February 29, 2016

No group letter today. She said she couldn't think of what to write. She has been doing a lot of exchanges. She gets to stay with one of her former companions, Sister Van Arsdale, tonight. She is excited about that. She sent pictures. Her district and her and Sister Madrid.

Where oh where is Sister Petrick?

Hi everybody!!

So sorry in advance that this email is going to be shorter, it's kind
of a crazy Pday and I can't wrap my mind around writing too much. But
this week has been hard, but also wonderful. I had to say goodbye to
the family that I found in Vineland, New Jersey, and have been
transferred to Morrisville, Pennsylvania! Morrisville is so wonderful!
This ward is very missionary oriented and I already know that I will
learn so much here.

This week started out interesting because my first day here we had to
take our car into the shop because of previous car accidents and we
still haven't gotten it back! I've honestly loved it. We've been
walking around a lot, talking with lots of people on the street, and
I've been able to get to know a lot of members because they've been
driving us places. So really it's been full of blessings in disguise!

One highlight of the week was meeting a woman named Mardi. Mardi is
such a strong person! She's a new member of the Morrisville ward and
it's been such a blessing to hear her testimony of how the gospel has
changed her life. She has such a desire to share the gospel with all
those around her and listens to the spirit and seeks for Heavenly
Fathers guidance in all that she does.

And I wanted to make sure everyone had my address so you can send me
the piles of letters you have ready, so here it is:

171 S Main Street apt. 2
Yardley, PA 19067

I love you all!

February 15, 2016

Well everyone, tomorrow I say goodbye to Vineland! I'm getting
transferred and I leave tomorrow morning so I apologize in advance
that this will be a shorter email. Being a missionary for 15 months
really helps you accumulate a whole lot of stuff and packing takes a
while.

But I did want to share a few highlights of the week:

First, Lillie came to church this week! She couldn't stay the whole
time because her knee is still really bothering her from her surgery
but when we went and visited her afterward she told us that for the
first time her and her grandkids were just quiet all day because she
felt the spirit so strongly at church. I have been so grateful for
Lillie! I'm sad that I won't be here for her baptism, but I'm grateful
that I've been able to see the gospel bless her life so much already.
Her baptism will be such a special day. :)

This week we also met a woman named Ruth. She's actually a preacher of
another church. She let us in and we introduced her to the Book of
Mormon and she was so excited! She jumped at the chance to read it! We
shared with her some of our favorite passages about Christ and she
said right then and there that she believed that it was true. And she
invited us back!

This was a wonderful week! I'll include some pictures since I'm making
this so short. I'll let you all know where I end up next Monday!

I love you all!

---------------------------------
Sister Rachel Petrick

The Vineland Gang for the last time, and us and Vaughnie and Adam. :)

"if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness"

Hello! :)

If I could describe this week in one work it would be HECTIC. We were
constantly running from one place to another and I loved every second
of it! It was a strange week because Sister LeFevre and I were out of
our area for 2 1/2 days while we were with some of the other sisters
around us. Tuesday evening we got to go up to Medford, New Jersey, for
a really fun exchange! I was with Sister Roberts and we had a day full
of teaching! She taught me great lessons about having short, powerful
lessons and about seeking out ANYONE and EVERYONE to talk to! One
experience I want to share is meeting a woman named Dawn. Dawn was
meeting with the missionaries in Medford when I first came to this
area and due to a sad series of events she decided to stop. The
sisters were always hesitant to go back and see her but today Sister
Roberts really felt like that is where we needed to be. When we got to
her house there was no answer at her door so we decided to leave a
note. As sister Roberts was writing the note a woman stopped a little
ways away from the door and started staring at her so I waved and it
turns out it was Dawn! And to make this story even more exciting, For
a couple of weeks Dawn had been praying for the missionaries and
praying for the courage to go back to church because she was so
scared! This experience really taught me that Heavenly Father will use
us to help other people of we listen to the promptings of the spirit.
I know that it was no coincidence that we showed up that day to see
Dawn. She needed us, and Heavenly Father used us to answer her prayer.

The next day we had exchanges in Cherry Hill and o got to be with
Sister Nutting! Sister Nutting has a great talent of being anxiously
engaged but completely laid back at the same time. I really admired
that about her. She taught me so much about relating the scriptures to
those who we see. Any time someone asked us a question she first
turned to her scriptures. I know that the scriptures, specifically the
Book of Mormon, hold the answers that we're looking for and I promise
that a we pray and ask for guidance our Heavenly Father will lead us
to those answers.

Another highlight of the week was once again seeing Lillie! Lillie is
recovering so well! When we were with her she pushed her walker aside
and walked back and forth in her front room all by herself! She also
showed us her Book of Mormon and not only is she reading, but she had
colored tabs, different colored highlights, she had underlined and
circled cross references in the footnotes, she is really diving in to
her scriptures! And she is progressing so well and is so excited for
when she can walk and move well enough to come to church. Please
continue to keep her in your prayers. :)

And in other exciting news, for the last couple of weeks we've been
part of the ward choir! I just have to say that this choir has been
such a tender mercy for me. :) I have so badly missed singing in a
choir and the Easter songs that we've been practicing have really
helped me stay focused on the Savior and all that he's done for me. I
know the the Savior lives! I know that he lived and died so that I
might be able to return and live with my Heavenly Father some day. I'm
so grateful for his sacrifice and I know that this is His work.

This week we get our transfer calls! I'll let everyone know what
happens next week, but just in case, use this address if you send me
anything this week:

721 Paxon Hollow Rd. Ste.B
Broomall, PA. 19008


I love you all!
Sister Rachel Petrick
Here's a picture from month's zone training. :)

"whatsoever thing he shall ask in faith, believing ye shall receive, ye shall receive it"

Hello everyone!

Happy February!! :) This week was one of those weeks where I feel like
so much happened but at the same time like nothing did. A lot of
people were sick this week so we had to get creative with our time. :)

My first fun story comes from going on exchanges! We were up in
Sewell, NJ for a day. We've been trying to really help these sisters
because the work in their area has been slow lately. That morning I
said a prayer asking Heavenly Father that I would be able to do
something to help these sisters see that there is success in their
area. One thing my mission president has stressed is that "there's no
such thing as a dead area" and I was determined to help the sister I
was with see that! At first nothing we tried seemed to be successful
and I could tell the sister I was with was having a hard time. I
noticed a cute older couple sitting down the hall from where we were
and I ran over and started talking with them. Soon enough they were
asking about our church and we were telling them about the sacrament
and the restoration! They were both so excited to learn more and to
read a Book of Mormon! As we walked away I was so grateful to know
that Heavenly Father answered my prayer. I still get so nervous going
out of my way to talk to new people but Heavenly Father truly helped
me be courageous enough to open my mouth and I know that He can do the
same for all of you. :)

This week we were also able to meet a new man named Vincent. We've
taught Vincent's wife a couple of times and we finally got to teach
him! Is church is actually closing and he's looking for a new place to
go. We told him about our church and gave him a brief overview of the
restoration and he looked so excited! It's amazing to see how the
simple truths of the restoration truly do touch the heart. We, again,
just have to open our mouths and be ready and excited to share this
message!

I read a scripture this week that really hit me and I wanted to share
it with all of you. :) It's Romans 8:38-39. " For I am persuaded, that
neither death, nor life, nor Angels, nor principalities, nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any
other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." HOW AMAZING IS THAT?!? There is
NOTHING that can separate us from the love of God. No matter how hard
things get, no matter how many mistakes we make, our Heavenly Father
still loves us just the same. I know that that's true. And I'm so
grateful for that knowledge. :)

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

Love,
Sister Rachel Petrick
#TheChurchIsTrue

Our cute family picture. :)

Snow!

Dear friends and family,

This week we were hit with LOTS of snow. Apparently it was known as
the "blizzard of 2016." Or at least that's what I'm told. For the
first time in my life(at least that I remember), church was cancelled.
So my companion and I were able to spend our morning helping people
shovel themselves out of the snow. Even though it was less than
freezing, it still really warmed my heart. :) And to make a fun memory
even better, after we returned home the members we live with surprised
us with a mini sacrament meeting! They got permission to administer
the sacrament and then we watched President Nelson's recently young
adult address "Becoming True Millenials." As I listened to him speak
the thing that hit me most powerfully is that we truly do live in a
fallen world. There are wars, disease, pain, and all sorts of
temptations. Many often say that the world is in the worst condition
it has ever been in. But that's all in opposition to the fact that we
also live in the dispensation of the fullness of times. We might have
some of the worst things happening around us, but that's simple
because we are also blessed with the BEST. We are blessed to live in a
time where we can inherit all of the blessings that our Heavenly
Father has to give to His children. I'm very grateful for that
knowledge. I'm grateful to know that in 1820 the heavens were reopened
and that Heavenly Father and Christ set their work in motion. The
restoration of the gospel began and we are now all taking part in His
great work today.

I also wanted to give everyone an update on our investigator, Lillie.
This week were were able to go visit her with our Bishop and he gave
her a blessing for her surgery. When we went and visited her in the
hospital two days later she was overcome with gratitude and told us of
how well she was healing. I will never forget the smile on her face
when she said "it's because of bishop cook's blessing." She's doing so
well and is already ahead on her healing schedule! This week we read 2
Nephi 31 with her at the hospital. This woman constantly amazes me
with how much faith she has! As we read about baptism and explained
its importance she just looked at us, again with a smile on her face,
and said "I know." She's so excited to heal and come to church and be
a part of God's kingdom. She's already expressing how much she loves
her new "church family." I am so grateful for her and the example she
sets for me. She is so willing to do whatever the Lord tells her. She
really does hold such a special place in my heart.

Thank you for all of your love and support! I love you all!
Sister Rachel Petrick

It finally Snowed!

Hello everyone!

I am really just so excited to tell you a little bit about the simply
MIRACULOUS week that Sister LeFevre and I had. There were so many
times when we walked away from situations and look at each other and
said "Did that really just happen? Heavenly Father is SO GOOD."

The first miracle was such a tender mercy for a us both. Tuesday was a
long day full of administration work we had to finish so we didn't
have as much time as we like to outside. With the couple hours that we
had we decided to go contact a referral named Joseph who had requested
a bible. And it turns out that Joseph and his house full of people are
from West Africa! We started teaching him and a few of the other
people there about the Book of Mormon and after I shared a verse one
of the men said "Is that from Nephi?" We were shocked! He knew about
the Book of Mormon! And they knew all about the temple! They also had
a lot of questions so we scheduled a time to come back later, but we
left feeling so refreshed by the spirit. What a tender mercy. :)

We also got to go on two exchanges this week and I can testify that
exchanges bring miracles! I was with a sister named Sister Eckman and
I was blown away by the boldness of her teaching! Our first exciting
adventure together was delivering a bible for another referral. We
were also able to teach her about the Book of Mormon and she was so
excited to read it! We left and when we were almost to our car we
heard her calling after us and she came and asked us if we would bring
more copies of the Book of Mormon for her SEVEN KIDS so they could all
sit in with us and learn!

And just yesterday Sister LeFevre and I were delivering yet another
bible referral to a man named Gary. Gary invited us in immediately and
as we were handing him his bible he said that he meant to order a Book
of Mormon! Of course we happily gave it to him, told him a little bit
about it, and he asked if we would be willing to come back and teach
him about the doctrine of our church!

Heavenly Father is truly preparing people to hear the message of
Christ's restored gospel. I know that that is true. These experiences,
along with many other miracles from this week, really taught me that.
They also taught me how important it is to open our mouths and make
our message known. We could have easily just dropped off the bibles
and left, but because we mentioned the Book of Mormon and testified of
its truth the spirit was able to touch the hearts of these people and
they are letting us come back to share the gospel with them. Our
Heavenly Father gives us all incredible miracles each and every day,
we just need to follow his guidance so that we are where he needs us
at the right time. I know that Heavenly Father is so aware of us all.
I know that he loves us and that as we look for it we will see His
hand in our lives everyday. I know that this is his work and that it's
only through the sacrifice of his son, Jesus Christ, that we will be
able to enter into his presence. I'm so grateful to be a missionary!

I love you all!! I hope you have a great week!

Love,
Sister Rachel Petrick