. He's nine years old and is seriously a rockstar! He asks the best questions and is just the smartest kid I've ever met. He just soaks everything in and he honestly understands it. He's come to church many times but yesterday was the first time he was there to take the sacrament. When they began passing it he turned to me and said "So since I haven't made the baptism promises yet I'm not supposed to take it, right?" I was so amazed that he remembered what the sacrament was for. I was able to explain to him about how taking it before being baptized is still promising Heavenly Father that you're going to follow Him. He's just so incredible. And his mom works on Sundays, but miracle of miracles, she was able to get this Sunday off to come to the baptism!! I'm just so excited for him. He's such a great example to us and his mom. :)

Story time. Sister Ririe and I went to visit a less active member in an old folks home this week. When we were leaving we were helping a bunch of people in wheelchairs into the elevator. When we got to the lobby I got out first and went to open the door for the first woman getting out and when I turned around the elevator doors were shut and Sister Ririe wasn't with me. She was still on the elevator. So me, being without a companion for the first time in over two months, decided that the best choice was to stand there silently freaking out a little bit until the elevator came back down. The elevator came back and the doors opened and there was no Sister Ririe. So then I got a little bit worried. I was in a random old folks home, I knew one person, and somehow my trainer disappeared. After what seemed like ages(it was probably a good 30 seconds), Sister Ririe came running down the stairs looking completely frazzled because she had lost me. Turns out she was trying to help people out of the elevator while I was helping with the door. Then she tried to go down the stairs to get back faster but she needed the code and everyone was giving her the wrong one. Hahahah. And that is the story of how I lost my trainer. :)

Since I was in Sister Cox's ward last Fast Sunday this was my first fast and testimony meeting in the Philly 1st Ward and I just have to begin by saying that I am so blessed. I am so grateful to be serving in a ward with so many faith filled people! The moment the member of the bishopric finished his testimony about ten members got up and went to sit on the stand to share their testimonies. One woman got up to the microphone and said "Let us pray" and basically prayed again, one woman sang an African song, one man stood up from the congregation and started singing loudly as he limped up to the stand, it was amazing. I have never been in a sacrament meeting like this. There was never more than 15 seconds between testimonies. Every body could not wait to share. President Monson said "That which one willing shares he keeps, while that which he selfishly keeps he loses" and this ward truly puts that statement into action.

I am so grateful to be a missionary at this time. The Lord's work is being done and I have the great opportunity to be a part of it. We are so lucky to have this gospel so readily available to us. The technology that we have makes it almost impossible not to know about the church! My Mission President was telling us that on New Year's Eve He is the Gift was on the screens in New York City and that it was shown on the camera every few seconds. That's so amazing! It's becoming so much easier for those who don't have it to access the truth. I love this gospel so much and I know without a doubt that this is Christ's fully restored truth. I'm so grateful that I have this opportunity to share it every day.

Thank you for all the love and support! I love you all so much!

Sister Petrick

-- 

Sister Rachel Petrick
700 Darby Road #201

Havertown, PA 19083