Another Transfer in Camden

Hi everybody!

I didn't mention it last week but Friday we received our transfer calls. I didn't mention it because since I'm training and in a brand new area I didn't expect to get told I was leaving. And I was right, both Sister Ashcraft and I will be staying in Camden for another 6 weeks! But there are going to be some changes. We had two extra beds delivered to our apartment. No one has said anything about them, but it looks like we will be getting a couple more roommates! So whatever happens is going to be really exciting.

This week worked us hard. We came home happy and completely and utterly exhausted each and every night. It's getting hot here. And not just hot, humid. Basically you walk outside and it's like you hit a wall and you feel sticky and wet from head to toe. But we go out and walk and knock and preach and teach because we have the gospel and everyone needs it!! And we have been blessed! One night we picked a neighborhood and decided we were going to talk to everyone. We picked a message to use and went out. We probably watched the Because He Lives video about 20 times, but it was completely worth it. No
immediate success there, but lots of planted seeds and we were led where we needed to be. As we were walking around we came to the door of a former investigator, Zach, and decided to try him. He answered the door and I kid you not, he was glowing. He had the light of Christ in him and he was just a breath of fresh air!! I love the people here, but in general the east coast is not happy and friendly like Utah. But Zach was so happy to see us! We asked to share our message with him and as we started the video, we don't know how and didn't realize it until after we started it, but the video changed to Because of Him. Zach immediately commented on something he saw and said he already loved the video after seeing about two seconds. We testified of Christ and he invited us back for this upcoming week! As we walked away we both had no idea how the video was switched on our iPads but there was no doubt in our minds that it was completely the Spirit's doing.

We also have an incredible new investigator, Kenzie. She's the cousin of our investigator Madeline. They're both granddaughters of a less active member of the ward. We went to teach Madeline and Kenzie was there and LOVED it. She showed up to church with them (the first time we had seen them at church this transfer) and told us she asked her
mom if she could be baptized! Her mom isn't quite on board yet, but with Kenzie's faith I just know that it will all work out. Kenzie was also able to receive a blessing at church for a surgery that she's going to have this week. That was an incredible experience. Both men involved are men who I have come to love and respect so much. They asked me if I would say a prayer to invite the spirit for them. As I said the prayer I felt an overwhelming feeling that Kenzie would be okay, with the surgery and baptism. As the blessing was given I again just felt so overwhelmed with how much my testimony of the priesthood
has grown. Nothing would be possible without the priesthood power and I am so grateful to have so many men in my life who are worthy to hold such an incredible responsibility.

Other exciting things this week include me losing (and thankfully finding) my scriptures, me losing(and again, thankfully finding) all of our church and house keys, a run in with the cops(we were 100% safe), we set a couple of baptismal dates, and we got a little too curious with a couple of the HUGE bugs here(probably more dangerous than when we're were with the cops).

I just want you all to know that being a missionary is the greatest experience I've ever had! It is the best choice anyone could make. The memories and friendships I'm making will last for eternity and my love and testimony of my Savior and His gospel is growing each and every day. I'm so grateful for the truthfulness of this gospel and for the was that I know lives are changed as we follow these principles. I love you all so much and I'm so grateful for all the love and prayers.

-- 

Sister Rachel Petrick

16 Park Lane

Dover, DE. 19904

Pictures from the baptism Rachel wrote about

Juliet and Rachel

Elder Niemen, Juliet, Rachel, Sister Ashcraft

Baptism, Silverfish, and Beetles oh my...

Hello!

It's been a good week!

First, I had a couple of people ask me about Lillian. She is sure something special! When we went back to teach her she wasn't home. That was a little bit discouraging, but the member, Pops, who was with us gave us some really good advice. He said that he was pretty sure that most of the bad days and hard times that we're given are to test our faith. They're not always because these people don't want to talk with us, it's just so Heavenly Father can check and see if we'll keep pushing through. But it was still pretty sad that she wasn't home. Last night we also had a really great new investigator cancel on us and we decided to then walk off the two dinners that we  had and walked to Lillian's house. She opened the door and quickly invited us inside, which we weren't quite expecting. We had decided just to teach her about the basics of what the Book of Mormon is and to read through the introduction. As we began, we noticed ways that we were able to apply the points of the Restoration. We taught her the entire Restoration as we read through the introduction and as we finished she said "I'm going to have to pray about this." Before we even invited her to! We testified that we knew that Heavenly Father would answer her prayer and that He would tell her that the Book of Mormon is true. She's unfortunately going out of town and we won't see her for a while, but she is just an incredible woman and I love her to death! 

Sister Ashcraft and I have also been trying really hard to apply the idea of talking to EVERYONE. And we've been doing a lot better. Sometimes it's so intimidating to just go up to large groups of people on the street and start a conversation, but it's brought us miracles this week. One instance in particular we were stopping by the house of a new ward member and we saw a group of teenage girls and both felt like we needed to talk to them. We went over and showed them Because He Lives and they all LOVED it. And they asked us to sing them a song, so we picked I Stand All Amazed, and when we asked if we could come back they all said yes and told us to come back the next day!! We're really excited to see how meeting with them goes. 

We were also lucky enough to be a part of the baptism of our little Juliet Belmonte. Juliet is an adorable 10 year old girl. Her mom is a member and her step dad and 8 year old twin siblings got baptized in March and she wasn't ready so we've been teaching her and yesterday was such a special day as we were able to watch her make these special covenants with Heavenly Father. She was radiating as she came up out of that font! Something not so fun - Sister Ashcraft and I were cleaning out the font before the service and something about Delaware is that there are TONS of bugs. Tons of HUGE bugs. And there are these creepy crawly bugs that are called Silverfish and just count your lucky stars that they're not in Utah because they are the worst things you'll ever see. Don't worry, I'll add a picture. But there was a silverfish about 4 inches long in the font and trying to get it out was terrifying. That's all, but the service was wonderful and Juliet is baptized and she's a member of the church now!!

My testimony of this gospel has grown so much since I've come out on my mission. I am so grateful for the trust that Heavenly Father has placed in me. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that by reading it we can come to know the Savior so well. I know that as we follow his example we can be forgiven of all of our sins and shortcomings and I know that this is his work. 

I love you all!

Sister Rachel Petrick 

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Sister Rachel Petrick

16 Park Lane

Dover, DE. 19904

July 6, 2015

So this week has been one of those weeks where I feel like so much has happened and I'm so exhausted but at the same time I have no idea what to write about. So bear with me. :) 

This Sunday we had a mission fast for baptism. In January we set a goal to have 660 baptisms in 2015. That's a lot. And it comes to 3 per missionary. And we're halfway through the year and behind in our goal. So we all fasted! And I was very grateful for that opportunity. I have a strong testimony of fasting. I have seen miracles, I have heard miracle stories, and I know that when we fast with a prayer in our heart that fast will be answered. It's just a matter of us looking and listening. But Sister Ashcraft and I saw MIRACLES. We found a few new investigators that we are so excited about. 

We first talked to a man named Garret who was working up the street from where we live. The people who he was working for didn't seem too happy to see us, we found out later that they thought we were Jehovah's Witnesses, but Sister Ashcraft did her best talking to them while I talked with Garret. He asked about our tags and I was able to tell him a little bit about our church and about the Book of Mormon. He took it gladly and wrote our names and number in it and we're going to call later this week to set up an appointment. 

The next is a woman named Lillian. She was a former investigator who we decided to contact. When she answered the door she was kind of hesitant, but as I asked to share Because He Lives with her she opened up and let us in. She met with the Elders a long while ago and was excited to talk with us about Christ and his Atonement. She is a special lady. She loves the Savior so much and we can see that in her. We told her about the Book of Mormon as well and was able to give her a copy and she invited us back to tell her more about it later.

And then there's Kelly. She is incredible. She's come to church the last two weeks with a member of the ward who she works with and we have dinner with that member every Sunday night so we've gotten to know her a little bit. Yesterday as we were talking she had a lot of questions about things talked about at church so we all began answering her questions. It was a perfect, District worthy, example of how effective the gospel is spread when members and missionaries work together. We were able to talk about how God loves her and her daughter and testify of the great blessing of his Plan of Salvation. We talked about how it's only in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that we can receive the FULLNESS of the everlasting gospel. At the end she was expressing to us her desire to meet with us and how she felt like it was the right path fro her to take. It was an incredible testimony builder for me. Missionary work is the most effective when someone is brought into the fold by a member. Members truly bring miracles and that's why a couple of conferences ago we were all told that every member is a missionary. As members of the church we all have the right and responsibility to share the gospel!

My 8 year old sister emailed me about a missionary moment that she had this week. She invited her friend and the friend's mom to a ward activity and she was so excited about it! She was just such a great example to me of how we have to do this work because we love the people and we love our Heavenly Father! We have been blessed with so much and now it's our turn to go out and share it! Always remember that you are on Heavenly Father's side and that means that every single time you try, you win! I want to encourage each one of you to pray specifically every night this week asking who Heavenly Father would have you share the gospel with. I promise that he'll be listening and as you promise to act according to His guidance you will see the miracles and joy that come along with sharing your testimony of the restored gospel. :)

I love you all! Thank you for the letters that I've gotten this week. I'm in the process of writing everyone back! Thank you for the countless prayers and support I know that I'm getting!

Love,

Sister Rachel Petrick

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Sister Rachel Petrick

16 Park Lane

Dover, DE. 19904

I Drove Through a Tornado

Hello!

This week I have a couple of really fun stories to tell right off the bat.

We had a mission conference this week in which Elder Kacher of the Quorum of the 70 came a spoke with us. The conference I attended was the last of the ones for this mission and the last of the tours he is doing in the United States. He's heading to Russia next! Elder Kacher was incredible! He told us that we were among the best missions that he has ever visited and he attributed the good characteristics that we have to President and Sister Anderson. I could not agree with him more. I am so blessed to have such an amazing mission president and wife! I know that they are meant to lead us. They have taught and blessed me so much in the 8 months I've been out here and I cannot be more grateful. 

 Next is Dadrien. Dadrien is a 16 year old boy that we found contacting potential investigators. He's awesome. That's all there is to it. We left him with a Book of Mormon. Things happened and we weren't able to meet with him, but when we stopped by to set up another appointment he told us that he read the whole introduction and then started looking things up online. That can either be really good or really bad, so I got a little bit nervous. I pulled out a card so I could give him the church produced websites for if he had more questions and it turns out he had read on Mormon.org and loved it! This teenage boy went out of his way on his summer vacation and researched our beliefs and we now have a time set up to go and see him and I am so excited!

My next story is about the couple, Matt and Stacy, that I mentioned last week. We were able to go back and visit them and boy, that lesson was one of the most spiritual lessons I've had on my mission. We focused on the gifts that Heavenly Father has given us to bless us and our families. We talked about the gospel and the Atonement and then really focused on the Book of Mormon. Matt told us that he had the book, that his friend Ben, who was there with us as the member present, gave him one years ago. Our conversation was able to lead to Ben sharing such a powerful testimony of him sharing something precious with his friend. Matt also told us about when he had briefly met with the missionaries before, he said that he had felt something that he had never felt before and it scared him. We testified of the power of the spirit and how the Holy Ghost had been speaking to him that night. It was such a special lesson and I know that Matt and Stacy both felt the spirit touch them as we all learned together. Every day it becomes more and more clear that I'm not the teacher. These people aren't being changed because of me. I'm lucky enough to be a part of this great process, but I'm merely an instrument in the Lord's hands. We all are! And that takes work and patience and great listening skills, all of which I'm working on, but the reward is far greater than the sacrifice because when we're really listening the spirit will work through us, and that is a feeling unlike any other.

That's all I have for today, but enjoy the pictures! The first 2 were at a pizza night that we had with members of the ward. They used to own a pizza shop and have a real pizza oven and everything!

And the next is a picture from after we went shopping today. We are close enough to Amish country that people have specified places where they can tie up a horse and buggy when they go to the store. It's an entirely different world here!

--

Sister Rachel Petrick

June 22, 2015

Hello everyone!

I am just so grateful that I have this chance to share with everyone some of the wonderful things happening here in Camden! First, a little backstory. When Sister Ashcraft and I doubled in two Elders came up to us right after transfer meeting and were basically just spitting out tons of information that we would need to know about the area. I definitely got like 3% of all they told us, but I do remember that they specifically called this area the "Celestial Kingdom." Coming from the area nicknamed the "Promised Land," I was very excited. And those Elders were not kidding! We have seen miracles every single day and I know without a doubt that it's because Heavenly Father has prepared this area for greatness.

I do have a couple of stories I do want to share. The first came from contacting a less active woman. I was getting SO FRUSTRATED trying to find this woman's house. We first accidentally put in the wrong address and woke up a very angry older man from a nap, and then when we had the right address we somehow ended up missing the right street and the GPS took us a crazy way, and then when we had prayed and were ready to go inside people kept calling us and we sat in her driveway for a good 20 minutes before we were FINALLY ready to go up to the door. And when she opened the door she looked so surprised. She told us that we had knocked just as she had come upstairs and that if we would have when she was downstairs than there's no way she could have heard the door. Heavenly Father, through all of His miraculous means, got us up to that door in the exact moment that we needed to be there. As we talked with this woman I had the prompting to show her the Mormon Message "Hope of God's Light." If you haven't seen it, I highly encourage it. By the end of the video she was in tears and saying that she needed us to help her. Heavenly Father truly knows each one of His children. He knows WHAT they need and exactly WHEN they need it. 

The other story comes from a contacting experience. We made a long list of potentials to stop by and one stuck out to me and I suggested we start there. The man, Matt, answered the door and we asked if we could share Because He Lives with his family. He said yes and invited us in. We walked in and there was a couple from our ward there! We showed the video and testified of the Savior and asked them if they'd like for us to come back to teach them more about His gospel. And again, with tears in his eyes, Matt told us that he'd really like that and that he has questions that he thought we could answer. We go back later this week.

I am so grateful for this opportunity that I have to be sharing Christ's gospel with the people of Camden. This is truly and incredible, prepared area. We are so busy each and every day and I'm pretty sure that the Ward's goal is to have each of us gain 50 pounds before we leave. They're taking really good care of us. :)  I'm so grateful for the love and support from each of you and I want you to know that I love you all so much! And that is NOTHING compared to how much the Savior loves you all! I hope you all have an incredible week.

Love,

Sister Rachel Petrick

Transferres Happened!"I

"I didn't expect to end up here!"

Hello everyone!!

I'm sure you're all just so excited to hear about this transfer! The last couple of days have been an adventure, to say the very least, but so incredible. First off, I'm training another new missionary! And she's just so incredible! Her name is Sister Ashcroft from Springville, Ut. and she's already talking to people who we pass on the street and offering to serve people in the grocery store. She's got it. To make a funny but very long story short, I didn't know I would be training until 10:40 pm the night before transfer meeting. But it was a pretty nice surprise! And when President was talking to me he promised that I'd be going to a really great area. And here I am, in Camden, DE! And I'm loving every second.

So we doubled in to an Elders' area. The Zone Leaders' area. And so we didn't know a single person here. So most of our efforts the last few days have been spent trying to contact those who the Elders have been teaching and I've been learning a whole lot and meeting a lot of incredible missionaries. First, this experience is helping me become so much more comfortable with talking to everyone because we literally came to this area knowing NO ONE. But we've been very blessed. The Bishop of the Camden Ward and his wife took us out to dinner our first night here and we were able to talk about all of the people who we'd be working with and we found out that this ward hasn't had Sisters in 20 years, so everyone is either really excited or still a little bit hesitant.

We've been very blessed to meet a lot of incredible people. First on that list is a woman named Sister Webb. She had us for dinner our 2nd day here and was so shocked to have Sisters show up at her door! Her husband actually opened the door yelled "AAAHHH, SISTER MISSIONARIES." And shut the door. Hahahah, they opened it right back up, but that's probably an accurate description of how everyone else has felt too. But she told us that she feels like we're her daughters and it made me feel so warm and happy. And that's the overall feeling of this entire ward. Everyone just loves. So much.

We've also had a TON of service opportunities. I've worn pants three times this week. I haven't worn pants in 4 months. That's how much quality service we got in. We happened to show up at the church at the same time as a member of the ward who was unloading furniture for a ward yard sale and so we were able to help her out then and the next day with organizing. And then we were able to help a non member in the area pack up her house to move. She used to meet with missionaries, and she's not too interested right now, but we were able to teach and testify about how Heavenly Father has been speaking to her through the Holy Ghost. It was an amazing experience. 

Sorry for the long update, I'm just super excited about the new area and the new adventures and everything! I'm going to add some pictures so everyone can see how different my new area really is. Hahahah, enjoy! My new address is also below, so feel free to send me all of the letters you've been saving.

I love you all!

Sister Petrick

Her new home

 

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Sister Rachel Petrick

16 Park Lane

Dover, DE. 19904