This Week I Made Worm Friends

Mom addition: 

1 Once again she didn't refer to her title in her post.  Her companion, Sister Shaffer, got some balloons from her mom.  Since they are shaped like worms, they named them all and Rachel loves them dearly. There is a picture at the bottom of this post.

2. For those of you who only read her updates here on the blog, I corrected her encouraging us all to smoke last week and the end of her letter.  So, you missed out on that one. I am pretty sure it was just a spell check thing.

Hello everyone!

Before anything else I would like to put into place a retraction from my last email. I would like to DISCOURAGE any smoking. Do not plan to smoke. All smiles no smoking! Replaces those smokes with smiles. That's officially my advice for this and last week, because smiles are good. Smoking is not. Thank you to everyone who expressed concern. :)

This has been quite the week, yet again.  We've been preparing for Sister Reed to go home, and just dropped her off today. We've spent a lot more time inside and packing than I would have liked, but we were able to get Sister agreed all packed and comfortable so it's all okay. :) We were also able to put aside a lot of time this week to do tracting. Besides planning tracting as a back up here and there I haven't really done any, so it was great getting the extra practice and we were able to meet a lot of really great people! We stopped by one potential, his name is Wes, and we talked to him for almost an hour in his front yard. As we left he said he had one final piece of marriage advice for us. And he then told us about his boys that he has in Trenton and his trailer of baseball bats and said that if any boy gives us trouble to call him and he'll take care of it. Hahahah, too good. :) We also today met a woman in the grocery store and I started talking to her and was able to give her a Book of Mormon! There are people everywhere that are waiting to receive the gospel! I promise and testify that when we open our mouths and are friendly then Heavenly Father will put words in our mouths that can touch these people! 

This upcoming week also marks my six months in the mission and boy, the time has flown by! I have loved every second of being out here. So in honor of my hitting six months and Sister Reed hitting 18 months, we had a fire and burnt our clothes. At six months Sisters burn tights, at a year it's a shirt, and at 18 months it's an outfit. Enjoy the pictures. :)

My mission president has also asked about miracles happening after 8:30. And since we're out of our area so much that time is typically just used for driving home. So I made it a goal to get into our area sooner so that we could end the day here. Friday night we had skipped dinner time so we were planning on just going in a little bit earlier and eating at home but I really felt like we needed to stay out until nine even though I didn't know what for, so I insisted and Sister Shaffer suggested we try a media referral who wasn't home the first time we tried him. We showed up with the requested Book of Mormon and I felt like we needed to add more to it, so I wrote a quick note, promising that it would bless his life, and placed it inside before heading to the door. He was home! And as we talked to him he told us that he was atheist but that he wanted to read and see what he thought about the Book of Mormon. He said he was curious and he gave us his email address and we should be teaching him really soon! It was such a testimony builder in the fact that first, miracles come after 8:30, and second, as we have the desire to be where He needs us, Heavenly Father will lead us to where we can do the most good. 

This upcoming week is also transfers! I am once again staying in the promised land of Philly 1st Ward. Five transfers here and I'm grateful for each one of them. :) It's actually super funny, I've been to every single transfer meeting (since the PPM is awesome and our transfers are a game show), but I haven't gone anywhere. I know that I'll be moving soon, but for now there must be a reason Heavenly Father needs me here so I'm going to do everything I can to make Him proud. :) 

I love you all! The Church is true! He Lives! And now it's time to share it!

Sister Petrick

Sister Reed and Sister Petrick burning their clothes

Sister Petrick, Sister Reed, Sister Shaffer tracting selfie

She didn't tell me about this one, but I like it still

Sister Petrick loving her "worm" friends, Sister Reed a little concerned

April 20, 2015

I don't even know how to describe this week. We started with spending the day in Center City Philadelphia last Monday. We saw all the cool historical sites like the liberty bell and we ate Amish pretzels and donuts(basically the best things you will EVER eat) at Reading Terminal Market and we of course we're able to visit the Philadelphia temple site. I cannot express how blessed I have been to be serving so close to the temple site! I've been able to see the work being done and even meet some of the workers. They have all told us about how this is the best job site they've ever worked on and that's because of the special spirit that comes along with the importance of the work that they're doing! The temple is so beautiful and I'm so grateful that I'm here and seeing the excitement that comes along with the temple. It truly is the House of the Lord. :) 

We also had the highest of highs and lowest of lows with our investigators, Martha and Presider.  The first was a lesson where the Spirit was completely gone. None of us felt anything and we were desperately trying to invite the Spirit because we weren't going to teach without it. Presider was called out of the room and we huddled and talked about what promptings were coming and we were all lead to the verse 1 Corinthians 10:13. We shared the verse and immediately the Spirit flooded into the room. Both girls opened up about their deep concerns and we were able to testify that this gospel is the only way to be truly happy and find solutions to our problems and concerns. We were all in tears and we saw the first sparks of true conversion in them. And the next lesson we had with them it was like nothing happened. They didn't feel anything and they both took two huge steps backwards. We left feeling confused and just heart broken. We've talked about them nonstop since then and have felt such a strange confirmation about the next lessons we are planning on teaching, so please keep them in your prayers. 

And one more cool story - I mentioned this a long time ago, but I teach an English class to some of the African women in the ward. Lately we've been trying to think of ways that they can be more incorporated into the ward. So we've been teaching them to sing There is a Green Hill Far Away. At church this week we performed the song in Sacrament meeting with the four cutest African women in the world! It was such a heart warming experience. People were crying and the bishop was at a loss for words and the spirit was so strong! Everybody loved it! I was so proud of them. :) 

All is well here. It's warm and sunny, I love my companions, the church is true, and I love my savior so much. :) I want to invite everyone to pay attention this week and just smile! I made this a goal the last couple weeks and it's done wonders. Specifically I made it a goal to smile when I drive and when I do I'm just automatically so much happier and it's so much easier to wave and say hi to people as I drive and even if you don't want to, smiling just puts you in a great mood. So everyone plan to smile this week. :)

I love you all!

Sister Petrick

Pictures

Her companion sent her mom some really cute pictures that I wanted to share.

Salutations!

I have to first apologize for not sending an email last week. There wasn't a good reason, I just didn't have a ton to share but I'll give a mini summary of what would have been included:  Tuesday we were in urgent care for a couple hours, we're all good, Sister Reed had just been sick for a while so we wanted to make sure she was okay. Wednesday we were who knows where getting our car fixed for five hours, Friday was zone conference, and then both days of general conference. General conference was INCREDIBLE. When you're a missionary it's basically the best thing. And I feel like there were TONS of shout outs to me. Elder Eyring talking about the woman escaping from the war in Africa(I have heard TONS of those stories), someone mentioned a government leader of Philadelphia, sunflowers are my favorite flower, a general authority who visited my mission and called my mission president like the day before he spoke was on conference, and the temple announced in the Ivory Coast! I cannot even describe the amazing spirit that came over our chapel when the members of my ward heard that announcement. Most of my African members are from Liberia, but a temple in the Ivory Coast will be such a huge blessing to their family members! I am so grateful for conference and the gospel! :) 

This week wasn't the most exciting week, we had so many appointments fall through. That's always a bit discouraging as a missionary, but it just means that we're needed elsewhere! Like Saturday night for example. We showed up for our appointment and no one was home. So we rescheduled and decided to go stop by one of our investigators just to see how she's been. As we were talking with her another one of our investigators who we haven't seen in weeks walked through the door. We were able to set up a time for us to go see both of them! Such a tender mercy! I know that, as long as we're doing our part, Heavenly Father places us and leads us where we need to be at every second of every day. As we strive to do His will we can't fail! He will give us the Spirit to be there constantly as our companion. We're on the Lord's team and that means we're going to be victorious. :) 

I want to end this email by strongly encouraging everyone to go and see the new movie Freetown. I haven't seen it, and I probably won't until I'm back home, but this movie holds a very special place in my heart. It negates the image of missionary work in Africa that The Book of Mormon Musical has so wrongly portrayed. Freetown is an independent film about missionaries who are escaping the civil war in Africa. This movie shares stories just like the ones that I hear every day. We were told that the stories aren't entirely accurate because it is told more from the missionaries' point of view, but it will still provide so much insight. Because of the great Liberian representation in my ward many of our ward members have been invited to a Q&A session with the director of the film at one of the screenings of the movie. Freetown shares of the strength and the faith and the courage of these people who I have come to love so dearly. And I would love nothing more than for you to experience that as well. I ask anyone who can to go and see this movie and please let me know what you think. I promise that it will testify to all who watch just how powerful and life changing the Gospel of Jesus Christ truly is and of how aware the Savior is of us all.

I love you all! 

Sister Rachel Petrick

I DID THE WAVE AT CHURCH

Hello all!

This week has basically had it all. We've had incredibly spiritual lessons, lessons that fell through, doors slammed in our face, tears shed out of frustration and out of joy, and just some amazing miracles!

One of the funniest moments came from an extremely awkward door approach. For those who I haven't told, I'm currently training a brand new missionary, or a golden as we call them in the PPM, and this was her first time she has ever taken the lead with a door approach. As I'm sure many of you have heard, the church has just released a new Easter video called Because He Lives. If you haven't watched this video yet I would strongly encourage you to do so. It's an amazing
reminder of all the Savior has done for us and how we can show our gratitude for His great sacrifice. So we were approaching this door with the plan on showing the video to whoever opened the door. A cute old man opened the door and Sister Shaffer started introducing
the video, she was doing a great job, and this man out of nowhere yelled "I CANT GET INVOLVED WITH JEHOVAHS WITTNESSES," threw some pebbles at us, and slammed the door. While we didn't get the chance to show it here, I've also seen miracles come from showing this video. One woman in particular looked so uncomfortable as I bore my testimony
and asked to show her the video. But as she watched her countenance changed completely and she asked for cards to show her friends and family. I am so incredibly grateful for the Savior and this Easter season that we have to focus on all that He has given to us all! :)

The highlight of the week was definitely Saturday night, the women's session of General conference. Before the session started our stake had a celebration to honor all of the women who made covenants in 2014. With the logistics of my ward with many of the Africans and
their humble circumstances we weren't sure if many of our women would
be able to attend. But us Sister Missionaries and the relief society
worked together and planned out rides for many of the members. We ended up having 42 members of our Ward at this celebration! Which actually ended up being the highest attending ward and that was nothing short of a miracle! All night my heart was so full of love for these amazing, covenant women who I'm so privileged to serve.

We also have a new Ward Mission Leader who I am so excited to work with! I have so greatly looked up to this family since my first week here. He and his wife taught the combined third hour lesson yesterday
at church and it was all about spreading the gospel. He started by leading all those there in the wave. Let me say that again - we did THE WAVE at CHURCH. Hahahah, it was so wonderful! He wanted to make a
point in the fact that everyone needs to be working together in order for our ward and Heavenly Father's kingdom to prosper. The whole time we focused on the ripple effect. And what that means is that we first focus on our own testimonies. We grow and learn and individually become converted. As we're doing that, the next ripple is the family
unit. We strengthen our families and set goals together to become better. We then branch out to the community and share the gospel with those around us. And sharing the gospel can be so easy! It's as easy as sharing a gospel message on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram or
inviting a friend to your home to watch general conference.

Heavenly Father's work is hastening and we all have a part in it. We all add so much!! As we approach general conference this weekend I would like to encourage everyone to go with an open heart asking Heavenly Father how we can share his message with the world. I know
that as we all set this as a goal we will truly be able to aide the work in His vineyard. I love you all so much more than I could describe and I'm so grateful to be here in Philadelphia sharing the
good news of Christ's gospel and I know that He lives! I know that this message is true and that sharing it brings more joy than you can imagine!

So much love,
Sister Rachel Petrick

#BecauseHeLives

I ate a Philly Cheesesteak!

Hello!

Friends and family, brothers and sisters, ladies and gentlemen, I am so happy to share with you all the exciting news that I had my very first Philly Cheesesteak this week. And it was incredible. My mouth was so happy. :)

But in all seriousness, this was an incredible week! We didn't teach quite as much because I had extra meetings because I was called to train a brand new missionary! We picked Sister Shaffer up on Wednesday and she is awesome! She's so excited about the work and is really such a great example to me. And lucky me, I'm now the senior companion and the designated driver. I get to drive in Philly! It's seriously so stressful but I love it. Everyone drives crazy so if I do something dumb I just fit right in. It's awesome! I'll definitely be bringing some new driving habits back to Utah.

Crazy cool story time: does everyone remember my last McDonald's story? The one where we were getting yelled at and we compared it to Abinadi? Good. So. One of our Sister Training Leaders met this guy named Eric when she was going to the temple. He came up to talk to her
because he recognized the badge. This man was part of the family who was sitting near us when the angry man was yelling. He told her how impressed he was with us and especially Sister Reed and said that he would go and visit the Philly Temple site soon! It's not very often that you get to see the outcome of the stands that you take, but this time we were able to recognize our Alma. :)

We also just had some amazing changes to our ward. We had a new bishopric called last week and we have a new Ward Mission Leader. This is a man who I've really looked up to since I first got here and I'm really looking forward to working with him more. We had dinner with
him and his family last night and we were able to talk a lot about how the missionary work in P1 will be moving forward and I'm extremely excited about all of the changes being made. We're going to reevaluate our priorities and work on retaining and strengthening members. The idea is that we cause a ripple effect throughout the ward. We strengthen our testimonies and then the unity and Spirit found in the home and from there we'll identify ways that the ward members, as families, can branch out to help those inactive members in the community. I know that the Lord is hastening His work. I look at the work going on in this ward and I know that Heavenly Father has His hand in all that is being done. Serving here and with all of these amazing people I've come to know so strongly that Heavenly Father knows and loves each and every one of His children. As it says in Alma 27:37 He is mindful of each and every one of you. He knows you by name. He knows your trials and your weaknesses and He knows what you need and exactly how to help you.


I love you all so much!
Sister Petrick

Sister Reed, Sister Shaffer, Sister Petrick

I GET TO STAY IN THE PROMISED LAND!

Ya Tua!!

So I do have some exciting news this week! We got transfer calls on Friday and unfortunately, Trifecta is coming to an end. (long story, but that's what a ward member called our companionship so we go with it) Sister Ririe will be transferred to a new area, Sister Reed and I will be staying in Havertown! I will probably have to drive in Philly.
Pray for me please.

We were able to teach so many amazing lessons this week! We have so many people who we're teaching that are making changes in their lives so that they can better rely on the spirit. Some of the choices haven't been the best, but as they make these choices they're learning
more about how the Spirit directs them personally and it's been so incredible to see! It's also been teaching me so much about how the Spirit communicates with me. I've always known of moments when I've felt the Spirit, but feeling the Spirit and relying on the Spirit are i completely different things. Relying on the Spirit can be so hard. It requires patience, love, and obedience, but the reward is pure joy!!
I'm still learning bit by bit how to rely on that Spirit but I know that as we come to know how the Spirit communicates with us we'll be able to better rely on him and the Savior as they direct our paths. :)

I was also mistaken for a gypsy this week, it was awesome. Hahahah. We
were walking down the streets in Philly, and I'm convinced that this was because I was wearing my pink flowy skirt, and we said hello to this man on the side of the street. (The streets of Philly are full of
psychos, be careful kids, don't talk to strangers unless the Spirit directs you to) He looked at us after we said hello and said "Look at the pigeons gypsies, look at the pigeons. Bless the pigeons, gypsies,
the pigeons....." We started walking away and this man followed us. He followed us all the way into an African store owned by one of our investigators and she kicked him out. Hahahah, it was hilarious.

There's not a lot to report. Life is good, the Church is SO true, I love being a missionary. The Lord is hastening His work and I'm so grateful to be a part of it. I also have a request! Could everyone
please send me your favorite scripture? Thank you and I love you all!
:)

So much love,
Sister Rachel Petrick