Through the eyes of Sister Pike (Whitney's companion)

Tender mercy time - We didn't get an email from Whitney this week (not sure what happened) but I forwarded a picture of Whitney and Sister Pike to Sister Pike's Mom. She wrote me back and thanked me and included the last two emails that Sister Pike sent home, so we got to hear what Sister Morris and Sister Pike's week was like last week! She sounds like an amazing missionary and we feel so blessed that Whitney gets to work with her!

Brave Members and an Amazing Landlady
Monday, October 12, 2009 2:51:31 AM

As for the work- Our land lady is awesome! She always is bringing things over for us… serving us and making sure we are happy. Borsht, Kasha… pechenky… gorky shakolad (beet soup, warm cereal, cookies, dark chocolate!) We went over to her house and got to know her and her husband and we sang for them – my companion’s voice is so beautiful and she can sing any bottom line at the drop of a hat! They really enjoyed it. Her husband, Alexander Sergeovich, got out his accordion and played it for us while she, Valintina Petrovna sang Russian songs. We just love them! We thought of things we could do for them and so we made banana bread and gave her the plan of salvation pamphlet. She took it with her to her datcha and read it to her mother. They enjoyed it together, but she adds… we are Russian orthodox. Almost with my arms up I think I never asked you so become LDs.
We gave her the Book of Mormon and the family Proclamation and asked her to read 3 Nephi 11 she read it and liked it but because she was Russian Orthodox, she wanted to give it back to us. But she said I will keep this Family Proclamation… I want to read it to my son- I already read it to my daughter. (Later she had another set of twins who would now be in their thirties.) Earlier she had told us about how she bore twins when she and Sasha (Alexander Sergeovich) were newly weds. They both didn’t make it long in the world. We told her to read Alma 40 to answer some of her questions about where they are now.
She accepted and then the next day we didn’t see her. Then the day after that we saw her husband and he said she was having heart problems and that she is in the hospital across the street. We came to her and sang to her there and gave her the new Liahona which is all about temple work. Oh and a card which we wrote a verse of one of the hymns in it. She read the whole liahona. And said she will copy down the words of the hymn for her daughter so that she can read it to make her in a good mood as well. She said the words were so powerful they made her happy immediately. She wanted to know all about temples and we brought Katia Gorina a returned missionary (who is one of my favorite members here) and they just seemed to get along so well.
The liahona was all about temple baptisms and celestial marriage. She was worried about her twins that she had which died without baptism. She thought they were stuck in purgatory. Needless to say the plan of Salvation and the knowledge of temple work was the exact knowledge she has been waiting for. I know the plan of salvation is what each of us needs to study with in our lives if we want to know how to be happy. There is power in scriptural knowledge it will make us happy. I love this work. I love the opportunity I have to serve a little longer… to meet wonderful people like Valentina which helps me remember why it is all so important, so crucial, so something I never ever want to live without. I love you; Stand Tall go forward with faith, Sister Pike

PS we are now going on splits with members every night from seven to nine. These members are brave and bold. I love them and cherish our friendships. A fifty-five year old went trackting with me and was one of the best trackting partners I’ve ever been out with! We can all learn from the Russian saints. Make some time in your busy schedule to do some real and maybe even scary missionary work.