Week #30 - Exchange miracles

Hello Everybody!!

First off I can't believe that this transfer is almost over. To explain what a transfer is; a transfer is 6 weeks long and you are assigned to a companion in that specific area. After those 6 weeks are over you will find out if you will go to a new area or stay in the area your in. My personal opinion, I would love to stay in Apopka with Elder Isaacson. I have been having such an amazing time with Elder Isaacson. He's such a great missionary and a hard worker. You can just tell when he teaches that he really loves the people.

The past week has been a little difficult for us. Not because we aren't teaching anyone but its because the people we are teaching aren't progressing. Which means coming to church, reading the scriptures, and doing other things that we ask them to do. By them following these commitments it helps them gain a closer relationship with there Savior, Jesus Christ, and their Heavenly Father. The couple people we have been teaching have been learning but haven't been keeping some of the commitments that we have given them. It's hard cause if there not keeping there commitments then we aren't using our time wisely. Elder Isaacson has been having a harder time with it cause he's been working with the investigator family for 3 months and he has see a lot of progression with them and it's sad that we will have to drop them this week if they don't start committing.

As we were talking about this, I remember something that I had learned about 2 months ago and it was about agency. There is a reason God gave us agency. If we didn't have agency then we wouldn't be able to know right from wrong or good from bad.  Agency allows us to make choices, whether they are good or bad choices. The choices we make will determine our destiny. In this past General Conference, President Monson gave a great talk about choices. He talks about a part in the classic novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland where Alice comes to a split in the road and she asks the Cheshire Cat, "Which path should I take?" The Cheshire Cat replies, "That depends where you want to go. If you do not know where you want to go, it doesn’t matter which path you take". As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we know where we are going and which path to take. As a missionary, I want these people so badly to receive the same blessing that I have been able to receive and know which path to take but I can only take them so far then they need to choose for themselves. I know as I continue to have faith and put my trust in God he will help these people and help Elder Isaacson and I to know what we need to do for these people.

Even though we are struggling with some investigators we are seeing miracles. Crazy experience that happened on Tuesday but first backstory. A couple weeks ago we were walking and saw this one guy just sitting in his truck, so we went over and started talking to him. We had to head to another appointment so we didn't talk to him for long but gave him a card with our number on it. Now fast forward to this last Tuesday. I'm on exchanges with Elder Christensen in Apopka. While we were seeing some former investigators there was one that we put down to see but didn't have any information besides a address. We went to it anyway and saw a lady sitting outside and started talking to her. Then while we were talking her husband walks around and sits down next to her so we introduce ourselves. When he came over he looked familiar to us but couldn't put my finger on where I remembered him from. He then told us that we had talked to him a couple weeks ago!!  It was the same guy that was sitting in his truck that we talked to. That is definitely evidence that the Lords hand is in this great work.

I love you all so much and enjoy the emails I get from you. You all are in my prayers and hope that you all have a wonderful week. Always remember you ARE A SON/DAUGHTER OF GOD. You have purpose in this life, ask him for help and understanding of it.

Elder Pearson
Florida Orlando Mission

Thought you guys might like this video. 
This is while I was on exchanges with Elder Christensen. 

Week #29 - "The message they shared was true"

Hey Everyone!

This past week has been a blast and a lot of crazy experiences. To start off the week we met a former investigator. Really nice guy and has 2 little boys and are just full of energy. It has been awhile since Elder Isaacson has seen him. We started talking and were getting an understanding if he was still interested. He said he was and then just reviewed the restoration with him to see how much he remembered. He remembered a lot and committed him to read the BOM. The next visit we went to see him he told us this awesome experience he had.  When he was saying his prayers at night he asked if the message we shared with him was true. After he was done praying he said he thought he heard someone say, "Those two men that came by your house were servants of the Lord and the message they shared was true".  WOW!!!!  We were going to put him on a baptismal date but he is leaving in a couple weeks to go to Puerto Rico to see his dad cause his health isn't doing to good. He will be gone for about a month sadly but we are going to see him as much as we can before he leaves.  Met with our investigator friend a handful of times this week and he his doing amazing. He is just grasping the gospel so well and he just loves it.  Still working with the investigator family and they are just so solid but haven't been at church and possibly have to move the date back. We are having the faith and hope that they will come.

This past Friday, while Elder Isaacson and I were seeing a couple of potential investigators and when we were knocking on one house it just started raining super hard. The car was parked down the road so there was no point in running so we walked all the way back to the car and got drenched. It was fun though and we had a good laugh about it.

Also yesterday, Elder Iassacson and I and the sister missionaries gave a talk in sacrament meeting. It was awesome cause we talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ which is faith, repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the holy ghost. I was asked to talk about baptism and I love talking to people about baptism and how it can help us be forgiven for our sins and be able to receive eternal life with our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and our families. It was an awesome talk. I hope you all have a wonderful week.  LOVES!!

Elder Pearson
Florida Orlando Mission

We got soaked and it was a blast!

This is where we ate dinner last night. This is one of the oldest buildings in Florida.

Week #28 - Wow what's that smell?

Hello Everyone!!

So many things happened this past week. It's been so awesome to see miracles happening with the people that we are teaching. One of the miracles that happened it that we were able to put a family on a baptismal date for May 7th!!!! That happened on Monday and it was so awesome cause we had a member at that lesson and he is a return missionary!! The only thing that they are really struggling with is that they still feel like they don't know everything but they do and just need to put more trust in the lord. That's what we will talk to them about tonight.

Tuesday I was able to go on exchanges with Elder Jensen. It's was a great time to be in his area and help with some of there investigators and there progression towards baptism. There was a bunch of time that we did go door knocking which is difficult but that's part of missionary work. Then Wednesday had district meeting which was great as usual and then had service at Second Harvest Food Bank which is a lot of fun. It's fun cause we get to see other missionaries from the other zone and we get meet people that aren't members of the church. Got to meet with our investigator friend later in the day. He's doing really good and progressing really well. He hasn't come to church yet cause he's been busy but hopefully he will come this coming Sunday.

Thursday thru Saturday were good. Did a lot of finding which is a combination of knocking on door to door, stopping by potential investigators or former investigators, and also stopping by less actives. Didn't have a lot of set appointments but oh well.

Sunday was pretty interesting. So I guess the church building has a lot of bad pipes throughout the building and so there was a lot of water that is used during the week in the building so it sits in the pipes and then this wonderful smell starts to form which is sulfur. So just recently the Bishop in the Apopka ward had called someone to take a look at it and they told him to just turn the water on and let the water run for 30 mins or so and then the smell should go away. He did this Sunday morning before church and had it running for about an hour. After ward council we went out in the hallway and the entire church building smelt like it. It was really bad. We ended up opening all the doors and windows is the church. Also with the help of some Febreeze  helped get ride of the smell. Anyway hope y'all have a wonderful week and love you all!!

Elder Pearson
Florida Orlando Mission
10502 Satellite Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32837

Week #27 -- Summer time

Hey Everyone,

So many great things are happening here in Apopka! Besides the weather. Its starting to warm up and can feel the humidity. Anyway, there where so many great things happening here.

First off on Monday night we met with a family that is about to hit there one year mark of being members! They are a super awesome family. The mom is the most happiest person you could ever meet. I don't think I have seen her yet without a smile on her face. They are just amazing.  We had a really good lesson about prayer and how it is important to always communicate with God. It was awesome cause another member from the ward came to the lesson, Brother Fisher. He gave a really great point on how there are many ways God answers us and that sometimes God has us figure it out. Just an awesome lesson.

On Tuesday, we got to see an investigator that has become our good friend. Hes a super cool guy. Very respectful guy and very kind. One thing that is just amazing is that he is just diving in the Book of Mormon. He is also remembering the stories too. I mentioned last week that we were going to put him on a baptismal date last week but we didn't cause every time we went by he was gone. We are meeting with him tonight and hoping to put him on date. After we met with him we were unlocking our bikes when a lady passed us and we gave her a card with Jesus Christ on it and told her to check out the website on the back. She then waited us to come back a teach them more! We are also seeing her tonight too.

Wednesday we got to go do some service for a food bank which was really fun. There was a lot of the other missionaries form the other zone that was there and was a lot of fun. After that we got to see sister from Puerto Rico! She is super sweet and is just amazing. Her health hasn't been too good and she was wanting a blessing so we came back later with her home teacher Brother Sandoval to give her the blessing.

Thursday we had ZTM (Zone Training Meeting) which was really good. Got to see an current investigator again and followed up on his scripture reading and he hasn't been reading cause he has been studying for school and has work a lot. We promised him that even if he reads a verse from the scriptures that he will be blessed and that his studies will be more easy.

Friday we had a handful of people to see later in the day and we got to have one of the young men from the ward come with us to a couple lessons. It was crazy how strong the spirit was there as he shared his testimony to those we met with. Saturday we did some service for a family in the ward which was fun. The rest of the day went a did some finding. Sunday was great. Had a wonderful fast and testimony meeting. We also had a gator at church too!!

Hope you all have a wonderful week and I will be sending some pics. Love you all!!

Elder Pearson

My zone.

Elder Issacson and I around town; here are some pics...

Week #26 - Home again in Leesburg Stake

Hello Everyone,

This week was crazy awesome. As I said last week that I got transferred to a new area and that new area is Apopka which is in the Leesburg Stake. It's super awesome cause when I first got here in Florida my first area was in the Leesburg Stake, so super cool to be back in this stake.

I want you all to know that exciting things are happening here in Apopka and I have only been in the area for a week. When I got in the area on Tuesday afternoon we dropped my stuff off at the apartment and went to work. First person we went to was a less active member. He super cool guy. Knows a lot about the gospel and has a testimony of it. He does have some word of widsom issues and trying to help him get through that. We then went to see a handful of potential investigators. Only a couple of them answered and they weren't really interested. Then later that night we went to see another less active named sister. She's been going through a rough time right now with work and family problems. We read through the Book of Mormon with her and promised her that as she reads and prays and come to church God will bless.

Wednesday was a super busy day. First went to visit an investigator family. Only the mom was there so we talked to her and followed up on her Book of Mormon reading and prayers. She said that she sometimes skip saying her prayers so we talked to her about the importance of prayers and that our Heavenly Father wants to hear from us always. We then stopped by an investigator's home. He's super cool guy and very open and very talkative guy. We asked him how his Book of Mormon reading has been going and he said he's been busy with work. We told him that as he reads from the Book of Mormon he will be blessed. We are meeting with him later this week. Then later that night I got to meet a family that is investigating. The parents only speak Spanish but the kids speak English. So Elder Isaacson taught the parents while I taught the kids. It's was awesome. The spirit was so strong it was amazing.

Thursday was super crazy as well. We had district meeting and then after went another investigator. Really nice guy and really does all he can to have God in his life. We had an awesome lesson with him about prayer. It was super amazing. We are hoping to put him on a baptismal date this week  as well as the investigator family.

Saturday and Sunday there was General Conference which was so uplifting to hear from our beloved prophet, Thomas S Monson. My favorite talk that was given that by Elder Jeffery R Holland. He talked about that we don't want tomorrow cause we don't want to lose the feelings that we have felt on Sunday. We can't give up. We all stumble but the savior is right there on our right and on our left ready to catch us and help us get back up. The first commandment is to love God with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength. The first doctrine we teach as missionaries is that God loves us with all of his heart, might, mind, and strength. God will never desert us when we are going through struggles. I know that with all of my heart. I can also testify that what Elder Holland said is true. God does love us, even though sometimes we might not feel like he does. Through prayer we can have his help and comfort.

I love you all and have a wonderful week.

Elder Pearson
Florida Orlando Mission
10502 Satellite Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32837

 

Left:  Sister Smith sent this picture of Elder Richards and I to my mom 

this week with the caption "These Elders are awesome!!! 

Thanks for sending your boys to us!!"  Right:  My new companion Elder Isaccson

Week #25 - Transfers!! Going to Apopka!!

Good morning everyone!

This past six weeks I have learned a lot. I have been able to come even closer to my savior and my Heavenly Father. I have been able to recognize the prompting of the spirit more which I have been striving to do every day. I'm sad to say that I am leaving New Smyrna Beach. I'm going to miss this ward and the area and being with Elder Richards. He's just amazing. He has helped me a lot with not getting down on myself, which is hard not to do when you aren't seeing success. He's helped me to talk more to people. One thing that helped me is that we made a bet to see who would start the most conversations. So what we did is that anyone that walked past us or around us we would say hi to them or ask them how there day is going and we would see who would be the first one to say hi. It got pretty intense. However, my new area is......Apopka!! Which is in the Lessburg stake. So I'm heading sorta close to where my first area was. The cool thing about it is that my new companion is a Spanish Elder. So I probably will have the opportunity to do some Spanish work. This was the first area that my MTC companion, Elder Hales, came too. So super cool.


So my week was amazing. I think it was our best week. So staring off the week on Monday we got a call from a member saying that there is a less active member that they want us to meet. He is the sweetest, kindest, politest man you could ever meet. So we ended our p-day early so we could go meet him. The spirit was super strong when we meet with him. He's been a member for a long time and he said he doesn't want to feel empty anymore. There were a couple concerns he had but there not a problem. Tuesday we got to do some service for a member, Brother Jenkins, which was awesome. After that we got to see a handful of people. We finally got to see a less active member that we have been trying to see but every time we go by he's not home. Backstory to this is that we got a text from the bishop telling us that we should go see him that afternoon. It was awesome cause we got to meet him and he was wondering what happened to us cause we haven't been by. So cool to see that he wants us to come over. We then got to meet a media referral that we got that day. This guy is a super nice guy and he's been meeting with the missionaries for a long time while he was living in New Hampshire. He's been busy taking care of his mother which has some health problems so he needs a couple week before we could start coming over.

Wednesday we got to meet an investigator again. It seems like the times we meet with him just get better and better. When we meet with him this time we wanted to center our focus of Jesus Christ. We showed him the hallelujah video and asked him what his thoughts and feelings were. He then shared his thoughts and feeling about organized religion and he said he told us this that past couple times we have been there but I don't remember him telling us that.  At that I point I knew that we weren't listening to him and following the spirit. By the end of the lesson I could feel the spirit and could see a difference in how he felt as well. On Thursday we got to meet with another investigator and her family. We got to meet with them when we first got her but haven't been able to meet with them since. They came to church a lot and were very active but  then just stopped coming. So don't really know why but we showed the hallelujah video and talked about the Jesus Christ. We asked them this question; If you could describe Jesus Christ in one word what would it be. As we were talking about this immediately the spirit came in and I could feel it. It was awesome. Friday had weekly planing and then Saturday wasn't too great. There wasn't a lot of people that we could see. Then Sunday was awesome. We got to meet a wonderful lady. The members that called us to meet with another investigator called us again to meet her and her family. We got to eat dinner with them and talked about a lot of things. One of the family members brought out a guitar and Elder Richards started playing and we all started singing. It was awesome. Before we left she wanted us to share our testimonies with them. It was awesome.  Then this morning we got a text from the members that brought us over there thanking us cause they were very worried about bring us over cause past
missionaries have been to pushy. That is exactly was Elder Richards and I wanted to accomplish in this area. The trust of members. That is the most important thing cause if the members don't trust you and they won't send you to there friends or family.

I want you all to know that I know that Jesus Christ lives. He suffer for us cause he loves us and he wanted us to be able to return to him and our Heavenly Father. He walked a very long a lonely path so that we wouldn't walk it alone. He is always by our side wither we know it or not. Ready to catch us when we fall and wants to pick us up. I'm so grateful to be here in Florida to share this wonderful, simple, and profound gospel of Jesus Christ. I love you all and hope you all have a wonderful week!!

Elder Pearson
Florida Orlando Mission
10502 Satellite Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32837

Elder Richards and I

Brother Biddle and I; he is the Ward Mission Leader

Brother Dolenar and I; his family is from Arizona, super cool family!

Brother Jenkins and I

 Brother & Sister Dayton and I

Week #24 -- Orlando Temple

Good Morning Everyone!!

I had an amazing week!! I hope you all had a wonderful week too.

The beginning of the week was ok. Tuesday our appointments canceled so
we didn't get to see a lot of people. So we decided to go to some of
the many spots that people hangs around and just tried to talk to as
many people as we could. Not a lot came from it but we did get to talk
to a handful of people. Which made very happy! Wednesday was better
cause we got to see Abdul. He's a really cool guy. We didn't get to
meet with him for very long but the time we did get to was awesome. We
talked to him about the plan of salvation or plan of happiness. It
answers these questions; where do I come from? What is my purpose?
Where do I go when I die? Through the entire lesson he was asking us
questions and he was surprised that we were able to answer some of
them. He is super open to us teaching which is awesome too cause it
allows the Holy Ghost to testify of truth as we teach. Once that
happens he will what to act more on that feeling and make some changes
in his life. 

Thursday I had the wonderful time to go on exchanges
with one of the Zone Leaders, Elder Putuato. It was awesome cause we
got to teach a lot of people that close to the waters of baptism and
they are just so excited to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be
clean from there sins. Them that night the ZL's spent the night cause
Friday we were heading to the temple which is in Orlando and we had to be
there at 7am so we had to leave by 6am. So they spent the night and
went there together in the morning. The temple was amazing. This is
the first time I have been able to go as a missionary. The spirit was
so strong and was exactly what I needed. It saddens me that we are
only able to go two times a year. All of you that have temple
recommends go to the temple as often as you can. It will help you with
anything that you might be struggling with.

Saturday and Sunday there was stake conference for the stake I'm in.
It was amazing as well. A lot of the talks center on families. Families is
the one thing that Satan targets the most. There was one talk that I really
like and he talked about where our priories should be. The 4 things are:
1) Being a husband, 2) Being a father, 3) Job, 4) Church calling. The lord
needs your family emotionally, spiritually, financially sound more
than he needs your service. That was from another talk that was given.
It shows how important the family is and that he wants our families
strong so that we can't fall to the things that Satan throws at us. I
want you all to know that I have a testimony of our lord and savior
Jesus Christ. That he established his church during his time on earth
and that it was restored through a prophet. He made families for a
reason. The families that we are in weren't by accident. We were sent
at a certain time and in a certain family for a reason. I love you all
and I know that Jesus Christ loves you and so does our father in
heaven. Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Elder Pearson
Florida Orlando Mission
10502 Satellite Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32837