It's Been A Week of Firsts

Well, this week was long. But it was good. It was full of >goodbyes >Lost Luggage >A CAR >Sister Mauia >Chapel Downs Ward and >South Auckland (again)!!

It started out this week really good. Sister Uele is so amazing. I think out of all of my companions she has been the one that really was my sister. We have such a good connection and I love her so much. (: We had District Meeting on Tuesday and as hard as the Zone Leaders tried, it was kind of just a waste of an hour...(: They're still little boys. Haha. Sister Uele and I were walking home with plans to make pancakes for lunch when Elder Faloon and Elder Napier invited us to come to get pizza with them and Elders Witt, Au, and Fonokalafi. So, we decided to go! So, we went and got pizza and then went to the skate park to eat with the Elders. (: I took some awesome videos of the Elders trying to conquer the bowl, but unfortunately I can't send videos. ): One day you'll see them. Then we got transfer calls! I am going to head up to the Redoubt Zone with Sister Mauia!! Back up to South Auckland, where I started my mission. I was pretty excited, but pretty nervous at the same time. But in the words of one of my great friends, "Heavenly Father knows you better than you know yourself." (: How true that is!

So, Sister Uele busied ourselves visiting members, investigators, and friends saying goodbye and taking photos with those who I have grown to love with all of my heart. It was so bittersweet saying goodbye to the Lake Rotoroa ward, knowing that I would grow in my next area, but knowing that I was leaving behind families who had become like my own family. I said goodbye to and took photos with everyone that I wanted to and I got packed all in the amount of time that I had. It was literally a miracle. (: Pictures to come. (:

Well, Thursday, Transfer Day, rolled around and I was rushing around packing my bedding and loose ends and at 8:15, Sister Heu came over and dropped off my birthday present. (: Chocolate, oh, how she knows me. (: Then at 8:30, Sister Hughes and Sister Mu'amoholeva came to our flat. Sister Hughes is getting transferred up to Manurewa, the zone just below Redoubt. So, we'll be companions and Sister Mu'amoholeva will stay with Sister Uele. (: The Zone Leaders came with the trailer and I packed all my stuff into it. Saying goodbye to Sister Uele was so hard. We hugged and suddenly my allergies acted up and my eyes watered uncontrollably. It's crazy how inconvenient allergies are, eh? Then we left. I left my heart, my sister, and my ward. But! On to bigger and better things!! South Auckland needs Sister Pearce and Sister Pearce needs South Auckland. (: So, we got to transfer meeting and moved what I thought was all of my stuff to my new zone's trailer. Had transfer meeting, learned about a temple trip on the 9th of September, what a nice birthday gift, and had lunch! After lunch, we shot off! An hour and a half in the car with Sister Taisnei, Elder Winter, and Elder Nelson. It was...interesting. Haha.

We arrived in Manakau at the Redoubt Road chapel and waited for our companions to arrive. They unloaded the trailer and as the trailer kept getting emptier and emptier I realised that one of my very important bags was missing. So, the Zone Leaders texted the Assistants and the Assistants said that the Glenview Zone had it. So, somewhere in translation, it got left in my old zone's trailer. WHOOPS!! So, the last little while I have gone without my bedding and some other things. Bedding in New Zealand in the winter is very important. So, it's been really cold these past couple of nights. Very. Cold. It's quite sad. But! Again, Heavenly Father knows me much better than I know myself. (:  Also, while waiting in the car park for Sister Mauia, I learned that WE ARE GETTING A CAR!!!!!!!!!!!! MY FIRST CAR ON THE MISSION!! I am very very very excited. (: But there's something wrong with it so we won't get it for a few days. But at least we get one! (:

Then Sister Mauia came to the chapel car park! The first thing I noticed was how tall she is. I think out of all my companions, she is the tallest. (: So, I am again the short one! Fun times. We got along right away! I am so excited to work with her. She has only been out for about 6 months, so I am the senior companion, another first of the mission. (: She is from American Samoa and both her English and her Samoan are really good. She is really loud and loves to laugh and just like my past three companions, struggles to be obedient. But that is what I am here to help her with. (: I think Heavenly Father trusts me. I'm starting to trust myself. It's a beautiful thing! (:

We are serving in the Chapel Downs Ward! It is a very small ward. Almost small enough to be considered a branch, but it is growing and I am excited to help it grow. The work is booming up here and we have over 20 investigators that all are begging to be baptised. Nah, haha, but they are all really interested to learn more about the Good News that we have. (: The ward is really good and the members love coming out with us. I know that I am going to love this area! (:

Well, I started in South Auckland and the Prodigal Daughter has returned once again to South Auckland. (: It is so busy and it is mostly Polynesians. I don't think I've seen more than 5 Palagis, or White People, since I've been up here. (: All good! I stand out. And I love Islander food. Taro and chop suey. (: The bomb!

Here are all the pictures that I have taken this week, if they don't all fit, I'll send them in two emails. (:

Sister Pearce. (:

A Completed Journal, A Talk in Church, and Dinner

This week was really good! I got hammered with a cold, but it is getting better. (: Our Ward Mission Leader gave me a really nice blessing and I have definitely noticed an improvement! I have gained such a testimony of the priesthood being out here. But I have also learned that it controlled by faith. I have been striving to gain more faith in everything this week. Especially in myself, in other people, and in the Gospel. It has been a really good experience for me. And I can definitely feel my faith growing. It's not quite an oak of knowledge yet, but it might look like a little bush right now. (; 

I finished a journal this week! Actually, it is the first journal that I have ever finished...in my life. It was a rather joyful and momentous occasion...(: I was reading back over it and I realised that there were many things that I wanted to change and things that I wish I would have done differently, so I am going to start implementing them into my new journal. (: One of the things is at the beginning of every entry I am going to write at least 5 things I was grateful for that day. It has been going really well and it makes me recognise the blessings that come from being grateful for the blessings that Heavenly Father gives me each day. 

Well, Saturday night rolled around this week and we were just doing what we do when we got a call from a member of the Bishopric...everyone in the church knows what it means to get a call from a member of the Bishopric. It either means a talk in church or a meeting. For missionaries it usually means a talk in church. Brother Wotherspoon asked all of the missionaries in our ward (there are 5) to give short, 3 minute talks, about what we did to prepare for our missions and a little bit about how our parents prepared us for baptism. It was really cool for me to think about how I prepared and how my parents had prepared me. (: It was awesome to stand in front of the ward I have come to love so much and tell them how much I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have been in this ward for 6 months. This week is transfers and I hope that the Lord continues to need me here. But I am so excited to serve wherever the Lord sees fit. (: 

The weather this week has been a total blessing. The sun has been shining for the past 4 days. Now, let me explain Aotearoa a little bit. When the sun comes up in the morning it is a beautiful thing. If you don't see the sun in the morning, it usually means...really cold and rainy. But sunshine could also mean cold and rainy 5 minutes later. It's a lottle bi-polar. (: But when the weather is like it has been these past few days, everyone is in Heaven. It has been sooooo warm. We don't even have to wear jackets during the hours of like 9:30 to 5:45 at night. But the second it hits about 5:45 the temperature drops dramatically. Sometimes into the negatives. So, if you're not prepared, you are going to get really really cold. It is such an adventure! I love it with all of my heart. (: 

We had dinner with the coolest family EVER! I think I might have talked about them before, but I can't remember...they are the Swamys. They are from Fiji and they are Indian. But don't mistake it. They are not Indians, nor are they Indians from Fiji. They are Fijian Indians and they are very passionate about their nationality. (: Well, anyway. We had dinner with them and they cook the meanest food. It is similar to Indian food, but a lot less spicy, which is good for my weak mouth. (: As Dad can attest to. But man, it is literally the best food on the planet. (: I love it. They taught us to make Roti and the curry dish that they made, so I'll make it when I get home! 

Well, that's about it for this week! (: The photos are as follows:

0110 -> We needed to wash Sister Uele's huge blanket, which can only be hand washed in warm water and we only had our rubbish bin that was big enough, so we had an adventure washing it. Welcome to New Zealand!! 

0073 -> Brother Swamy wanted to show off his great cooking skills!

0077 -> This is all of us, Sister Uele, Me, Sister Swamy, Brother Swamy. (: 

I love you all! I am growing in faith, hope, and charity and I am loving it! There are so many good changes that I have seen in myself and I will literally never go back to what I was before. This life is beautiful! This Gospel is beautiful! We are all Heavenly Father's children and he loves us more than we know! I love you!!

Sister Pearce (: 

The Week That Changed My Life (17-Aug-2014)

I don't even know how to put this week into words. Think of the happiest moment of your life...

Now multiply it by....6!! (megamind reference...)

No, but seriously.

It started on Wednesday. Zone Conference. 5 Higgins Road, Hamilton. Look it up. Inside that chapel, I got one of the rudest awakenings I have ever received. It was a wonderful awakening, but a rude one.

For all of my missionary friends, I invite you to read, listen, and learn. This will change your life, if it hasn't already. Okay, there is a talk written by Lawrence E. Corbridge. It is called The Fourth Missionary. This talk has changed my outlook on my mission and on my life. In this talk, Elder Corbridge categorizes missionaries into four different groups. (He refers to both Elders and Sisters)

The First Missionary- is disobedient. He does what he wants to and as a result is either sent home or insists that he is sent home. No good comes of his service, he does not have the Spirit, he forgoes development, finds it hard to fit in, and ultimately, is not changed by his mission.
He thinks that obedient missionaries are weak and he likes the idea that he is not like the others.
He fails. Instead of moving forward, he moves backwards. He cannot have faith because while he might believe in God, he does not believe in himself.

The Second Missionary- is also disobedient. He does what he wants to do, but he serves his entire mission. He is dishonest and his frame of mind is to not get caught. As a result the good he would have done is gone undone, He does not have the Spirit, feels regret and misery and ultimately is not changed by his mission. This is the missionary that the mission president feels he has to babysit. This missionary is so negative and has such a lack of faith that he starts to pull down other missionaries around him. He lies. He covers up.

The Third Missionary- is obedient and worthy. He does his duty and serves faithfully, but he withholds his heart. He does what the Lord wants, but he wants to do what he wants to do. As a result, much good is done, he enjoys the Spirit, but conforms his behaviour. He gains little or no knowledge and ultimately is not changed by his mission.  This missionary is the bulk of missionaries serving in the field right now. He does what he knows he is supposed to do, but he does not throw his heart into it. He doesn't give himself to the Lord. He is not changed because he does not want to change. The Lord can only change you if you let him.

The Fourth Missionary- is obedient and worthy. He totally surrenders himself to the Lord. He has charity. He measures his success from within and his dominant desire is to do what the Lord wants him to do. As a result, much good is done. He enjoys the Spirit. His nature is changed. He is redeemed and ultimately this missionary benefits from and is changed greatly by his mission. The Fourth Missionary is not perfect. He struggles and he has weaknesses. But he does what the Lord wants him to do. He lets the Lord turn him into what the Lord wants him to be.

These four categories were like a slap in the face for me. I know what I need to do now and I am going to do it! I had many spiritual experiences this week and so many of them have helped me to become more of who Heavenly Father needs me to be. (:

Oh, and we had a baptism amidst all of this learning and growing. (: Our little Jahvarn got baptised on Monday. (: It was such a spiritual and beautiful baptism. (:

I am so grateful to be on a mission. This is has been probably the most important week of my mission and I will always remember what I learned and what I gained from this week. (:

Love
Sister Pearce

When You Ask For Sunshine, You Get A Rainbow

Okay, This week.
How do you say it?
This week might be a little hard for me to talk about, not because it was hard or anything, but because it has a very special place in my heart. We didn't see any huge as miracles or anything, but I saw many changes within myself. I have changed dramatically being on my mission and I am bold enough to say that my mission has saved my soul. Things that I didn't know before my mission, I know now and I am so grateful for that knowledge. I have been reflecting a lot on my pre-mission life and I am so not proud of a lot of the things I did and of who I was. But I can say that I am now proud to be Sister Rachel Pearce. I am proud to be a New Zealand Hamilton Missionary. I am proud to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I read in my study journal the other day and there was a Zone Conference that we had with President Rudd and he said, "Whether you have been called as a New Zealand Hamilton Missionary because you have souls to save here or because you have your soul to save, it doesn't matter. Each one is of eternal significance to the Lord." That really stood out to me. Why was I called here? I don't know for sure, but I do know that part of it was so that Heavenly Father could mold me into who I am today. There are so many things that I wish I could tell you about myself, but I think my favorite is this: I have learned that it is okay to not be right. Even if you are right, but the other person thinks they are right, let. them. be. right. (; It is a wonderful concept and much contention is avoided when one party decides to be the better person!

Jesus Christ set an example for us. I can testify that it is possible to follow His example and that when you turn your life to Christ it becomes that much easier to live. Loving people is the key to life. We are literally all Brothers and Sisters and "pure Christlike love flowing from pure righteousness can change the world." I promise that it is worth it to love everyone. Even when it is hard. I have learned that the really hard way. And I can promise that it is truly a relieving feeling when you can recognize all people as children of our Heavenly Father. Do it. I dare you.

Okay, this week Sister Uele's family brought us matching T-shirts from Tonga. (: They are the coolest T-shirts I have ever seen. (:

Arohanui,
Sister Pearce

Also, 64 is the family that we have been teaching. Jahvarn, the ten year old is getting baptised tonight! And we are literally so excited. (:

88 is the family that we had dinner with last night and they are so awesome. Sister Williams is the Stake Relief Society President. And Patriarch Williams is...the Patriarch. (: Haha, Then there are there two sons and Moana the little one. And then Rani. Rani is from Indonesia. And she has a powerful testimony. (:

More Broken Bones!!

This week was pretty good. It started out with some shopping on Monday. And then we went to the Supermarket to shop for food...I hope your face hasn't hit the keyboard from boredom yet(; We were having District Preparation Day at Lake Rotoroa and so we parked the car and I emptied my pockets and Sister Uele got out of the right side car and shut the door. Looking back on this, I realised that she just kind of stood there, but at the time it didn't mean anything to me. Well, Sister Whiting got out of the driver's side, on the same side as Sister Uele and she goes, "Oh, Sister Uele! What did you do?!" And then Sister Uele just lets out this heartwrenching, "OWWWW..." No tears were shed, no screams here uttered, just "OWW." Well, I knew something was wrong at this point so I jumped out of the car and ran around the other side to check on my companion. When I got to the other side of the car, Sister Uele was just standing there looking at the pool of blood accumulating on her thumb. Luckily, I had my drink bottle, so I poured some water on it and we tried to clean it off a little bit. It immediately started bruising and swelling. It was pretty awesome! For me, not so much for Sister Uele. (: Sister Whiting and Sister Swindler had some tissues, so we wrapped those around her thumb and went to play Ultimate Frisbee. Sister Uele was lucky and didn't have to play...(; We didn't really think that she needed to go to the doctor, but when she woke up the next morning it was still oozing blood and so I made the executive desicion and we asked the Zone Leaders to take us after District Meeting. So, we went to the Doctor. They took X-rays and then we waited for 4 hours to get in to see the doctor...4 hours. It was the longest wait of my life. But fun fact, Elder Thompson, for the Quorum of the Seventy came in..so..that was fun! Haha. Well, the verdict is...the tip of her finger is crushed. That is how hard she slammed the door. So, they referred us to a hand therapist and we got to go out of zone!! (: Haha, she got this awesome thumb splint that is bright green. Totally inconspicuous. (; It's so awesome to get to give back what Sister Amituanai did for me when I broke my arm. It's also awesome to see how many things you can't do without your thumb. (;

I don't really have any other news from this week, but just a couple of cool miracles...last week at church this lady walked in and no one had ever seen her before. So we went up to talk to her and she said that she wanted to come to church because she had driven past the temple and they invited her in to the Visitor's Center. So, we're going to start teaching her. Also, Christine and Lawrence, who got baptized last week are already doing missionary work. (: Christine's sister already wants to be baptized, so we're going to work with her too. (: Jahvarn is getting baptized next Monday and we are so excited for that. (:

This week I have learned that even though times get hard and even though the light never seems to come, that it does come. Even though we struggle through some days and others go too fast, love every minute. Every minute matters. Even the small successes matter to the Lord. In Relief Society yesterday, Sister Kaile Hill gave a lesson on President Uchtdorf's talk from October 2011, and I took some notes that I will share with you now. 1. Forget Not to be Patient With Yourselves. >Celebrate your good efforts. >Keep working, and stop punishing yourself. >Be grateful for small successes because God notices the small things. >Find wonder and enjoyment, even through the trials. 2. Forget Not The Difference Between a Good Sacrifice and A Foolish Sacrifice. >Every person is different. >Are you committing your time and energies to the things that matter most? 3. Forget Not to Be Happy NOW. 4. Forget Not The Why Of The Gospel. >When we focus on the why of the gospel, confusion fade. >"The “why” of obedience sanctifies our actions, transforming the mundane into the majestic. It magnifies our small acts of obedience into holy acts of consecration." 5. Forget Not That The Lord Loves You. 

I love you all. I love New Zealand and I love the Lord. Every day I grow closer to him and everyday my life gets a little bit brighter. (:

Love,
Sister Pearce

5338-> The thumb before the doctor. (:

5340-> The thumb after the doctor. (:

5342-> She feels a little bit hard core I think. (: I was just sad for her.

5346-> Do you see the inconspicuous green thumb?

5347-> Our friendship in a nutshell...

5351-> We both awkwardly looked at each other without planning it and...

5352 is the result. (: (; I love Sister Uele. She's my favourite!!

I do's, Water, Fire, and Food (:

Okay. This week was really good. (: I struggled a little bit mentally the first half of the week and I learned some really good lessons. #1-Don't compare yourself to others. Preach My Gospel says that that is one of the greatest ways to get discouraged! And when you get discouraged, you lose faith and that is just no good whatsoever. Just don't do it. #2-Be patient. Heavenly Father's plan for you is not always apparent, but He does have a plan for you and it will be better for you than you think it will be. And #3-Miracles don't have to be akin to parting the Red Sea, they can be as simple as somebody turning on the font for us when we had a million other things to do. (:

Okay, rewind back to Wednesday: Christine was still looking for a wedding dress. Sister Verry who works at the Distribution Center said that we should bring her in to look at the temple dresses and she could get one that she could get married in and then baptized in. So, we took her and Lawrence to the Distribution Center. I think that if they would have had the money, Lawrence would've bought every piece of reading, watching and other material that he could buy. But since he couldn't, he settled for some white pants. Which was good. Now both he and she have white clothes for the temple when they get sealed. (: After we got their stuff, we went up to the Visitor's Centre. We watched God's Plan with them and then we went into the Christus Room to listen to that. By the time it was over, both Chrissy and Lawrence has tears running down their faces. The Spirit was so strong!

Okay, now...Saturday...was probably one of the greatest days of my mission so far. The day started out filling the font and luckily someone had been to the chapel before us and started it up so far, hence the miracle. So, we went about setting up chairs and getting the rooms ready for the big day. (: Sister Ngamanu showed up and we started setting up the Relief Society room for the Food. (: Mm, yummy. There's nothing better than Maori family feed. (; Then more people started showing up to help set up and Sister Heu brought the flowers and the cake, which was absolutely beautiful! Well, the whanau started showing up and there were heaps of non-members. It was really awesome! 11 o'clock rolled around and we were still missing our Bride. The Groom was there and looking spiffy, but the Bride was no where to be found. Quarter past came and went and then finally, at half past, the Bride arrived. One of the great brothers from our ward Brother Sinclair offered to take photos. I was lucky and got to be on the stand because I was playing the piano when she got there. We all stood up and I got a front row seat to the emotion that Lawrence displayed. The second Chrissy walked in the room, tears just started pouring down his face. It was so tender and cute. (: Bishop Verry said a few words (this was the first wedding he'd performed as Bishop and he was so nervous, but did so well!!) and then the ceremony was performed! It was so beautiful. The 'I do's were said and the license was signed and then we moved into the Primary Room for the baptismal service. It was short and sweet, but very spiritual. And then they were both baptised. Because of the amount of non-members there, people clapped after they were baptized...a little different, but still really awesome. (: The luncheon afterwards was really awesome and the food was...very very good. (: Then we cleaned up and it was just really awesome. (; When I arrived in New Zealand I decided that one day before my mission was over I wanted to have a Wedding Baptism and I have! And I am so grateful that I have been able to watch Lawrence and Chrissy grow in the Gospel. And I can't wait for the time that they get to enter the temple to be sealed as a family. It will be such a beautiful day!

Later that night the Elders had a baptism and it was definitely a spirit filled day and it will be one that neither Lawrence, Christine, or Thra will forget. (:

I love you all and I am truly grateful to be serving the Lord. (:

Arohanui,
Sister Pearce

Picutres from the Visitor's Centre and the Wedding Baptism!

Cold like a Freezer, and Slow like a Snail.....

Oi Ah Weh! This weather this week was so special. I bought gum boots on Monday, so that I would be prepared for the rain...guess what, it didn't rain at all this week...but I guess that happens doesn't it? It was just So chilly and cold. I can guarantee that those of you with Central Heating and Air Conditioning take it for granted. When we wake up in the morning it is so cold in our flat that we can hardly move. We hop out of bed, turn on our dinky little heaters, and then pray, then we do our best to exercise right in front of the heater. Then, just before personal study, we have to wipe the windows of the water that has condensed on them, then again after companion study. It's to keep mould from finding it's way into our flat. (: It's actually a really fun adventure that I love being a part of every morning. (: I do admit that I will not miss it when I return home. (: More than 9 months have passed and it is flying by. It has been full of happiness, sadness, joy, pain, rain, and much, much more. I have loved this time so far that I have had to serve the Lord and I am ready to continue to serve Him!!!

This week on Tuesday, we had a Relief Society Activity and Chrissy went, so we were able to go as well! It was probably the greatest activity I have ever been too! It was an International Food Night! A Zimbabwean Sister from the ward, Sister Marjorie Kunaka, made us a traditional Zimbabwean dish called Sadza. (: It consisted of a stew like combination of Chicken and Carrots. A leafy green salad with corn and onions. And then she used corn...maize I think, but i could be wrong, but anyway, she made something akin to mashed potatoes with it. She boiled it for a long as time and then stirred it this special way that took a heap of arm muscle! She made it so thick that we could eat it with our hands. Which is the point because the eat with their hands in Zimbabwe apparently. (: It was a really really delicious meal! Then three Fijian Indian sisters, Sunita Swamy, Sangeeta Sami, and Shana Swamy, made us a traditional Fijian Indian Curry. (: They also made us Roti, which is a lot like Naan Bread. The only noticeable difference is that Naan doesn't have a definite shape. With Roti, the roll it into really thin pancake looking circles. (: Then Sister Swamy made us delicious Vegetarian Curry! It was delicious! Sister Uele and I attempted to make it the other day and we did pretty good! Our Roti was good anyway! (:

 There really isn't much more to report on this week, but Chrissy and Lawrence are officially taking the steps to enter the waters of baptism! They are getting married this Saturday at 11 and then getting baptized straight after. (: We are so excited for them! It is so amazing to see how far they have come in such a short time! I love being a part of this great work and I am so excited that I have a while left to serve Him!

This week I truly gained a testimony of the power of Sacrament Meeting! I had been asking questions and seeking for answers and I finally got them in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. It was an absolute amazing experience for me! I have grown so close to my Heavenly Father in these past 9 1/2 months and it is so wonderful to see how far I have come. (: And how far I can continue to go!

Here are some pictures from the Hamilton Gardens (:
41->Us(;

54->Sister Uele is...a Turtle Dragon? (:

75->This Garden is to honour the God of Kumara.

79->PUKANA!

81->Yep..

86->Welcome to New Zealand!

12->I'm in Italy!

I love you all!!
Arohanui, ofa atu,
Sister Pearce (: