We've got to keep those spiritual nuggets high

Hello everyone!

I'm super excited to be emailing you all this week because I have some
incredible stories to share!

The first is of Mrs. Lynn Deakins. We have been meeting with Lynn
since I got to this area. She begrudgingly let Elders in her home back
in April and she's been learning about the church and the Book of
Mormon ever since. Lynn is 85 years old and she is a hoot! She sure
keeps us on our toes. This last Saturday, the 22nd, I was able to be
there and watch Lynn be baptized!! Her baptismal service was so
special and the spirit was so strong. Lynn told everyone that would
listen about how we asked her about baptism multiple times and about
how she always said no, but one day she just changed her mind and ever
since she's been changing her life. There are bits of practically
every commandment that she had to change and she did it and hasn't
looked back even once! She told us one day "I don't have any reason
not to believe these things" and to me, that is just the perfect
mindset. We don't need signs and visions in order to know what is good
and true. We just need to believe and act on that belief. We just need
to have faith, which is to "hope for things which are not seen, which
are true. Lynn holds such a special place in my heart. She has taught
me by how she lives just how much the gospel can change your life. I
look back to when I first met her 2 1/2 months ago when she told us
that she DID NOT want sister missionaries and DID NOT want us there,
and now she's baptized and part of Gods Kingdom. Lynn has also taught
me that it's never to late to change. She's 85 years old and she still
had the courage to get into that baptismal font! She's making huge
changes in her life and I would encourage everyone to take a page out
of her book and make the changes necessary to be centered on the path
that Christ has paved for us all.

I also have an incredible miracle story to share! After church yesterday we felt like we needed to stop by the house of a potential investigator named Norma. We had contacted Norma about 8 weeks ago, so it's been a while. We pulled up to her house and she was out sitting on the porch so we ran over to see how she was doing. She poured out her heart to us about how she was diagnosed with cancer and how she just feels so alone. I had a scripture pop into my mind so I pulled out my Book of Mormon and she immediately grabbed my arm and stared up at me. "I need that book." is all she said at first. I didn't know what to say. So I asked her what she said and she again said "I need that book. I don't have that book and I need it." This was my personal copy of the book and was all marked up and used, I showed her and she did ask us to come back with one just for her. We all kind of looked at each other uncomfortably because we all knew that we had just recently cleared out our entire trunk of the car because we had to move things and we had taken out all of our pamphlets and every copy of the Book of Mormon. So again, we didn't know what to do. Then the thought came to my mind to go and look in the trunk of the car. We excused ourselves and I expressed my thought to my companions and we decided to take a look. Sure enough, sitting in the back of our car was two copies of the Book of Mormon!! I know for a fact that they were not in there and that Heavenly Father provided a miracle for his daughter who so desperately wanted his truth. As we gave the book to Norma and talked to her for a few more moments we learned that she had read one of the pamphlets we left with her and once she came upon the Book of Mormon her curiosity was peaked and she knew God wanted her to have it. She invited us to come back and share with her more from the book and as we left she was still sitting on her porch reading from its pages. I am truly so grateful for all of the incredible miracles that I'm able to witness as a missionary! I know that His miracles are present every single day and that as we listen to promptings He will guide us were we need to be to be that answer to someone's prayers!

I'm so grateful for you all! I hope you have a great week!

Love,

Sister Petrick

August 17, 2015

Hello everyone!

First to answer a couple of questions, no, we DID NOT swim at the beach! Hahaha, it was actually a little awkward because we all really wanted to go to the water so we were standing there with our feet in, the Bishop's wife took our picture and then we got off really really quickly because we realized how silly must have looked being fully clothed in Sunday dress standing on the beach. But it was a lot of fun! We were able to walk the boardwalk and got to know Sister Webster, the Bishop's wife, so much better. And that woman is just an angel! If you ever worry about whether or not I'm okay, just know that Stacey Webster takes care of us like we're her own daughters so there's never any reason to worry. :)

This week we have had a couple of great miracles and I picked one that I want to share with you all. We've been teaching a woman named Kelly and Kelly has truly been prepared by the Lord to receive the gospel at this time. She has been so receptive and so willing to change and put her faith to the test since day one. This week she was going through a lot of trials. She found out that the father of her daughter lost his job and he wouldn't be able to send a child support check that month and didn't know when he'd be able to again. She's a single, working mom and really needed to find a way to get some extra money. A mini miracle in itself, as we were planning for her lesson I just did not feel like the plan we had originally made for her was right. So we completely changed our plan before going in. We instead taught her about fasting. She was slightly hesitant about fasting because it does sound hard, but she did agree. And the member with us agreed to fast for her as well. So Saturday to Sunday we all fasted together. At church she came running up to us and said that she had a story for us. After she had begun her fast she got a phone call from her mom. She had an aunt that passed away back in November and her mom was calling to tell her that Kelly was getting inheritance money! $1000! There's no reason why it should have taken that long for the money to come, but it came just when she needed it and she knows that it's because she fasted. She knows that Heavenly Father provided that for her when he knew she and her daughter would need it and she knows that this gospel is true! She's so excited for all that the gospel brings as well! At dinner she was talking to us about her dating life and she said "If he doesn't want it to be for eternity, then I'm not even going to play that game." Kelly is such a wonderful woman and she has strengthened my testimony of the gospel so much! 

I've also been doing a lot of studying from my patriarchal blessing. My companions and I have instituted "Patriarchal PDay" so we study our blessings on Monday mornings and talk about them and ask questions as part of our companion study. It's been such an amazing experience first, because the unity that I've been building in my companion ship is incredibly special. We better understand each other's strengths and weaknesses. And second, I feel like I have such a greater understanding of what my overall purpose is here on this earth. I'm sure there's much more in store than what I'm expecting, but I know with so much certainty that Heavenly Father has a very specific plan and role for each of his children. He knows us all individually and knows what we need to learn and grow. And I promise that if we trust him, as it says in Proverbs 3:5-6 "he shall direct thy paths."

I love you all so much and hope you have a great week!

Love,

Sister Rachel Petrick

--

Sister Rachel Petrick

16 Park Lane

Dover, DE. 19904

August 10, 2015

Hello everyone!

I wanted to make sure I sent a quick little email. I don't have long because we'll be going with a member to spend our PDay at the beach. I'll take lots of pictures for next week. :)

We had a great week and were able to helped a lot of people take incredible steps closer to baptism. I'm so grateful to be here in Camden serving these people and I'm so grateful that I'm able to see just how much God's hand is in all of their lives.

I promise I'll write more next week. I love you all!

August 3, 2015

Mom note- the trial she is referring to is bed bugs. Apparently, they all had bites all over their legs that they thought were just from all the bugs in Delaware. Some sweet ward members noticed and told them what it was. They got it all taken care of, but it messed up their week!  The picture is the Victorys that she talks about.

Dear friends and family,

This week has taught me a lot. Like a lot. I think I was the lucky recipient of a bathtub full of lessons this week. And I would love to tell you all about some of these lessons.

1. Charity never faileth. In Moroni 7:47 is says "Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever." I've read this verse probably a good hundred times throughout my life and have studied charity multiple times throughout my mission as an attempt to try to gain more of this Christlike attribute in my own life. This week I experienced true charity from the members of the Camden Ward. My companions and I were given a great trial this week and many ward members, out of the selflessness of their beings. jumped in and were our saving graces. One couple in particular, Brother and Sister Sanstrom, and Sister Goodman are three individuals who really came to our aide. They stopped by one night with dinner for us and we shared with them what we were going through. Later that night as we were planning for out next day they all came back with care packages, big hugs, and prayers for us and it meant the world. I have come to know with a far greater knowledge that as President Eyring shares in his conference address The Comforter, Heavenly Father will use his saints here on the earth to comfort those in times of distress. I've been lucky enough to be on the serving side of that equation, but it wasn't until this week that I felt how powerful it is to be on the receiving end of this promise.

2. When we work hard and do our part, Heavenly Father ALWAYS provides miracles. As I said, this week was hard. We had almost two full days that we unexpectedly didn't get to go out for normal proselyting and we had to cancel a lot of plans. And that stressed us out a lot. But as the week went on, and as we constantly turned to the goals which we had set for the week we were able to accomplish and outreach the majority of these goals! Sunday proved to be a day of miracles as we saw our investigator Lynn come to church for the first time, our investigator Samantha shared with us her great desire to be baptized and agreed to pray about when it should happen, our investigator Kelly told us about how comfortable she feels in the ward and that she received a confirmation about being baptized on September 20th, and our investigator Eugene committed to being baptized on October 11th! I promise you that when we do our best, He makes up the rest. I know that Heavenly Father is so aware of all of our individual needs and circumstances and all He wants to do is help us through them. I know and promise that as we do all we can to follow his commandments and be diligent in doing all that He asks, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will be there to strengthen and support us through all of our doings and provide miracles when we need them.

3. Family does not have to be by blood. There are just SO MANY incredible members in the Camden Ward who have done all they can to make us feel welcome and just like part of the family!! One family in particular sticks out far above the rest and that is the Victory family. We eat with the Victorys every single Sunday night and it is a circus each and every time! The family is huge! There are the grandparents and they have four kids. The oldest has 5 kids, the next has one, the next has 4, and the youngest has 3. And then our investigator Kelly is always there with her daughter as well. And they're all in the ward! This family has taught me A LOT about the missionary, the mom, the wife, and the person who I want to become. I am eternally so grateful for them and so many other incredible member who I have had the privilege to meet in my 9 months of serving.

That's about it for me this week. I am so grateful to be out here serving my Savior. I know that this work is His and that as we align our will with our Heavenly Father's great things will happen. I love you all and I hope you all have a great week!

So much love,

Sister Rachel Petrick

--

Sister Rachel Petrick

16 Park Lane

Dover, DE. 19904

Here is the Trio!

Sister Ashcraft, Sister Van Arsdale, and Sister Petrick

Hello

Hello!

I have so many fun things to share with everyone this week! First, I'm in a trio again! That was kind of a shock, but we got Sister Van Arsdale on Wednesday. :) She's from Bountiful and she's awesome, we've been having a ton of fun and getting work done.

One part of missionary work that I have come to love is working with the members of the ward. In the Camden Ward we have so many people who are willing and excited to come out teaching with us, and it is such a blessing! Members add so much to our lessons. The hard thing is that as missionaries we move around. We're not here to stay. It's so important that the new members and those investigating have a friendly, constant face at church. This Ward goes above and beyond with their fellow- shipping efforts and we've been able to see miracles.

I was lucky enough to go out with a Sister in our Ward named Cindy Goodman. Sister Goodman was baptized almost a year and a half ago and she's going to the temple next Saturday to take out her endowments and she's basically the sweetest thing you'll ever see. When she got in the car with me she told me how nervous she was but she said "this is
the Lord's work and you're the Lord's servant, so I know that I'm in good hands." That simple testimony set the feeling for the whole day.

We were able to share the message of the Restoration with a man and Sister Goodman's testimony really solidified his understanding. I could see his understanding of the priesthood pop into place and I know that it's because this sweet woman went out of her way, went out of her comfort zone, to share what she knows to be true. Members bring
miracles! Every time, and I'd like to encourage all of you, if you're able, to go out teaching with the missionaries. I can promise that they will so greatly appreciate the offer.

We also had a powerful experience as we were doing stop bys last night. We have an investigator named Eugene who we've only briefly met. He's hard to catch and we haven't actually taught him just yet,
but we found him home and set up an appointment! Eugene works at the
car wash that we go to and the Elders started talking to him one day and gave him a Book of Mormon. He started reading and he LOVES it! He is obsessed with Mosiah. As we were talking I just kept having the thought to invite him to be baptized, and with how their comments were going, I could tell my companions had the same thought. We worked so
well together as we invited him to be baptized and explained more about the priesthood power he said "My baptism wasn't valid, I need to be baptized again!" It was incredible! He understood exactly why the priesthood is so vital and asked us to come back next week.

I love this gospel with every fiber of my being. I'm so grateful for this chance that I have to serve my Savior and learn how to follow him. Every day I realize how far from perfect I am, I realize a new
inadequacy or weakness, but I can say that I know that I can be strengthened by the infinite atonement that Christ suffered for each one of us individually. He knows us and how to help us perfectly. All
we have to do is ask and seek His help, but He's always there.

--

Sister Rachel Petrick

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